Staying true to our values | Signs of circular progress | Leasing minerals | Sustainable living survey | Planet Critical There’s a ‘value’ thread running through this round up of what I’ve shared, and what’s inspired me. Firstly, our personal values and principles, which guide our attitudes and actions; then my podcast interview with circular economy superstar, Walter Stahel, digging into how businesses can create more value with circular strategies, and how countries could think differently about the value of the commons. I’ve included a few of my takeaways from a recent report on consume ..read more

Our values guide our attitudes and actions, and most people’ deep-seated values support circularity and sustainability. But we misunderstand other people’s values, and that is holding us back. The field of social psychology can help us understand more about how our personal values drive behaviour, and what that means for sustainability and the circular economy. How can we tap into our values to drive positive change? 5 minute read Values 101 In a recent newsletter, I mentioned ‘Values 101’, a short course I completed recently with the Common Cause Foundation. It opened my eyes to a whol ..read more

Ruth Taylor of the Common Cause Foundation guides us through the field of social psychology, to explore how our personal values drive behaviour, and what that means for sustainability and the circular economy. Catherine Weetman says “I recently completed ‘Values 101’, a short course run by the Common Cause Foundation. It opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking about our behaviour and what motivates our choices, actions and interactions.” The course tutors were Ruth and her colleague Tom Crompton, and today, Catherine talks to Ruth about some of the main takeaways from the course. The ..read more

Share Shed | Mapping waste | Dreaming | A ‘golden path’ | Profit without loss  Here’s the latest round-up of what I’ve shared, and what’s inspired me. This time, there’s a travelling theme – a mobile circular ‘shed’, digital mapping for waste streams, choosing different pathways to the future, and a story to build a ‘golden path’ to a brighter future. Let’s start with the shed… Podcast #124, Share Shed: the world’s first travelling library of things Libraries of Things can help people save money, space and resources, build bridges between people’s needs and wants and the resources al ..read more

A story to help us build the ‘golden path’ to a fairer, thriving circular economy 3 minute read My recent conversations for the Circular Economy Podcast with Ken Webster, one of the circular economy’s leading thinkers and a member of Earth4All nudged me towards one of his recent books The Wonderful Circles of Oz: A Circular Economy Story. Ken Webster teamed up with creative writer Alex Duff, to offer us a different way of looking at the problems of our modern economy unset out ideas for a restorative alternative. It’s an intriguing, thought-provoking book that tackles key issues includi ..read more

Mirella Ferraz is co-founder of Share Shed, the world’s first travelling library of things. The Share Shed van visits rural communities, so people can borrow a wide range of useful things, including tools, household appliances, camping and gardening equipment, sewing machines, suitcases and much more! Share Shed aims to: Help people save money, space and resources, and reduce clutter Build bridges between people’s needs and wants and the resources already available in their community Support more collaborative and sustainable lifestyles and inspire people to engage in social change Mire ..read more

Millions of us are dreaming of a brighter future, and a healthier fairer, thriving world. And yet, we are held back, by those who want us to keep believing the false promises of consumerism. It’s time to break free, to choose a better way: a Giant Leap towards sustainable, prosperous and equitable wellbeing for all. 7 minute read “The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.” Marcel Proust You, I and many others can easily imagine how regenerative, circular and ‘doughnut’ economic systems would create so much more value for all, with far les ..read more

We explore why it’s important for business to map, and understand their waste flows: what it is, specifically; where it comes from and goes to; how much there is – and why!; and to understand the opportunities for wasting less and circulating more value. Topolytics is a data analytics business that is making the world’s waste visible, verifiable and valuable. Catherine Weetman talks to Michael Groves and Fleur Ruckley, to find out how data analytics, mapping and machine learning can make waste and resource management more transparent, efficient and effective, both commercially and environ ..read more

Misleading soundbites | Impossibilities | 2023 projects | Circular economy stories | Podcast highlights A decade of learning and sharing Welcome to the latest round-up of what I’ve been working on, and what’s inspired me.  In this issue: My interview in Greenbiz… maybe I need media training! False solutions and Impossibilities What I’ve been up to Circular economy stories – The Wonderful Circles of Oz The Circular Economy Podcast – some recent highlights Thank you letters My interview in Greenbiz  – how to read between the lines! It was great to be featured by Greenbiz at th ..read more

© Christoph Hinske & Harry Lehmann, The Impossibilities of the Circular Economy: Separating Aspirations from Reality (2022), comic story art by Virpi Oinonen, published at https://360dialogues.com/360portfolios/ce-impossibilities. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. It was great to be featured by Greenbiz at the start of 2024, although I noticed that a couple of my ‘soundbites’ could be read to mean exactly the opposite of what I went on to talk about…! This blog unpacks those, explaining more about why I think circular strategies underpin future success, what keeps business leaders stuck in ‘last century ..read more