2 – 4.30pm
The NewBridge Project: Newcastle
£10 | Please book here
The circular economy is gaining focus and investment from businesses of all sizes, in every sector, worldwide, as well as cities, governments, the World Economic Forum, and more. Circular approaches rethink product design, material choice and business models, helping reduce risk, increase productivity, enhance resilience and improve competitiveness.
This workshop will be tailored especially for creative businesses, artist/makers and those looking to reinvent their practices. It is for those who want to know more about the circular economy, investigate how it adds value, explore ways to build a business case and get started. It incorporates:
- Circular economy core concepts and wide-ranging examples
- ‘Teardown’ an everyday product and evaluate issues and value leakage, then reflect on issues and risks in your own practice
- Rethinking, evaluating circular approaches that create value and support resilient, competitive and future-fit solutions.
Catherine Weetman MSc, FCILT, FRSA, is the author of A Circular Economy Handbook for Business and Supply Chains and Tees Valley coordinator and mentor for the Circular Economy Club.
Challenges addressed in this workshop:
- Insulating against resource cost volatility and security of supply through resource efficiency and using recycled or sustainable materials
- Creating value by designing durable, repairable and recyclable products
- Designing out waste and pollution to recover value, cycle resources and meet the needs of a post-disposable economy
- Rethinking business models to capture value from circular approaches and build deeper, long-term client and customer relationships
- Objective setting e.g. 100% renewable energy, zero waste, 2 new circular initiatives each year that benefit business, society and planet
Benefits for attendees
- Explore the principles of the circular economy with a range of practical examples
- Gain a clearer understanding of the issues for conventional business models
- Examine how the circular economy can create new value, reduce risk and increase resilience
- Engage with others in small group discussions on how to expand circular practices in business, our communities and daily lives
- Identify potential value leakage in your own practice, and create an initial action plan to develop and capture value from circular products, materials and services
This workshop is part of the Shift and Signal School, three days of workshops, sharing, live recordings and celebration of our commitment to work together for a flourishing future.
Shift and Signal is a commission by Dr Alex Lockwood, that creates a space in which to imagine how we can go deeper in our adaptations to the crises of the contemporary moment such as social inequality, climate change, and species extinction. The project is an attempt to shift us beyond the usual stuck conversations about how we implement change, and signal towards better ways of living that are now appearing.
The Shift and Signal School is part of Deep Adaptation. An ongoing programme of commissions, talks, events and workshops looking at how current social, civic and economic issues can be understood in relation to climate change.
