RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
SCHEDULE
RE:CENTRE
UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD
14-15 APRIL 2015
Global Partners of the
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
14 - 15 APRIL 2015
RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
Now in its second year, Re-thinking Progress is the Ellen MacArthur
Foundation’s open-house event held at the University of Bradford, UK.
It is aimed at participants looking to build knowledge in the circular
economy in both higher education and business contexts, or looking
to network in an informal setting.
The event takes place across two days with a ‘pick-and-mix’ schedule of seminar sessions, workshops
and networking opportunities. On the evening of the 14th April, we will host the annual Re-thinking
Progress lecture in the Norcroft Auditorium.
Changing Paradigms: Business and the Circular Economy
Norcroft Auditorium, 18.30 - 19.30, Tuesday 14th April
Pia Heidenmark Cook - IKEA
Ellen MacArthur - Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Gavin Warner - Unilever
This panel discussion will focus on two key global businesses and their
experiences in initiating a change management programme for the
circular economy. The panelists will discuss the challenges and
opportunities this presents and take questions from
the audience.
14 APRIL PLANNER
RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
RE:CENTRE FOYER
NORCROFT AUDITORIUM
SEMINAR SPACE
11.00
11.15
Circular Economy Fast Track
Jules Hayward and
Colin Webster
11.45
12.15
TEACHING SPACE
11.00 - 12.00
11.30
12.00
SHARED SPACE
12.00 onwards
12.00 - 13.30
Registration
Lunch
12.30
(Food served until 1.00pm)
12.45
13.00
13.15
13.30
13.45
14.00
14.15
14.30
14.45
15.00
15.15
15.30
15.20 - 15.50
15.45
Break
16.00
15.15
16.30
13.30 - 14.20
13.30 - 14.20
13.30 - 14.20
Business Model Innovation
for a Circular Economy
The Biorefinery at DSM
Dr. Markus Zils
Whole System Design Cards
for Business Thinking in CE
Barry Waddilove
14.30 - 15.20
14.30 - 15.20
Feed>back. From a Systems
Perspective Which Flows
Really Count?
Ken Webster
Bugaboo: making the wheel
more circular
15.50 - 16.40
15.50 - 17.50
15.50 - 16.40
The Business Case for
Circular Economy
Principles, Guidelines,
Tools: The Designer in the
Circular Economy
Circular Business Opps. for the
Built Environment
Dr. Ellen Franconi and
Marissa Yao (WebEx)
Dr. Markus Zils
16.45
16.50 - 17.50
17.00
17.15
17.30
17.45
18.00
18.15
17.50 - 18.20
Break
18.30
18.30 - 19.30
18.45
Changing Paradigms: Business
and the Circular Economy
Pia Heidenmark Cook, Ellen
MacArthur & Gavin Warner
19.00
19.15
19.30
19.30 onwards
Drinks reception
Marcel Wubbolts
(WebEx)
Aernout Dijkstra-Hellinga
Clare Brass,
Dr. Fiona Charnley and
Dr. Renee Wever
16.50 - 17.50
Collaborative Networks & the
Circular Economy
Circular Economy and
Remanufacturing
Prof. David Romero
Dr. Nabil Nasr (WebEx)
15 APRIL PLANNER
RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
RE:CENTRE FOYER
9.00
SEMINAR SPACE
SHARED SPACE
TEACHING SPACE
12.25 - 13.15
12.25 - 13.15
A New Pan-University
Learning Model at
Cranfield University
Cradle to Cradle® Powering
the Circular Economy
9.00 - 11.00
New Higher Education Curriculum
Development Toolkit
9.15
Jules Hayward, Craig Johnson
and Jo Miller
9.30
9.45
10.00
10.15
10.30
10.45
11.00
11.15
11.30
11.45
11.00 - 11.15
Break
11.15 - 12.15
The Circular Economy Story
Prof. Peter Hopkinson
12.00
12.15
12.30
12.45
Lorraine Bell and
Dr. Fiona Charnley
13.00
13.15
13.30
13.45
14.00
14.15
14.30
13.15 - 14.15
Lunch
Katja Hansen
14 APRIL SESSION SUMMARIES
RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
11.00 - 12.00
13.30 - 14.20
14.30 - 15.20
Circular Economy Fast Track
Whole System Design Cards for Business
Thinking in a Circular Economy
Feed>back. From a Systems Perspective
Which Flows Really Count?
Barry Waddilove
The key to a circular economy is effective
flows and enhancing capital.
