Circular Economy
My Circular Story
I discovered the Circular Economy model in 2015, in Paris, at a talk given by the founders of design agency Circulab. “In nature”, they said, “there is no such thing as waste. Everything has a purpose”. I was hooked, and I thought: ‘this is what I want to work on!’. Few had heard of circular economy back then, even less than CSR (corporate social responsibility), my former job at energy group EDF. I gave them my card and said I’d be keen to be involved.
Later that year, the founders called me: they needed facilitators and a translator to adapt their tools into English. I became one of their first trained and certified facilitators. We were a small team of 5 freelance consultants with varied backgrounds, ready to train and support on the topic: whether SME, university, start-ups, corporates, NGOs or social-profits, we support organisations to change their business model using Circulab tools. Ideally, we help them shift to do business in a ‘circular’, regenerative, future-proof way. We are now over 80.
I don’t work alone: I have a communications background, including 8 years in a major energy group working in transversal teams. In line with systems thinking and the idea that we should get out of silos and work in a more interconnected way, a practice essential to circularity, I call upon a variety of people to work with depending on your needs. These can include product designers, leadership, marketing and supply chain experts, in various organisations or independent, both here in Germany, France, the UK and globally within the 80+ Circulab network.
What I offer
CE Workshops
Workshops with CE-related Tools
Mentoring & Speaking
Editorial/Communications
1- Circular Economy Workshops:
Discovery
Experiment with the Circular Economy- Brief Introduction to the Circular Economy + Do a business game with a fictitious case + Use Circulab innovation cards and the Circulab model canvas + Pitch your ideas in teams + 2 groups of 3-5 players + customise the case & scenarios + ideal for onboarding/team-building and innovation + on & offline +
- Duration: 2h-half day, ENG/FR/GER or mix
Create
Explore the model to develop new ideas- Recap on Circular Economy fundamentals + Map your current business model, a project or product on the Circulab circular canvas + Ideate using Circulab innovation and resilience cards + Present 2/3 ideas to take forward + Suited for min. 4 participants + ideal for team-building, innovation and as a starter or complement to LCA/carbon footprint analysis (which are much more data and time intensive) + on/offline +
- Duration: up to half day, ENG/FR/GER or mix
Value Chain
Understand the 'macro' context for circularity- Use Circulab’s Value Chain canvas to understand the ‘macro’ picture of your product/service + Understand the key resource/s and how it impacts choices in terms of circularity and resilience + Use the tool as a qualitative complement to an LCA / carbon footprint analysis + finish with 2/3 circular opportunities to pursue + + group of 6 and 2 facilitators + Option: roadmap (will require full day in total) +
- Duration: half-day to one day, ENG/FR/GER
2- Other Tools:
Stakeholder Mapping
Map your stakeholders- Map your stakeholders – the ones you have and even those you didn’t know you had! – using an interactive canvas, wedges and cards + identify new partners and opportunities + on/offline + can complement the Circulab canvas & Value chain tools + 5-15 participants +
- Duration: 1h30-3h, can be used with the other Circulab tools, ENG/FR/GER or mix.
Climate Fresk / "Klima Puzzle"
Understand causes & effects of climate change- With 42 cards, create a ‘climate fresk’ showing the causes and effects of climate change + ideal for team building, innovation, kickstarting your climate/CO2/sustainability strategy + can be customised with client + the game accompanied the last 3 COPs + 4-50 players.
- Duration: 3h/half and full day, ENG/FR/GER or mix, on/offline
Biomimicry Game
Play & discover innovation from nature- Play a boardgame with cards after a short intro to Biomimicry & how it’s linked to circularity + Get your crew around the globe in 1h thanks to innovations from nature + From 4-8 players + Can include team briefing, context and related task + Ages 12-99 + ideal for team building, events, break activity in content-heavy event +
- Duration: 1h15-3h. Offline, ENG only.
3- Mentoring and Speaking opportunities:
With 7 years experience and knowledge in a fairly new sector, I have a lot of advice to give jobseekers, start-ups, SMEs and organisations looking to develop circular economy activity and knowledge. I have now mentored 30+ startups for circularity. I also have an extensive global and national network (Germany, France & global) built up over the years, and access to the ‘movers & shakers’ globally who are shaping the future of the model.
I know the books and texts to read, the local versus the global setup, the flaws and the virtues of the model. With my communications background and expertise, I can also support your editorial and messaging needs on your circular activities – no greenwashing!
