What do you do when something you own, say a toaster, breaks? You’ve usually got two options: fix it, or replace it. It often feels like replacing an item is easier than repairing it, and the most cost-effective solution. But in a circular economy, we want goods and materials to stay in circulation at high value for as long as possible. So how does that work ... Show More
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
May 2022
Repair, Repurpose, Reimagine
"Reduce, reuse, recycle." We've heard that for decades - but does it work? This hour, TED speakers reimagine the well-known slogan and reconsider how we think about what we consume and throw away. Guests include right-to-repair advocate Gay Gordon-Byrne, materials scientist Andre ... Show More
49m 24s
Oct 2025
Remanufacturing: Turning old parts into new opportunities
What if a product’s journey didn’t end after its first use? Remanufacturing—restoring preowned parts to perform like new—is transforming automotives, electronics, and other industries. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Senior Partner Inga Maurer and Editorial Director Robe ... Show More
20m 5s
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
Jan 2023
Repair, Repurpose, Reimagine (2022)
Original broadcast date: Friday, May 20, 2022. "Reduce, reuse, recycle." We've heard that for decades - but does it work? This hour, TED speakers reimagine the well-known slogan and reconsider how we think about what we consume and throw away. Guests include right-to-repair advoc ... Show More
50m 8s
May 2024
The Future of Sustainability: Repair, repurpose, reimagine
"Reduce, reuse, recycle." We've heard that for decades - but does it work? This hour, TED speakers reimagine the well-known slogan and reconsider how we think about what we consume and throw away. Guests include right-to-repair advocate Gay Gordon-Byrne, materials scientist Andre ... Show More
50m 9s