Jules Hayward and Colin Webster
This session is aimed at people who are new
to the circular economy framework and would
like to develop an understanding of the core
principles. It might also interest individuals who
are designing their own formats for a short
fast track session. The session will cover the
overarching framework as explored by the Ellen
MacArthur Foundation, case studies of emerging
trends in both small and large businesses and
examples of progress in teaching and learning.
13.30 - 14.20
Business Model Innovation for a
Circular Economy
This session will demonstrate an innovation card
game. The game helps companies to explain
and evaluate their existing business system and
then to identify opportunities for transition to
new circular economy business models. A Whole
System Design approach is used to understand
the interrelatedness of both problems and
solutions when developing sustainable initiatives.
The methodology enables participants to
understand the relative importance of flows
in resource, including materials and energy,
and supports the identification of a company’s
value network by key stakeholders in order to
understand how the business might change
as maintenance, re-use, remanufacture and
recycling are investigated.
What’s in and what’s out? Does it matter?
Ken Webster
A big picture tour of the boundaries we choose
or ignore in the search for a framework for
thinking, and how this relates to questions of
growth, employment, education and more...
14.30 - 15.20
Bugaboo: making the wheel more circular
Aernout Dijkstra-Hellinga
Dr. Markus Zils
The library of case examples on successful
circular economy model innovation is fast
growing. Many companies and entrepreneurs
are exploring new avenues to take active part
in this transition. In this workshop, we will have
a deeper look at the underlying circular value
creation levers and the required business model
innovation to capture and redistribute the
created value along new chains and cycles. The
objective is to jointly shed some light on the inner
workings of these models. It will be a journey to
the dark-side of the moon of our linear economic
model and to explore new ideas to accelerate the
transition towards a circular economy, which is
poised to deliver attractive rewards to
first movers!
13.30 - 14.20
In this workshop, Aernout will explain the
current thinking at Bugaboo about becoming
more responsible, sustainable and circular.
The Biorefinery at DSM
Marcel Wubbolts via WebEx
The sun provides (in theory) enough energy and
raw materials to make and recycle all atoms and
molecules back to their original state. We need to
learn to make the shift from a linear approach to
a circular one. There are significant opportunities
for DSM in renewable energies such as cellulosic-,
plant-residue-based bioethanol, as well as in
renewable building blocks replacing oil-based
chemicals that would enable us to build the
materials of the future designed to live in
closed loops.
Bugaboo International is a Dutch design
company that develops and produces mobility
products. Bugaboo is known for its innovative
and breakthrough design of strollers. Bugaboo
began as a small start-up in 1999 and grew
rapidly over the next ten years to become a
global player; its products are now available in
more than 50 countries.
As a company that has innovation at its core,
Bugaboo feels the passion and obligation to
explore different ways of doing business and
different ways of solving the customers’ needs.
In an interactive setting, Aernout hopes to get
feedback and insight from attendees to make
sure that Bugaboo’s wheels become even
more circular.
14 APRIL SESSION SUMMARIES
RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
15.50 - 16.40
15.50 - 17.50
16.50 - 17.50
The Business Case for a Circular Economy
Principles, Guidelines, Tools: the designer in the
circular economy
Collaborative Networks & the Circular Economy
Prof. David Romero
Dr. Markus Zils
The linear take-make-dispose economy has been
a success story in driving efficiency and wealth
creation for large parts of the global population.
As this model comes under stress from multiple
angles the circular economy model, which is
restorative by design, aims to offer attractive
avenues to continue to boost wealth creation
while taking economic source and sink constraints
into account. This transition from a linear to a
circular economy has the potential to unlock
additional value. To capture this value profound
shifts need to be initiated, which will challenge the
so far very successful status quo. In this workshop
we will jointly examine the forces at work for
delivering superior value in a circular economy
and discuss current mega-trends supporting the
adoption of this new economic paradigm.
Clare Brass, Dr. Fiona Charnley, Dr. Renee
Weaver and Ken Webster
The circular economy promises a world of
opportunities for designers. However, it also
comes with challenges, including the recognition
and understanding of a new context where the
role of the designer and rules of the game are
changing.
Is there a need to identify an appropriate set of
new design principles?
This workshop will use some existing and putative
design guidelines to prompt deeper discussion
and reflection.
Please note that there is a small amount
(approximately 15 minutes) of pre-workshop
stimulus reading material for this workshop, which
will be emailed to you by 1 April 2015.
