Winter is coming

Hi everyone,

As winter is approaching, I hope you are OK and that your home is well insulated. With the energy prices still going up, my father told me that in 2022, the governments invited their population to turn their heaters down a notch and to wear turtleneck pullovers to reduce energy consumption and avoid power outages. That was their official answer to a geopolitical and environmental issue... Hard to believe from my time in 2032.

Now, home insulation is a no-brainer as it is needed during winter and as well in summer so we don't spend the summer months in 'oven-like' homes. In most countries, people finally realized they could radically improve their home insulation by changing their way of considering specific waste streams.

You probably don't know which type of waste I'm talking about, as it is not common in 2022. Millions of tons of it were still thrown away until around 2025 in most countries... I'm talking about straw... not the plastic ones! The one from the fields!

Yes, straw insulation became the norm in 2025. With the energy crisis in Europe, it was not possible anymore to import or produce oil-based materials and massive efforts were needed to insulate homes. Straw appeared like the perfect solution: it is very cheap, produced locally, plentiful, it captures CO2 (up to 20 tons per house), creates local jobs and is one of the best performing insulation materials. Now, you can even see full straw bale houses as wood is very rare in Europe!

As my dad says, when you face a problem, transform the constraints into opportunities - and you will get your solutions!

Enjoy this energy-dedicated newsletter!
Josephine

Blinded by the lights

Cheap and expendable fossil fuel energy has been the lifeblood of our take, make and dispose economy.

The current energy crisis is shining a spotlight on the fragility of this economic model already weakened by material shortages, supply chain disruption and the collapse of natural ecosystems.

Could it signal the end of an era? Do we have alternatives to fossil fuels? And is recycling actually a solution to sustain the consumerism-driven world?

Joanna Henderson, Manager and Founder of Blue Dot, expert in energy transition and Circulab community member, dived into the implications of the energy crisis for businesses and citizens in our latest blog post.

👏 Huge success for the annual convention on zero single-use plastic by the City of Paris.
For the past three years, the City of Paris has been federating an ever-growing network of players working to make the city a territory free of single-use plastics by the time of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Over 300 representatives from hotel, restaurant, retail, culture, sport and many other industries came together on October 5th for a conference at the City Hall followed by an afternoon of visits through host locations leading by example all over Paris. This day was the occasion for the City to report on the work carried out throughout the year, with support from Circulab.

🐍 Proudly supporting the 7th edition of Biomim'Expo.
We were delighted to renew our support to the leading event on biomimicry and bio-inspired innovations that was held this week in Paris and gathered experts and players from all scientific disciplines and all sectors of activity.

📺 TV show dedicated to Circular Economy on B SMART.
Circulab's General Manager Justine Laurent was invited by the French economy and finance channel B SMART to speak about circular economy ecosystems and strategies at a SMART@WORK show. ➜ Watch the full roundtable discussion with Circulab, Bluedigo, Slean and Manutan here (in French).

What are the community members up to?

🎤 Unlocking branding opportunities with circular design by Marc-André Allard and Marina Mariani, Lonsdale. "A brand that communicates responsibly must above all make its words and actions consistent, without concealing, without omitting, in total transparency". In our latest blog post, we sat down with the leading branding and design agency's team certified to deploy Circulab's method, to find out how circular design can contribute to building a coherent, efficient and sustainable brand. ➜ Read the full interview here.

🎧 Learning from nature to create the future we actually want by Michel Wolfstirn. Circulab community member from Norway and Circulab Academy's trainer on biomimicry spoke to Stories for the Future Podcast about a career that led him from working in the oil industry to practicing and teaching biomimicry. ➜ Listen to Michel's podcast.

🎧 The good, the bad and the ugly of the recycling by Colienne Regout. Most of the time, people think their packaging will be recycled... What if it was not the case? What if it was more like the Wild West? Or should we say, the « Wild Waste »? In her latest podcast Colienne, Circulab community member based in Canada, explores the shadowy world of waste management. ➜ Listen to Colienne's podcast.