A Sea of Opportunities
Pollution, over-exploitation, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, as well as climate change have become major threats to aquatic eco-systems. To unlock the potential of seas and oceans, ade...
Back to the Future, Rediscovering Traditional Knowledge to Win the Food Challenge
What has food become? What does it mean for Western society to feed itself? What does the meat on the plate before us represent? What do we mean by food security? Questions that, even if s...
100 Resilient Cities
How can we implement a real circular economy without having cities geared for resilience against stress and shocks? This is a key area of reflection when discussing the future of cities and in parti...
The Age of Plastic
The media is full of Chris Jordan’s famous pictures of seagull carcasses with their stomachs full of bottle caps, tubes and other plastic paraphernalia. Documentaries denouncing the indecent...
For a Circular Europe
After years of delays, the European Parliament in Strasbourg has approved the Circular Economy (CE) Package. However, things have not yet come full circle. “The way for a new develop...
The American Way
What is the difference in the way Brussels and Washington D.C. see the circular economy? To get an answer one should have attended the Fourth Circular Economy Summit, organised by the powerful US Ch...
BusinessEurope, Circular Means Business
©BUSINESSEUROPE / Photo: Erik Luntang “Business is fully on board with the circular economy revolution. Not only because it is good business to save resourc...
A New Renewable Matter
In fact, “economy” derives from oikosnomos (οἶκοςνÏ�μος), meaning the management of a hou...
Circular Europe
How will the Circular Economy Package (CEP) impact Europe? This is the fundamental question everyone in the business is debating right now. In Brussels the glass seems to be half full for ...
Amsterdam, the Circular City
The city of Amsterdam has made a major step in the transition to become one of the world’s first circular cities. The goal? Minimize waste, innovate product-as-a-service business, boast new bu...
The Lazarus' Effect: The Second Life of Patagonia Clothes
Product Life-Extension is an oft-talked pillar of the circular economy, many talk the talk, but less walk the walk. Patagonia, the famous outdoor fashion brand from Ventura, California, ha...
Stop Death (of Objects)
If Ellen MacArthur is the dame of the circular economy, Walter R. Stahel (born June 5, 1946) can be well awarded the title of father of this economic model. Stahel has been influential in ...
Water vs. Coal. South Africa's Filthy War
Photography: Fausto Podavini Research: Marirosa Iannelli Top image: Witbank. In a coal mine a woman collects coal for personal use. Coal is the only resource for locals. “Do y...
The Doughnut Age
The greatest challenge for humanity in the 21st century is fulfilling all humanity’s needs, within the planetary boundaries. How can we ensure everybody the pursuit of happiness, end...
The Advent of Offsite Construction
There is a new and visionary way to conceive buildings bubbling up in Europe. Enough with costly and complex construction sites, managed with 20th century modalities and knowledge. The construction ...
The Man Who Rethinks Buildings
Victor Olgyay ©BompanEmanuele Boulder, Colorado. Mountains half-surround this small city at the feet of the Rocky Mountains. Not far away shine the higher peaks, ...
We Recyle Oil
In the circular economy one of the most controversial sticking points is the supply of material to recycle or regenerate. As William McDonough outlines in this issue of Renewable Matter, waste shou...
Tyres Galore
From a screeching noise to the muffled silence in a church. That of recycled tyres is a crucial parable, in the latest project by Ecopneus, a non profit company for ELTs (End-of-life tyres), made of...
The Resilience renaissance
Few have applied integrated thinking and cross-disciplinary approach to environmental studies as Carl Folke. Author of 12 books and over 200 scientific papers, including 15 in Science and ...
Water Boundaries
Water is the best example of circularity in nature. Everybody remembers clearly the charts showing the water cycle on biology textbooks in high schools. Snow, rain, tributaries, lakes, seas, evapora...