What role do cities play in the transition to a circular economy?
Currently, cities consume of 75% of the world’s natural resources and emit 60-80% of global greenhouse gas emissions in the linear system.
It’s estimated that two thirds of the population will be living in cities by 2050, so it’s vital that cities tackle the issues of the current take, make, w ... Show More
Sep 2022
How is your city tackling the climate crisis? | Marvin Rees
"If we can unlock the full potential of our cities, we can minimize the price the planet pays for hosting us in our growing numbers," says Marvin Rees, the Mayor of Bristol, UK. Rees notes that while sustainable infrastructure already exists in many parts of the world -- like ele ... Show More
20m 9s
May 2024
Talking ESG: The challenge – and promise – of a circular economy
<p>The concept of a circular economy emphasizes reducing, reusing, repairing, and recycling to minimize waste and maximize resource use in the context of a planet with finite resources. And as you’ll hear in this episode, circularity is increasingly becoming a business issue, bot ... Show More
37m 47s
Jun 2025
The Promises, Pitfalls, and Trade-offs of the Circular Economy
Most businesses are built on a linear model: take, make, and discard. But that norm is reaching its limits, and leaders are under pressure to find smarter, more sustainable ways to operate. Weslynne Ashton is a systems scientist and professor at the Illinois Institute of Technolo ... Show More
20m 36s
Oct 2025
Can we build better cities for mental health and the climate?
Today, more than half the world’s population live in cities – and as our numbers swell, so will our cities, especially those around the Pacific Rim, where it’s predicted our largest megacities of 10 million plus will be situated. And herein lies an opportunity: 60% of the buildin ... Show More
26m 47s
Apr 2025
Amy Zhang, "Circular Ecologies: Environmentalism and Waste Politics in Urban China" (Stanford UP, 2024)
After four decades of reform and development, China is confronting a domestic waste crisis. As the world's largest waste-generating nation, the World Economic Forum projects that by 2030, the volume of household waste in China will be double that of the United States. Starting in ... Show More
1h 7m
Sep 2018
Emissions Have Already Peaked in 27 Cities—And Keep Falling
Nothing against the countryside, which is lovely, but cities are where things happen. They are magnets for trade, and they're where cultures meet. They're also where more than half the world’s population lives, a number that will only continue to grow. Cities are also now serving ... Show More
7m 28s