As well as the tools above, I offer:
Circularity Mentoring
Be accompanied on your circular path- I mentor start-ups, individuals, small companies, to understand and seize the opportunities of the Circular Economy + with the help of Circulab and other tools if appropriate, and my international and local circular economy network + Follow-up after the workshops above + From one-off to short/medium-term accompaniment + According to your budget +
- Duration: one-off to 3mths, ENG/FR/GER +
Jobseekers
From first job to senior roles- Supporting jobseekers on their path to find a role or internship in Circular Economy + extensive CE network + experience of interviews in the sector + HR experience in recruitment at Employer Brand team at EDF Group + preparation of many Executives for job interviews for senior roles + Support according to your budget +
- Duration: one-off to 3 mths, ENG/FR/GER +
Speaking Opportunities
Podcasts - Interviews - Moderation - Lecturing- Moderation in ENG/FR/GER around topics linked to Circular Economy and wider Sustainability + Panel member opportunities + Talks & keynotes + Coaching for public speakers on circularity + On/offline + Interviews (conceiving them and giving them) + Podcasts (as interviewee) +
4- Editorial, Communications & Storytelling:
Editorial & Proofreading
- Proofreading and editing linked to circularity and sustainability, in English and French + PhDs, Master theses, reports, annual sustainability reports, press releases, Linked in articles and posts, blog posts + Drafting Whitepapers (English only) and other documents + per word, half day to day rates, depending on volume & recurrence, time-frame, technicality & budget +
- See references on my ‘Testimonials’ page.
Internal & External Communications
- Support to develop key messages and inspiring, engaging formats on CE for internal audiences and external stakeholders + at team/project/business unit/organisation and sector level +
Identifying your Circular Stories
- Facilitated discussion with relevant actors to tease out your organisations’s circular economy practices and successes
- Identifying engaging formats for communication
- Drafting copy to use as key elements for your various communication channels & formats for your identified ‘stories’
- In English / French / German
Translation into English
- Translation from German and French into English + contracts, studies, reports, books (non-fiction), articles, Linked in posts, web copy linked to circular economy, sustainability and climate change +
- Rates on request according to type of project.
Recent Circular Economy Projects
- Designing workshops and talks for companies, universities, social-profits, events and mentoring to understand CE and identify opportunities. On/offline, across Europe, in three languages.
- Mentoring for ‘circular’ startups since 2020 (Impact Hubs, Universität der Künste, privately)
- Speaker on CE for Future Females, German ministries, Sustainability Slams, pecha kucha, New Mittelstand, keynotes. Co-host for workshops, webinars and demos with Circular Berlin, Circonnact (Vienna), Hello Circular! Over 800 sign-ups over 5 years.
- Podcast on CE and Germany in 2019
- Interview on WDR German public radio in 2022 (in German): Circular Economy: die Wirtschaft der Zukunft?
- Cited in Internationale Politik review (in Germany) in November 2022 edition.
- Initiating and drafting position paper on CE for a global NGO involving over 60 actors, internal and external
- Writing statements, endorsements etc. for various publications, in print and online, such as the Mastering the Circular Economy textbook (2021, left) and for the Expert Series in Circular Conversations
- Guiding visitors to Europe’s first profitable circular economy aquaponics city farm, Stadtfarm, in Berlin (2019/2020)
- Study on takeback in the clothing retail sector in Germany
- Translation of a Study on EU CE actors by l’Orée (French CE association)
See Testimonials Page and Client list.
Relevant qualifications
- Background: corporate responsibility, internal communications and chief of staff roles at major energy firm in London and Paris over 8 years
- Certified consultant at Circulab since 2015, a global network of licensed facilitators in 20 countries, in all continents, sharing one workspace.
- Co-designed and delivered workshops on CE for over 20 organisations, including universities, corporates, SMEs, non- or social profits, across Europe
- Attended major conferences and events: Helsinki WFCE 2019, Circle Economy in Amsterdam in 2019 and Cradle to Cradle‘s 2020 conference in Berlin
- Co-founding member of a sustainability consultancy (2y, also in Supervisory Board), familiar with start-up scene and setting up a business
- From Linear to Circular course, Ellen MacArthur Foundation; 2-day Ecodesign course at Fraunhofer Institut, IZM, Berlin; 2-day permaculture course, Brandenburg (2020)
- Photo exhibition on dustbins and waste shown in Paris and Berlin in a dozen spaces, including the City of Paris (+1k visitors)
- First-class degree from Oxford University (MA Oxon) in Modern Languages
- Trilingual with strong understanding of UK, French and German cultures, with 8 years spent in Germany in 5 cities, 20 years in Paris and 15 in the UK.
- International awareness: solo travel around the globe for 1y, from Taillinn to Goa, 1 mth volunteer in 2 NGOs (ecotourism & handicap) in Hanoi, Vietnam, 2012-13.
See also: Testimonials.