DeepSummary
In this episode, host Katie Welland interviews Andrea Brown, the Director of Impact for Quadia, an investment manager focused on accelerating the circular and regenerative economy. Andrea discusses the growing interest in circular finance and the challenges of creating investment cases for unproven circular business models. She explains Quadia's approach of investing in companies that promote circular production and consumption, improve natural resource use, and support fair value chains.
Andrea highlights promising circular business models that provide services across the value chain, enabling brands to meet their sustainability goals. She offers advice for entrepreneurs and professionals looking to create circular solutions, emphasizing the need to address waste in the system and make connections across the value chain to facilitate circular flows of materials and products.
The conversation also touches on the concept of linear risks, which refer to risks associated with linear business models that rely on critical raw materials or face regulatory bans. Andrea stresses the importance of quantifying impact and understanding market signals to make informed investment decisions that align financial returns with positive environmental and social impact.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Circular finance is receiving increased attention due to the financing gap for scaling circular economy initiatives and the need for private and blended finance.
- Creating investment cases for unproven circular business models is a challenge, requiring consideration of future legislation, consumer trends, and brand sustainability goals.
- Promising circular business models provide comprehensive solutions across the value chain, enabling reverse logistics, impact measurement, and meeting brand sustainability targets.
- Quantifying linear risks, such as reliance on critical raw materials or exposure to regulatory bans, is important for investors evaluating existing portfolios.
- Impact investors like Quadia evaluate companies based on circular production and consumption, natural resource use, fair value chains, and community support.
- Entrepreneurs and professionals seeking to create circular solutions should address waste challenges and facilitate material loops across value chains.
- Disruptive scenarios, like the elimination of landfills, can drive innovation and force companies to rethink their approach to waste and circular solutions.
- Standardization efforts are underway to define circular finance, quantify impact, and develop a common lexicon for circular economy investments.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “And so these are the kinds of things that are being considered, you know, much like many investors are doing around stranded assets and carbon. So I would say it's a similar approach, but looking at linear risk and linear business models.“ by Andrea Brown
- “And I think what's interesting, in a way, are these win win, almost turnkey solutions, because, you know, creating a circular product is one thing, but creating all those connections across the value chain to make it work is, I think, one thing that will accelerate and create more scale on these big challenges that we have and that are really providing in a way, the unique value proposition over competitors and, yeah, I think that's one of the unique aspects that I see that seems to be the differentiator for, you know, one product over another in the market.“ by Andrea Brown
- “And so I think for me, the event would be, and I heard this at a conference recently, but basically eliminating landfills, so, you know, tomorrow they're banned everywhere. What does that mean for a company, for example, that manufacturers, they're going to have to really rethink how they view waste and what that means for how they innovate around that challenge.“ by Andrea Brown
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Episode Information
Getting In the Loop: Circular Economy | Sustainability | Closing the Loop
Katherine Whalen
7/22/19