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What does it take to bring circular economy pilots to scale? It is now widely recognised that a circular economy approach is the only solution that can match the scale of the plastic pollution

What does it take to bring circular economy pilots to scale? It is now widely recognised that a circular economy approach is the only solution that can match the scale of the plastic pollution problem. By focusing more of their efforts on upstream innovation – at the design stage of a product rather than just via downstream efforts, such as recycling – businesses can prevent waste from ever being created in the first place.  However, for large businesses with complex supply chains and processes, it isn’t always easy to keep pace with circular innovation and to embrace new operating models. By contrast, startups that have the disruptive solutions to solve these linear challenges often lack the capital, resources or enabling networks to replicate and scale up their solutions rapidly. With a specific lens on upstream innovations for packaging and learning from recent pilot projects, this session will explore how multinationals and emerging innovators can work together to forge a path to a truly circular model, at scale.

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What if we bring entrepreneurial zeal to the challenge of responsibly addressing climate change and carbon reduction at the state level? Leveraging resources, telling the truth, and seeking better

What if we bring entrepreneurial zeal to the challenge of responsibly addressing climate change and carbon reduction at the state level? Leveraging resources, telling the truth, and seeking better collaboration between government and the private sector all offer opportunity for progress. David Giuliani is a Northwest serial entrepreneur, electrical engineer and inventor. David grew up in the semiconductor industry, designing some of the world’s first LED products. He then pivoted to medical applications, resulting in over a dozen US patents and multiple business successes. David co-invented the Sonicare(R) toothbrush, and as CEO it became the fastest growing private company in the US, before selling it to Philips Electronics. David also co-invented the Clarisonic(R) face brush, and sold that business to L’Oreal. He was the national Small Business Person of the Year, and the national Entrepreneur of the Year for manufacturing. Best of all he and his teams had fun doing it. David now applies his talents to improving society. He and Howard Behar, former Starbucks president, founded the Washington Business Alliance to solve the state’s most critical problems. The Alliance launched the Low Carbon Prosperity Institute last year, sensing the need to reframe climate issues from “win-lose” to “win-win.” David lives in Friday Harbor and in the Seattle area, and enjoys his family, nature, photography, music, and the human spirit. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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The fashion industry has observed a marked turn towards sustainability since the 2014 Rana Plaza incident in Bangladesh. Aditi Mayer, creator at Adimay.com and a labour rights activist addresses

The fashion industry has observed a marked turn towards sustainability since the 2014 Rana Plaza incident in Bangladesh. Aditi Mayer, creator at Adimay.com and a labour rights activist addresses intersectional issues within the fashion industry pertaining to questions such as how does our fashion system today continue colonial practices and how can we reimagine a new system? Aditi Mayer is a sustainable fashion blogger, photojournalist, labor rights activist, and frequent speaker on topics of social and environmental justice. Her work looks at fashion and culture through a lens of intersectionality and decolonization. After having noticed the lack of fair wages and the ill-treatment of workers in the fashion industry, Aditi decided to help change things in the fashion industry. She has become a leading voice in the sustainability movement, approaching her work from multiple domains: from grassroots organizing in Downtown LA’s garment district to educating folks on the importance of diverse perspectives. Aditi also serves on the council of Intersectional Environmentalist, and will be spending 2021 as a National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow, spending one year documenting the social and environmental impacts of India’s fashion supply chain. Aditi Mayer is a sustainable fashion blogger, photojournalist, labor rights activist, and frequent speaker on topics of social and environmental justice. Her work looks at fashion and culture through a lens of intersectionality and decolonization. After having noticed the lack of fair wages and the ill-treatment of workers in the fashion industry, Aditi decided to help change things in the fashion industry. She has become a leading voice in the sustainability movement, approaching her work from multiple domains: from grassroots organizing in Downtown LA’s garment district to educating folks on the importance of diverse perspectives. Aditi also serves on the council of Intersectional Environmentalist, and will be spending 2021 as a National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow, spending one year documenting the social and environmental impacts of India’s fashion supply chain. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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Inequality creates discontent in all societies. #RichardWilkinson explains how it leads to the illusion that the purpose of life is to get rich, and to attain status, breeding a lack of trust and

Inequality creates discontent in all societies. #RichardWilkinson explains how it leads to the illusion that the purpose of life is to get rich, and to attain status, breeding a lack of trust and concern for the community as a whole. Instead, people have become obsessed with producing and consuming. How can we change that? One way is to build more equal societies while repairing ecosystems. #JohnDLiu and Marteen Klop invite us to explore new communities based on equality and common purpose. Like seeds of a new culture, Global #EcoRestoration projects are germinating a collective intelligence that can take us to the next level of consciousness, a connectedness to Nature and each other, which is essential for any possibility of survival. https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson_how_economic_inequality_harms_societies https://globalearthrepairfoundation.org/ https://ecosystemrestorationcamps.org/ https://www.sekem.com/en/societal-life/ For more information on the state of our planet, visit the FacingFuture Library at https://facingfuture.earth/library

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