Circular Design for Upstream Innovation

This session will explore how circular design can act as a powerful driver of upstream innovation, transforming value chains and building resilient, future-ready industries. It draws on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s work on the circular economy, introducing EMF’s three core principles: • Eliminating waste and pollution, • Circulating products and materials at their highest value, and • Regenerating nature. The overview will explain how these principles are applied in practice across three levels. At the product level, design decisions shape durability, repairability, and material choices from the very start. At the business model level, circular design enables new value creation through reuse, remanufacturing, and service-based models. At the system level, cross-sector collaboration, supportive policies, and shared infrastructure are critical to scaling impact.