Engagement Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Anna Queralt Fuentes is a member of the circular design team at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Here, she is responsible for engaging with organizations and communities of creatives and supporting a network of designers who share best practices, ideas, and knowledge to co-shape a circular future.
A qualified constructing architect and civil engineer, Anna has specialized in sustainable cities and previously worked at Zero Waste Europe in Brussels, Belgium. In this role, she managed the People’s Design Lab EU project and organized redesign challenges with the purpose of co-creating products, services, and systems that fit into the circular economy. A multilingual professional, Anna has worked in Barcelona, Spain; earned her master’s degree in engineering in Copenhagen, Denmark; and now resides in the UK.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010 with the aim of accelerating the transition to the circular economy, I.e. economy that is restorative and regenerative by design. Since its creation, the charity has emerged as a global thought leader, putting the circular economy on the agenda of decision-makers around the world. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s work focuses on seven key areas: insight and analysis; business; institutions, governments, and cities; systemic initiatives; circular design; learning; and communications.
With its Knowledge Partners (Arup, Dragon Rouge, IDEO, and SYSTEMIQ), the Foundation works to quantify the economic opportunity of a more circular model and to develop approaches for capturing its value. The Foundation collaborates with its Global Partners (BlackRock, Danone, DS Smith, Google, H&M Group, Intesa Sanpaolo, Philips, Renault, SC Johnson, Solvay, Unilever), Core Philanthropic Partners (SUN, MAVA, players of People’s Postcode Lottery (GB), SUN, The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation), and its CE100 network (businesses, universities, emerging innovators, governments, cities, affiliate organizations), to build capacity, explore collaboration opportunities, and develop circular business initiatives.
Designing for the circular economy
Design is key to the transition towards the circular economy. So, how can we intentionally design for it? In this session, you will learn about the principles of the circular economy, why design is crucial for its acceleration and what type of mindset and strategies we need in order to start the journey. Along with the talk, I will share some examples of what can circular design look like as well as tools and resources to move from theory to practice.
