Hey. It's me Harald here 🤓🙂.

In weeks like this - going from keynote to company strategy sessions and ending the day with start up coaching, I hear this coming up a lot:

People are frustrated. Progress feels slow.

Who can blame you, in challenging times.

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People see overflowing waste streams, endless pilots, and think the idea of a circular economy might be failing.

I get it.

I’ve been in this space for over a decade.

I’ve seen hype cycles rise and fall.

But I’ve also seen something deeper:

when circularity is done right (beyond recycling), then it’s not only alive, it’s transformational.

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🧐 Why people feel frustrated

• Global circularity slipped from 9.1% (2018) to 6.9% (2025) (Circularity Gap Report).
• Most “circular” activity is still end-of-pipe recycling, not demand reduction.
• Companies are juggling ESG checklists but few link circularity to their core business model.

It’s easy to get caught up in the noise: chasing metrics, managing distractions, responding to every urgency that pops up.

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In doing so, we lose sight of the bigger picture: purpose, progress and people.

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🌱 What Circular Economy Really Means

Circular economy isn’t dead; it’s evolving.

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When we stop treating it as a waste-management exercise and start treating it as a value-creation strategy, it comes alive.

It’s not about “Where can I recycle more?”

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It’s about “How can I design out waste, keep materials in use, and regenerate natural systems?”

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🔭 Five Facts That Give Me Hope

1. Policy momentum: More countries than ever now have national circular economy strategies and action plans.
2. Investment surge: Global private investment in circular start-ups is increasing.
3. Consumer demand: Surveys show 73% of European consumers prefer products designed to last longer and be repairable (Eurobarometer, 2023).
4. Business leadership: Major players (IKEA, H&M, Apple, Renault) are piloting reuse, take-back and remanufacturing at unprecedented scale.
5. Data + tech breakthroughs: Digital product passports, AI-enabled material tracking and new recycling technologies (chemical, bio-based) are making previously impossible loops possible.

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💡 5 high potential areas to focus on for the next wave of circularity

💡 Business models: Shift from selling units to selling access, services, and outcomes (rental, product-as-a-service, remanufacturing loops).

💡 New materials: Invest in regenerative and truly recyclable materials like bio-based polymers, low-carbon cement or endlessly recyclable alloys.

💡 AI & digital tools: Use AI for demand forecasting, predictive maintenance, and optimising reuse and repair logistics.

💡 Design for disassembly: Make products modular, standardised, easy to repair and upgrade.

💡 Cross-sector ecosystems: Build Minimum Viable Ecosystems (MVEs) where suppliers, customers, financiers, and regulators co-invest and share risk to sclae circular solutions faster.

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🤓♻️What it can mean for your brand?

1. Redefine the “What”​
   Start with one clear, bold outcome: e.g. “We will cut virgin material use by 40% by 2030.”
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   ➡️This anchors every initiative in purpose, not process.
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2. Design for less and not just better waste​
   Do a product and packaging audit. Ask yourself and your teams: Which materials are non-essential? How can we design for reuse, modularity, repairability?
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   ➡️ The biggest gains come from using less in the first place.
3. Tell & Track Real Outcomes​
   Pick 1 metric that matters most (material demand cut, reused parts, extended lifetime etc) and report them transparently.
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   ➡️ This positions your brand as a leader, and is a magnet for new collaborations.

🌀 Especially now, the circular economy is an agenda that gives hope and shows action.

Stay well,

Harald

Where to find me and others:

24 September 2025: Sirknorge Annual Conference, Oslo/Norway​
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​26 September 2025 : Green Film and Media Festival /Stuttgart​

23 October 2025: Camacol Summit, Barranquilla/Colombia

10-20 November 2025: COP 30, Belem/Brazil

Before you go, rate today's email 💙💙💙💙💙 💙💙💙 💙

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Whenever you are ready, here are 5 ways I can help you:

​The Circular Advantage: If you're a corporate or a startup struggling with the lack of clarity on where to start or Building & funding circular business cases — my FREE 5-day email course is for you.

​Inspire Your Audience: From TED to Zero Waste Conferences, I've been invited as a keynote speaker to talk about circular economy, leadership, and innovation. Book me to start making an impact.

​Educate your team with a Circularity Masterclass: Partner up with me to create immersive experiences to make the Circular Economy feelable.

​Get inspired: My TEDxTirana talk on how we can hack a broken system while building a better one.

​Go deeper with my book: "The Customer is the Planet: A handbook for sustainable business" which I co-authored in 2024. ​
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