Author Archives: Elaine Butler

Click on this link to read the full article on Circular Economy Opportunities, which was originally published in the Building Services Engineering magazine in November 2022. Elaine

Despite the latest IPCC report declaring it’s now or never to stop a climate catastrophe, some companies are still engaging in petty shenanigans. In an effort to reduce E-waste the EU brought in a law requiring all electronic devices sold in the EU to have a universal charge port. Seems sensible? Yes? Despite this eminentlyContinue reading “Newsletter March 23”

Has anyone else noticed the raft of sustainability jobs on LinkedIN? 2923, as of this morning! As tighter emission target and ESG reporting legislation starts to bite companies are starting to realise that they need to start taking their environmental impact seriously. This is a trend that’s only going to get stronger and EU legislationContinue reading “Newsletter Feb 2023”

I recently got a chance to have a thorough look through the Climate Action Plan 2023, which was published on the 21st of Dec. Some sections are quite well developed with clear, concrete targets but the Circular Economy chapter is totally underwhelming. Very reactionary, too focused on downstream solutions, i.e. waste management and no futureContinue reading “Newsletter January 2023”

I’m so saddened to announce the death of a dear friend and colleague, Mr Bill Vernon, secretariat of the Irish Wood and Interiors Network. I met Bill while researching for my Masters in 2019 and straight away was blown away by his knowledge and generosity of spirit. Hands down he was the one of theContinue reading “Newsletter Dec 22”

  This week I met a familiar friend, the idea vampire. You’ll know them too. They’re someone who takes an idea and sucks the life out of it by outlining all of the reasons it won’t work. They’re often right, but they miss the point. Being right, about the here and now, doesn’t mean they’reContinue reading “Newsletter November 22”

September was a whirlwind and so a I didn’t get a newsletter out. Plus there also wasn’t much news so rather than waste your time I decided to hold off on publishing until October. I was also very busy with the start of the EPA funded Circular Upholstery Textile project that I’m working on withContinue reading “Newsletter October 22”

There’s a flurry of invitations to conferences and webinars this Autumn. It’s good to see, as long as they share valuable information and don’t become echo-chambers of what we already know. I’m long enough in the game to be able to judge the quality of a webinar by the speaker list. I’ve been to aContinue reading “Newsletter August 2022”

This month what might seem like the biggest news story, the signing of the Circular Economy Act into law in Ireland , won’t really impact progressive companies. If you’ve been waiting for a piece of legislation to oblige you to sort your waste streams or incentivise reusable packaging then you’re not the type of company who’llContinue reading “Newsletter July 2022”

I’m delighted to be announcing that a Circular Design and Economy project that I’m involved in is launching next week. Headed by the Irish Wood and Interiors Network (IWIN) this government funded project will provide a framework to develop new circular products and circular business models aimed at increasing the value, use and life ofContinue reading “Launch of Circular Upholstery Textiles Project in Ireland”