Mentor: Emma Burlow - Circular Economy Expert

Introducing Emma Burlow from Resource Futures. Emma has worked in sustainability, waste, and the Circular Economy for over twenty years. She brings an absolute wealth of experience to Sustainability Entrepreneur students.

Hi Emma, tell us a bit about your work and how you found yourself in the Circular Economy niche?

I’ve been a business advisor for around 20 years, always working to support businesses of all sizes, as well as Government initiatives like WRAP and Zero Waste Scotland. I ended up working in the Circular Economy because I was a part of the waste minimisation and resource efficiency movement. Circular Economy is the evolution of these movements. It’s all about helping businesses to transition their models and better understand their potential, not just regarding waste reduction. Some successful models I’ve worked on include refurbishing, repairing, renting, and reusing. Many years of involvement have helped me to develop a real specialism.

What are your main motivations for driving a circular economy?

I like to think that businesses can continue to grow while actually reducing their impact on the environment. The Circular Economy offers loads of opportunities, rather than restrictions. I’ve engaged in the Circular Economy because the more times you get your products back, the more times you can sell a service, whilst having an ever-decreasing impact. This is a more sustainable approach.

What would you like to accomplish over the next few years?

Professionally, I’d like to see a lot more awareness-raising at all levels of companies, not just at board level. I don’t think boards of Directors are filtering information down enough and there’s not enough Circular Economy training as a whole.

I want to see people at managerial and shop-floor levels engaging in the Circular Economy and bringing great ideas forward. Skilled and engaged people are going to bring the solutions, so I want to embed the Circular Economy by working directly with businesses. I want to translate Circular Economy into business action, rather than talking about the topic academically. I want to present the question ‘What would a circular version of your product or service look like?’

What do you bring to the Sustainability Entrepreneur table?

My experience with many businesses is invaluable. I’m Head of Circular Economy, all day every day. I’m really lucky to have that role as not many environmental consultancies have introduced it. I have more than 20 years of experience in this field, developing a deep understanding of what makes startups successful; I’ve worked with so many projects in this space.

I have so many learnings to share. I mentor through the Circular Economy Club already and they’re very grateful for all the examples I bring from a variety of sectors. I have a library of examples I’ve built over 20 years which saves people doing research, and I bring a wonderful knowledge of the marketplace.

Find Emma on LinkedIn @emmaburlow

Find Emma on Twitter @emmaburlow