15.50 - 16.40
Circular Business Opportunities for the Built
Environment
16.50 - 17.50
Dr. Ellen Franconi via WebEx
Circular Economy and Remanufacturing
Buildings contribute to a substantial portion
of global energy use along with its associated
carbon emissions. Buildings also comprise
an attractive investment opportunity for
improvements in their design, energy-using
products, and operation. This webinar introduces
the concepts examined and case studies
illustrated in the buildings chapter for Volume 2 of
A New Dynamic – Effective Business in a Circular
Economy (EMF, in press). A simple framework
is used to consider the basis underlying existing
business models for the built environment.
Through a progression of steps over the product
lifespan, a course to create continued value
is proposed to improve circularity. Three case
studies are featured to examine the approach and
potential for success.
Prof. Nabil Nasr via WebEx
There is strong evidence that transitioning to a
circular economy can lead to higher economic
growth while reducing the impact on the
environment. Extending product life through
repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing
offer significant economical and environmental
advantages. Remanufacturing specifically offers
substantial and verifiable benefits to rising
global issues of resource efficiency, circular
economy, environmental protection, and
social equity. This presentation will highlight a
circular model incorporating a remanufacturing
strategy. The model will illustrate the challenges
and opportunities of a circular model and the
necessary elements to implement such a model.
This lecture explores the potential synergies
between Industrial Ecology and Collaborative
Networks scientific disciplines for supporting a
sustainable transition towards a Circular Economy.
The lecture will introduce a toolkit in development
to enable integrated solutions at both intra- and
inter-enterprise levels for lowering resources input,
enhancing resources productivity, reducing wastes
and emissions, and lowering operating costs within
an enterprise and between industrial networks
based-on Sustainable Collaborative Networked
Organisations models. The toolkit includes a
Reference Framework, a Maturity Model, and a
Systems of Systems Engineering Approach.
18.30 - 19.30
Changing Paradigms - Business and the Circular
Economy
Pia Heidenmark Cook, Ellen MacArthur and
Gavin Warner
This panel discussion will focus on key challenges
and opportunities organisations face when aligning
circular innovation with core business strategy.
Ellen MacArthur shares the stage with Unilever
and Ikea to discuss their collective experience as
catalysts of transformation from linear to circular.
15 APRIL SESSION SUMMARIES
RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
9.00 - 11.00
12.25 - 13.15
New Higher Education Curriculum Development
Toolkit
A New Pan-University Learning Model at Cranfield
University
Jules Hayward, Craig Johnson and Jo Miller with
Pioneer University colleagues
Lorraine Bell and Dr. Fiona Charnley
Working with key academic contacts, the Ellen
MacArthur Foundation is developing a Higher
Education (HE) Curriculum Development Toolkit,
which aims to provide guidance, resources,
recommendations, insights and relevant links to
support HE institutions (including private research
organisations) that look to develop circular
economy teaching and learning capacity. It will be a
living resource updated by the Foundation and our
HE partners annually. This session will be the first
time the toolkit is shared publicly in a draft format.
The team will work to both showcase it in its
current state and capture feedback from interested
parties who attend, including HE colleagues and
industry representatives. This feedback will then
inform the development of the next version for our
Summer School in June 2015.
For higher education to reflect innovative practice,
holistic thinking and the changing economy,
postgraduate courses need to be developed with
the flexibility to adapt to the needs of industry,
organisational challenges and the changing
lifestyles of learners, incorporating flexible working
and digital technologies. This interactive session
introduces the development of a new PanUniversity learning model that is being developed
at Cranfield University for the delivery of an
executive masters in Technology and Management
for a Circular Economy. The session will encourage
participation surrounding the uses of technologyenhanced learning to facilitate personal, cross
disciplinary, reflective and applied educational
journeys.
12.25 - 13.15
11.15 - 12.15
Cradle to Cradle® Powering the Circular
Economy
The Circular Economy Story
Katja Hansen
Prof. Peter Hopkinson
In this session Peter Hopkinson will lead a
discussion about the circular economy as a new
story for the 21st century. We are all familiar with
stories and the powerful messages they can convey.
In this session Peter will provide some prompts
and activities to examine the language and framing
of the circular economy and say a little about his
thinking and ‘internal’ story over the past 5 years
of working with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
He hopes that participants will join him in an open
conversation to discuss why we are each drawn
towards the circular economy framework, personal
and professional struggles in your own journeys
and how language, metaphor, frames and narratives
are important influences shaping our thinking
and communication.
