The key principles of Circular economy stipulate that the world’s material resources are finite, so we must:

• Design out waste and pollution from the manufacturing of products;

• Keep products and materials in use;

• Regenerate natural systems and human settlements.

In this vision resource efficiency goes hand in hand with environmental protection.

Therefore sustainability is not in contrast with economic growth, in fact it is a pre-requisite for its long term viability.

As an academic with first-hand experience in industry, Prof. Evans argues that for a business organisation to be profitable, it must in fact also be sustainable.

Our economy has long relied on a model whereby demand for growth promotes unfettered material consumption, which causes a downward spiral of natural resource depletion and pollution.

“Build back better” is the blueprint for recovery and the future after the Covid-19 pandemic but environmental challenges and climate change trends suggest that we have little time to change the direction of the global industrial system.

So what needs to happen? The question demands an urgent response.

Steve Evans wants us to rethink the entire industrial system, and the first major step is a very simple and quick one to implement: ‘being efficient’ and ‘stop doing stupid stuff’, offering hope for a future with smarter resource consumption and better lives.

Keynote Speaker’s Bio

Steve Evans is the Director of Research at the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge, leads the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Industrial Sustainability and is Fellow of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Working at the crossroads of industry and academia, his research aims at understanding how the industry can bring environmental and social sustainability concerns into its design and manufacturing practices. In his advisory and policy roles, he lays dual emphasis on urgent & practical change now and system level change that offers hope for a sustainable future.

Agenda

5.30:

-Intro by Rosario Di Dio, Founder and Leader Tech London Advocates Circular Economy Working Group

-Address by Russ Shaw, Founder and Leader, Tech London Advocates, Global Tech Advocates

5.40-6.15:

-Keynote, Prof Evans, How industrial sustainability can drive economic growth in the 21st century.

6.15:

-Q&A

6.30:

-Wrap up and close