The Circular Economy Show Podcast What’s next for the circular economy in 2026?
Jan 13, 2026
Jonquil Hackenberg, CEO of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, leads the charge on circular economy initiatives. She reflects on her first year tackling pressing issues like sustainable plastics, critical minerals, and the fashion industry's waste problem. Jonquil discusses innovation in electric vehicle batteries and the potential of repurposing second-life batteries, especially for the Global South. She emphasizes the need for local infrastructure and policy changes to make circular systems a reality, advocating for collaborative efforts to drive meaningful change.
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Focused Themes To Drive Action
- Jonquil Hackenberg says the foundation focused on three high-impact themes to drive circular economy action: plastics & packaging, critical minerals, and fashion & textiles.
- She plans to scale programs, use research and convening to channel investment, and point to practical solutions.
Critical Minerals As A Circular Testbed
- Critical minerals are a testbed for circular economy approaches because they are high-value, low-volume and hit supply-chain resilience.
- Jonquil highlights EV batteries and consumer electronics as entry points to keep materials circulating and avoid new mining.
Design Battery Ownership Models
- Do design new ownership and business models for batteries, like OEMs or miners owning batteries instead of drivers.
- Do prioritise reuse, second-life markets and material circulation to delay additional mining.