A carpet that cleans the air, an air duct you can
wash, a conveyor belt that saves 50% of operating
energy by changing the materials, a system
which purifies water by feeding fish, a building
site that generates profits as an energy company.
How did designers arrive at those profitable,
innovative, performance-enhancing products
and systems? Welcome to Cradle to Cradle®; an
innovation framework whose material cycles are
acknowledged as the basis for material flows in the
circular economy. In this session we will explore
the Cradle to Cradle® framework for improving
the quality of products, systems and services. It
generates positive impacts by designing economic,
social and environmental benefits into materials,
products, buildings, neighbourhoods and regions.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
Lorraine Bell
Lorraine is the Head of Technology Enhanced
Learning (TEL) at Cranfield University.
She has worked across IT, learning content
development and design and learning
development at Cranfield University. Lorraine
is currently enhancing the TEL strategy and
advises senior members of the University on
the digital learning trends in education. Lorraine
works closely with academic staff across the
schools on the Cranfield campus to design and
develop appropriate learning materials to use
across the programme portfolio. She leads the
Digital Leaders Network, which is a group of
academics and professional staff who meet to
discuss, innovate and enable others in the use
of digital delivery to enhance the teaching and
learning experience. Lorraine’s interests are in
the personalisation of learning and the variety of
learning styles.
Clare Brass
As Head of the Royal College of Art’s new
cross-departmental centre for sustainability,
SustainRCA, Clare works with creatives,
entrepreneurs, designers, engineers and
business, to support the creation of positive
social and environmental futures. As a product
and industrial designer, she was Leader of
Sustainability at the UK’s Design Council before
setting up a social enterprise - the SEED
Foundation. She is a skilled business coach and
a Senior Design Tutor on the Innovation Design
Engineering program at the RCA and Imperial
College London. Clare and her students have
been working with the Foundation on the circular
economy for two years as a member of the
Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship Programme.
Dr. Fiona Charnley
Fiona is the Master of Design Programme
Director in the Centre for Competitive Creative
Design at Cranfield University. Since undertaking
her PhD in Whole System Design, she has
been teaching and researching in the field of
design for a more sustainable, regenerative and
circular economy. She has worked with multiple
organisations across sectors to facilitate the
implementation of systems thinking and closed
loop innovation using ideas such as a Product
Passport and the exploration of new models of
production and consumption. Fiona leads the
EPSRC Network in Re-Distributed Manufacturing,
Consumer Goods and Big Data (RECODE)- a
two year project to explore the use of big data
in the transition towards a de-centralised and
connected model of circular production. Fiona
is an academic advisor on the Foundation’s
Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship programme –
an international programme for postgraduate
students on the circular economy.
Aernout Dijkstra – Hellinga
Aernout is a Senior Product Developer and
Sustainability Specialist. He works closely
with Max Barenbrug, co-founder of Bugaboo,
pursuing a vision of developing mobility
products that make a difference. Aernout studied
Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University
of Technology. He has previously run his own
company and worked for one of the Netherlands’
largest design agencies. At Bugaboo, he leads
the development of a vision for sustainable
product design. He is currently focused on using
Bugaboo products for multiple lifecycle uses and
on improving the quantity of recyclable materials
used and the durability of its products.
Dr. Ellen Franconi
Ellen Franconi is a Principal at the Rocky
Mountain Institute (RMI) in Boulder, Colorado.
Ellen holds a PhD in Building Systems
Engineering and has worked in the building
energy field for over 25 years. Her areas
of expertise include: building performance
simulation, integrated design, sector-level
analysis, energy-efficiency savings verification,
and risk-based engineering for improved investor
confidence. At RMI, she strives to be a change
agent for leveraging business-based solutions
that capitalize on building energy- savings
opportunities. Her current focus is buildings in
China, its energy revolution, and the potential for
circular business models to support it.
Katja Hansen
Katja Hansen implements the Cradle to Cradle®
Design Framework with government agencies,
NGOs and companies. She co-engineered
the Carlsberg Circular Community, which was
announced at the 2014 World Economic Forum,
and is the largest Cradle to Cradle® supplier
community with combined revenues exceeding
$23 billion. With EPEA Internationale and
Hamburger Umweltinstitut, she co-developed
frontrunner initiatives in Latin America, Africa, and
Europe on agrochemicals, nutrient recycling and
natural & synthetic fibers. Katja studied biological
engineering graduating in 1991.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
Jules Hayward
Jules Hayward manages the Ellen MacArthur
Foundation’s Education and Training Team working
to enable multiple connections between businesses,
insight and analysis, and policy programmes.
