🌌 Hey — Harald here.

Have you seen this image before?

I could not stop laughing.

And then feeling the uncomfortable truth too.
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Many of us are stuck in fear: of climate collapse, of financial pressure, of change itself.

But here’s the truth:
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In a universe this vast, the real tragedy is wasting our time on Earth by doing nothing.

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❌ The Big Picture, the Small Story

Let’s zoom in.

• Every year, humanity extracts 100 billion tonnes of materials. Less than 7% are cycled back.
• By 2050, if we keep going linear, we’ll need 3 planets to sustain our consumption.
• Oceans are choking, soils are thinning, and resources are getting scarcer.

Seen against the galaxy, our problems are tiny.

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But here on Earth, they’re everything.

💡 My Aha Moment

When I first saw data from the Circularity Gap Report we launched in 2018 (that the world was only 9% circular): I felt the same cosmic joke as when you look at that galaxy picture.

And then I stared to explore: and start to rewrite the story of waste.

Of us.

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🌱 The Circular Perspective

The circular economy is not just a policy buzzword.

It’s a radical shift of story:

• From fear ➝ to opportunity.
• From scarcity ➝ to regeneration.
• From “take-make-waste” ➝ to “use, share, return, renew.”

And the potential? It’s enormous.

• According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a circular economy could unlock $4.5 trillion in economic benefits by 2030.
• The EU estimates that circularity could create 700,000 new jobs across Europe by 2030. Many of them in local repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing.
• Globally, the World Economic Forum points to millions of new jobs in areas like recycling innovation, sharing platforms, product-as-a-service models, and material recovery.
• By 2050, circular economy solutions could cut global CO₂ emissions by up to 40%, helping us stay within planetary boundaries.

But beyond the numbers, there’s something more human at stake. Circularity is about reconnecting communities.

• 🤝 Sharing platforms reduce costs and build trust.
• 🛠️ Repair cafés in cities bring neighbours together.
• 🏭 Local remanufacturing and recycling hubs create resilience in supply chains.
• 🌍 When waste is treated as value, people feel empowered instead of discarded.

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✨ Closing Thought

When you look at that galaxy, it’s easy to feel small.

But remember:
​In the cosmic scale, our planet is just a speck.

On that speck, our actions matter infinitely.

👉 My call to you this week:

Choose 1 circular action: as a citizen, as a business, or as a policymaker.

And commit to it.

The universe won’t notice. But Earth will. 🌍

Stay safe,

​
Harald

Where to find me (in person🙂):

23 October 2025: Camacol Summit, Barranquilla/Colombia

10-18 November 2025: COP 30, Belem/Brazil.

20 November 2025: Amsterdam Circular Ecosystem Day​

30 March - 1 April 2026: changeNOW, Paris/France.

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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