Moving away from the ‘take, make, use, discard’ approach of linear economies is essential if the world is going to transform to sustainability. Circular economies design the re-use and recycling of materials into products and services to maximise the value from them and minimise waste.

The Circular Economy Network at IEMA is led by a steering group of members from different sectors of the economy. The role of the steering group is to oversee the delivery of an annual work programme of activities, including webinars, workshops, reports and much more. 

Join the circular economy network

Opting to become a member of the network means you'll receive updates about developments in this sphere and the work of the steering group, invitations to apply to join the steering group or get involved in other ways, requests to participate in consultations, and notification of relevant webinars and other IEMA or external events. Use the button below to navigate to the portal and select 'circular economy network' in your subscription preferences.

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Circular economy

A circular economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life. This presents an obvious solution to the problem of resource scarcity.

A ‘circular’ approach seeks to:

  • design out waste and pollution – products are designed so that they can be readily disassembled and re-used at end of life
  • maintain value (of products and materials) by designing for repair or remanufacture to extend lifecycle(s). Products last longer and are designed to do so
  • regenerate natural systems, i.e. through composting and anaerobic digestion
  • develop new/alternative organisation models, e.g. organisations move away from selling products to selling the service of that product.

Circular thinking 

Circular thinking can be applied to organisations’ processes and products to identify new market opportunities and reduce waste costs such as swapping disposable packaging for reusable, returnable packaging. Another example could be enabling and facilitating reuse by modifying the service offering from ‘sale’ to ‘hire’.

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Tim Danson

Director - Sustainability & Energy, Pick Everard
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Stephanie Palmer

Head of Sustainability, Wienerberger Ltd
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Fleur Ruckley

Head of Implementation, Topolytics
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Ella Yarrow

Sustainability Consultant, Ridge and Partners LLP
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David Smith

Technical Director – Sustainability Solutions, Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd.
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Andy Whyle

Sustainability Consultant, S-AW
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Bianca Drotleff

Project Manager, Centre for Business Transformation University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
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Wendy Rayner

Head of Circular Economy, NHS Scotland
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Debbie Ward

Director and Consultant, Cirklo Consult, The Rebuild Site and Alliance of Sustainable Building Products
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Ashley Oates

Head of Environment and Sustainability, Balfour Beatty
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Caroline Cochrane

Sustainability Associate, Cundall
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Ian Humphreys

Committee Member
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Catherine Weetman

Circular Economy Strategic Advisor, author of A Circular Economy Handbook, host of the Circular Economy Podcast
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Jason Light

Head of Sustainability and Energy, University Hospital Southampton Foundation Trust
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Mark Edwards

Head of Sustainability, London Gatwick
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Want to know more?

If you want to know more about the work of our policy and practice team, please get in touch!

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