She works across training, schools and colleges,
informal education and higher education. She leads
the Foundation’s Pioneer and Network University
programmes. Jules also works to support the
development of further circular economy teaching
programmes and to identify the relevant bodies
of research, which are critical to accelerating the
transition to a circular economy.
Pia Heidenmark Cook
Pia Heidenmark Cook is Head of Sustainability
at the IKEA Group, Retail & Expansion. She leads
a group of 25 sustainability managers across
Europe, Asia Pacific and North America who are
embedding sustainability in IKEAs retail operations
and securing a more sustainable offer for IKEA
customers. She also co-chairs, with the EU
Commission, the Retailers Environmental Action
Programme (REAP). Before joining IKEA in 2008,
Pia worked as Vice President Corporate Social
Responsibility at the Rezidor Hotel Group, and as
operator of brands at Radisson SAS and Park Inn
(300+ hotels in 50+ countries). During that period,
Pia also chaired the tourism branch of the Prince
of Wales Business Leader’s Forum - a membership
organisation of all major international hotel brands.
Pia has studied and worked in the fields of CSR
and sustainability across academia, consultancy
and business since 1996.
Prof. Peter Hopkinson
Peter Hopkinson is Professor of Innovation
and Environmental Strategy at the University
of Bradford’s School of Management. Peter is
director of the academic collaboration with the
Ellen MacArthur Foundation and leads the new
online MBA in Innovation, Enterprise and Circular
Economy, as well as the executive education course
for the Global CE100. Peter is also director of
the University’s Centre for the Circular Economy,
based in the new £6M re:centre, a cross-university
research and business engagement centre focused
on innovation, enterprise and strategy around
resources, materials and energy within
industrial economies.
Craig Johnson
Craig Johnson works as an Education Programme
Manager at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Craig
works extensively on the online executive education
introductory course and the Enterprise, Innovation
and Circular Economy MBA at Bradford University
School of Management amongst many of the
other education initiatives at the Foundation. Craig
graduated from the University of London with an
Ecology degree and has an interest in the design of
food and farming systems based on living systems
principles. Craig is co-author (with Ken Webster)
of Sense and Sustainability – educating for a low
carbon world (Ellen MacArthur Foundation/Terra
Preta, 2009).
Dame Ellen MacArthur
Ellen MacArthur made yachting history in
2005, when she became the fastest solo sailor
to circumnavigate the globe, and remains the
UK’s most successful offshore racer ever, having
won the Ostar, the Route du Rhum and finished
second in the Vendée Globe at just 24 years of
age. Having become acutely aware of the finite
nature of the resources our linear economy
relies upon, she stepped away from professional
sailing to launch the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
in 2010, which works with education and
business to accelerate the transition to a
regenerative circular economy. Ellen MacArthur
sits on the European Commission’s Resource
Efficiency Platform, and her Foundation has
published two seminal macro-economic reports
featuring analysis by McKinsey, which have
received accolades at the World Economic
Forum in Davos. Dame Ellen regularly interacts
with various European governments and
institutions such as the OECD, and received the
French Legion of Honour from President Nicolas
Sarkozy, three years after having been knighted
by Queen Elizabeth.
Jo Miller
Jo Miller is the Programme Manager for the
Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship. With a background
in science communication Jo has been with the
Ellen MacArthur Foundation since its launch in
2010, setting up and running a number of largescale programmes. As part of the higher education
team Jo manages the Schmidt-MacArthur
Fellowship, an international programme for
postgraduate students and their academic mentors
on the circular economy. She also manages the
Foundation’s relationship with TU Delft and works
to stimulate mutually beneficial collaborations
between the Fellowship’s 14 Partner Universities
and other areas of the Foundation’s work, including
business, research and capacity building.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
Dr. Nabil Nasr
Dr. Nabil Nasr is Associate Provost for Academic
Affairs and Director of the Golisano Institute for
Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology.
He has worked in the fields of sustainable
production, remanufacturing, and sustainable
product development for over 28 years, and
is founder of the Center for Remanufacturing
and Resource Recovery - a leading source of
applied research and solutions in remanufacturing
technologies. He has served as an expert delegate
for the U.S. government in several international
forums including the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation and the World Trade Organisation,
and was recently appointed as a member of the
International Resource Panel of the United Nations
Environment Programme.
