Webinar & Video
  • Posted on July 4th, 2019

Webinar: The Circular Economy

Cross section of a tree trunk showing rings, with a piece of green plant on the top

Switching light-bulbs and ditching plastic straws alone will not help us to achieve the level of change we need to address climate and environmental breakdown. We need new models and system change based on environmental values and principles. The circular economy is one such model. It requires shifting from our current linear ‘take-make-use-dispose’ economic model, creating waste and toxic flows at each stage of the process, to a new model which designs waste and pollution out of the system, keeps products and materials in use for as long as possible and allows natural systems to regenerate.

All over the world the best design and creative minds are dedicating themselves to waste and how to get rid of it by transforming the way we design, use and dispose of stuff. There are some great examples of how the circular economy can be applied in design and fashion worlds, but circular economy principles and practice are still relatively unknown and unexplored in the arts and culture sector. This webinar gives you a better understanding of the circular economy and how you can apply its principles in your areas of work, from artistic practice to day-to-day operations in organisations.

Chiara Badiali, Knowledge and Sector Intelligence Lead at Julie’s Bicycle, shares examples of the circular economy, looking at the principles on which it is based and the process involved, as well as providing insights and case studies on what it means for the arts and culture. She is joined by Melissa Lewis, Specialist in Modern and Contemporary Art, from Modern British Conservation who shares her experience on how they are applying circular economy principles to their cultural practice and how this has developed.

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This webinar was aimed at Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations who wish to better understand and act on Circular Economic principles in their everyday activities.

Delivered in partnership with Arts Council England as part of their Environmental Programme to National Portfolio Organisations 2018-22.

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