Catherine is talking to Michael Smith, General Partner of Regeneration.VC, an investment fund set up earlier in 2022 that is investing in solutions addressing the climate emergency.

The Regeneration.VC advisory board includes Bill McDonough, one of the early and leading thinkers on the circular economy, and co-author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. The board also includes Leonardo di Caprio, Academy Award®-winning actor, producer, and activist, and a longtime champion of global environmental issues.

Michael explains how Regeneration.VC is focusing on potential game changers – for example, those using biomimetic approaches to innovation for materials, or on new recycling technology – and why it’s important to focus on regenerative innovations, as well as circular models.

We hear about Regeneration.VC’s investment strategy, which looks at new ventures through 3 lenses: design (systems and materials inspired by natural processes), use (circular brands and products) and reuse (technologies repurposing materials and products).

Michael shares highlights of a few of the companies in the portfolio and explains why he thinks they are such exciting investments.

Podcast host Catherine Weetman is a circular economy business advisor, workshop facilitator, speaker and writer.  Her award-winning book: A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business includes lots of practical examples and tips on getting started.  Catherine founded Rethink Global in 2013, to help businesses use circular, sustainable approaches to build a better business (and a better world).

Stay in touch for free insights and updates… 

Read on for a summary of the podcast and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention.

 Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast series on iTunes, Google Podcasts, PlayerFM, Spotify, TuneIn, or search for “circular economy” in your favourite podcast app.  Stay in touch to get free insights and updates, direct to your inbox…

You can also use our interactive, searchable podcast index to find episodes by sector, by region or by circular strategy. Plus, there is now a regular Circular Economy Podcast newsletter, so you get the latest episode show notes, links and transcript delivered to your inbox on Sunday morning, each fortnight. The newsletter includes a link to the episode page on our website, with an audio player. You can subscribe by clicking this link to update your preferences.

• A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business – buy from any good bookseller, or direct from the publisher Kogan Page, which ships worldwide (free shipping to UK and US) and you can use discount code CIRCL20 to get 20% off. It’s available in paperback, ebook and Kindle. If you buy it from online sources, make sure you choose the new edition with an orange cover!
  
• Sign up to get the podcast player and shownotes for each new episode emailed to your inbox
  
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/regenerationvc/
  
• Website: https://regeneration.vc   
  
• Wall Street Journal – https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-markets-reel-startups-hope-for-flat-rounds-11654768801
  
• Forbes – https://www.forbes.com/sites/douglasyu/2022/04/22/leonardo-dicaprio-backed-climate-fund-regenerationvc-closes-45-million-to-bring-sustainability-across-omnichannel/?sh=798194b211bf and https://www.forbes.com/sites/annefield/2022/04/20/with-leonardo-dicaprio-as-an-advisor-45-million-circularregenerative-economy-fund-launches/?sh=4255e457001d
  
• Protocol – https://www.protocol.com/climate/regeneration-vc-leonardo-dicaprio
  
• Impact – https://readtheimpact.com/the-leo-dicaprio-backed-circular-economy-driven-vc/
  
• Regeneration.VC impact report https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/regeneration.vc/assets/documents/Impact-Report_compressed-1.pdf
  
• Recommended guest Yael Shermer, co-founder of Tulu.io – https://tulu.io/
  Episode 43 Richard James MacCowan on Biomimicry – the Biomimicry Innovation Lab has a mission to inspire and share how the natural world can deliver unique solutions by radically reducing the need for resources. We talk about different aspects of biomimicry and how it can inform the design of objects, systems and much more. https://www.rethinkglobal.info/episode-43-richard-james-maccowan-of-biomimicry-innovation-lab/
  

Michael Smith is a General Partner of Regeneration.VC, investing in solutions addressing the climate emergency. In addition to investing in over 30 companies prior to this role, he brings years of environmental organizing experience, having formed Ponvalley, an environmental initiative comprised of philanthropy, research and impact investments and Shared Mission, an emergency climate summit with Former US Vice President Al Gore and General Wesley Clark, the Department of Energy and Harvard.

Previously, he founded and operated media and real estate businesses, including Smith Broadcasting (sold to Boston Ventures), LA & SF real estate firm, Creative Space (exited) and global music provider, The Playlist Generation (exited), after touring as an international DJ opening for artists such as Rihanna, Guns N Roses and Kanye West.

Click here to open the transcript…

Want to find out more about the circular economy?

If you’d like to learn more about the circular economy and how it could help your business, why not listen to Episode 1, or read our guide: What is the Circular Economy? 

To go deeper, you could buy Catherine’s book, A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business. This comprehensive guide uses a bottom-up, practical approach, and includes hundreds of real examples from around the world, to help you really ‘get’ the circular economy.  Even better, you’ll be inspired with ideas to make your own business more competitive, resilient and sustainable. 

Please let us know what you think of the podcast – and we’d love it if you could leave us a review on iTunes, or wherever you find your podcasts.  Or send us an email…

Thanks to Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow, otherwise known as the brilliant, inventive and generous folk duo, O’Hooley & Tidow for allowing me to use the instrumentals from the live version of Summat’s Brewin’ as music for the podcast. You can find the whole track (inspired by the Copper Family song “Oh Good Ale”) on their album, also called Summat’s Brewin’.  Or, follow them on Twitter.

23rd October 2022


Circular economy


social value


sustainability

Does circular mean it’s sustainable? Or, are companies just using circular economy solutions to grow their business (and their footprints)? In this episode, I want to shine a light on something that’s been worrying me. Over the last few years, I’ve come to realise that the circular economy is not fit for purpose. It’s not helping create the future we…

9th October 2022


biomimicry


Circular economy


plastics


regeneration

Simon Hombersley, CEO of Xampla, shares the story of how this Cambridge University spin-out has created the world’s first plant protein material for commercial use, pioneering the replacement of the most polluting plastics with natural alternatives. Xampla’s ambition is to become the leader in natural polymers, and it’s been developing its natural polymer resin over the past 15 years. The…

25th September 2022


Circular economy


mobility


rental

Alexandra Rico-Lloyd is one of the UK’s circular economy entrepreneurs, and is passionate about inspiring the next generation to get active and outdoors. Alexandra says there are over 12.5 million unused kids bikes, just in the UK. That spurred her on to create Bike Club back in 2016, to provide a better way to cycle; better for the environment, better…

11th September 2022


Circular economy


recycling


social value

Professor Veena Sahajwalla, founder of UNSW SMaRT Centre, is an internationally recognised materials scientist, engineer, and inventor who is revolutionising recycling science. In 2018, Veena launched the world’s first e-waste MICROfactorieTM and in 2019 she launched her plastics and Green Ceramics MICROfactoriesTM, another breakthrough for recycling technology. Veena unpacks the concepts of micro-factories and micro-recycling, and we hear why it’s…

28th August 2022


Circular economy


social value


sustainability

We explore a different way of thinking, about how business fits into our society and economy. Jennifer Hinton is a systems researcher and activist in the field of sustainable economy. Her work focuses on how societies relate to profit and how that relationship affects global sustainability challenges. Jennifer started developing this theory in the book How on Earth, which outlines…



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