Prof. David Romero
Prof. David Romero is Senior Research Scientist
and Scientific Project Manager for the National
Graduate School of Science and Engineering at
Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico. He
is currently acting leader of the research line on
Sustainable PRocess Industry & iNdustrial ecoloGy
(SPRING), within the Advanced Manufacturing
Research Group at the Center for Innovation in
Design and Technology.
Barry Waddilove
Barry is a multidisciplinary designer, who has
worked with companies in over 20 countries.
Currently based in Hertfordshire, he has
previously lived in Hong Kong, Canada and
America while working on diverse projects in
product development, retail design, advertising
and events management. As one of the 2014
Schmidt-MacArthur fellowship cohort, Barry
recently graduated from Cranfield University with a
masters in Design and Innovation for Sustainability.
His research project for the Ellen MacArthur
Foundation involved the design of a tool to enable
organisations to think systemically, while developing
projects that transition from linear to circular
business models.
Gavin Warner
Gavin Warner is a Director of Sustainable Business
at Unilever. He is responsible for driving sustainable
action from Brands and Categories and for unlocking
new innovation growth opportunities. He also oversees
the measurement and reporting of the Unilever
Environmental Footprint.
Gavin leads the Unilever relationship with the Ellen
MacArthur Foundation aiming to inspire circular
innovations. Gavin is an experienced FMCG marketer,
with a passion for brands, innovation and pioneering
change. He has worked across multiple geographies
and categories including tea, food and washing
detergents.
Colin Webster
Colin Webster works as an Education Programme
Manager with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. His
role includes developing educational resources for
secondary schools and universities, and supporting
online learning programmes. He has previously
worked in youth development and as a secondary
school teacher.
Ken Webster
Ken Webster is Head of Innovation at the Ellen
MacArthur Foundation. His background is in
economics education, teaching, teacher training
and curriculum development. He writes extensively
on the circular economy and its connections with
systems thinking. He has been working at the
Foundation since the end of 2009 and was a part
of its establishment in 2010.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
RE-THINKING
PROGRESS
Dr. Renee Wever
Renee is a tenured assistant professor in Design
for Sustainability at Delft University of Technology.
He teaches on topics related to the inclusion of
sustainability in the design process and he is course
coordinator of the MSc module ‘Strategic and
Sustainable Design’ (part of the Integrated Product
Design MSc program). He supervises several MSc
projects related to circular product design, and was
the 2014 Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship mentor
representative from TU Delft. As a member of the
Foundation’s Pioneer University programme, TU
Delft is engaged in a number of leading teaching
and research programmes around design for the
circular economy. Renee specifically collaborates
to develop dedicated circular courses, including a
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
Marissa Yao
As the Sustainability lead at SunPower, Marissa
works on various programs ranging from Circular
Economy to Life Cycle Assessments to social
enterprise. Marissa is part of a team focused
on obtaining Zero Waste to Landfill, Cradle to
Cradle and LEED certifications for all of our panel
assembly sites around the world. In addition,
she oversees SunPower’s 3S (Solar Service
Station) social enterprise program which provides
solar rechargeable lanterns to impoverished
communities. Prior to joining SunPower, Marissa
spent 9 years at Intel Corporation as a member of
the Corporate Environmental Group. Marissa holds
a BA in Environmental Science from UC Berkeley,
an MPH in Epidemiology and MEM in Industrial
Environmental Management from Yale University.
Marcel Wubbolts
Marcel Wubbolts is Chief Technology Officer at
DSM, based in Urmond, the Netherlands, and
is responsible for the maintenance of existing
and the development of new key technological
competences that enable the company to develop
new products and processes and to support
and optimise existing products and processes.
These competences form the backbone of DSM’s
innovation capabilities. Royal DSM is a Circular
Economy 100 member.
Dr. Markus Zils
Dr. Markus Zils is Managing Director of Returnity
Partners, a firm dedicated to accelerating
the transition towards a circular economy by
supporting targeted research, consulting and
investment projects. The objective of Returnity
Partners is to support clients in identifying,
initiating and implementing circular business
model innovation at scale. Prior to joining
Returnity Partners, Markus has worked as
a senior principle at McKinsey & Company,
where he contributed to the Ellen MacArthur
Foundation’s Towards the Circular Economy
report series. Markus holds a PhD from the
University of Cologne on economic modeling and
optimization of complex transportation networks,
a Masters from the Community of European
Management Schools from H.E.C in Paris and
a masters in management science from the
University of Cologne.