Catherine Weetman talks to Janina Nieper, an Architect and Designer, working at Furnify, a design agency in the Netherlands.
Janina Nieper is passionate about concepts that promote the well-being of our planet and its inhabitants, including using the Circular Economy to help us stay within planetary boundaries.
At Furnify, a company dedicated to creating circular spaces, Janina is in charge of Business Development and Consulting, merging her expertise in spatial design and Circular Design. Janina wants to accelerate the Circular Economy through connecting, collaboration, and sharing, and she founded the Circular Economy Club in Amsterdam, with regular events to create a network of Circular Pioneers in Amsterdam.
Furnify is a design agency, designing interior spaces for office work, education, and other activities. Furnify aims to turn its client’s sustainable ambitions into a circular reality by offering 2nd life alternatives for new designs. Furnify’s offers four services: consulting, design, realization, and story telling.
We hear about how client needs are evolving and broadening. On top of the aesthetic and practical requirements around what do we need to do in this space – now, organisations want to reduce carbon, make a positive impact on other sustainability measures, and create healthier spaces for their teams and customers. That could include improving mental wellbeing, as well as reducing synthetic materials, chemicals like flame retardents and more.
Podcast host Catherine Weetman is a circular economy business advisor, workshop facilitator, speaker and writer. Her award-winning book: A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business includes lots of practical examples and tips on getting started. Catherine founded Rethink Global in 2013, to help businesses use circular, sustainable approaches to build a better business (and a better world).
Stay in touch for free insights and updates…
Read on for a summary of the podcast and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention.
Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast series on iTunes, Google Podcasts, PlayerFM, Spotify, TuneIn, or search for “circular economy” in your favourite podcast app. Stay in touch to get free insights and updates, direct to your inbox…
You can also use our interactive, searchable podcast index to find episodes by sector, by region or by circular strategy. Plus, there is now a regular Circular Economy Podcast newsletter, so you get the latest episode show notes, links and transcript delivered to your inbox on Sunday morning, each fortnight. The newsletter includes a link to the episode page on our website, with an audio player. You can subscribe by clicking this link to update your preferences.
Links we mention in the episode:
- A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business – buy from any good bookseller, or direct from the publisher Kogan Page, which ships worldwide (free shipping to UK and US) and you can use discount code CIRCL20 to get 20% off. It’s available in paperback, ebook and Kindle. If you buy it from online sources, make sure you choose the new edition with an orange cover!
- Sign up to get the podcast player and shownotes for each new episode emailed to your inbox
- Janina Nieper on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/janina-nieper/
- Website: www.furnify.nl
- Instagram: furnify.circular.design https://www.instagram.com/furnify.circular.design/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/furnify-amsterdam/
- Furnify’s design for client JetBrains – there are links to the background stories for each of the rooms https://jetbrains.furnify.nl/
Books, people and other links
- CEC Amsterdam https://www.circulareconomyclub.com/club/amsterdam/
- Eva Gladek of Metabolic https://www.metabolic.nl/
- Fairphone https://www.fairphone.com/en/
- Doughnut Economics Action Lab https://doughnuteconomics.org/
- Amsterdam circular economy policy https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/policy/sustainability/circular-economy/
- R ladder link https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2020/08/smaller-material-footprint-more-recycling-than-the-eu-average/circular-economy
- Visible Creative Mending – books and resources from Flora Collingwood Norris https://www.collingwoodnorrisdesign.com/
Guest bio
Janina Nieper is an Architect and Designer passionate about concepts that promote the well-being of the planet and its habitants, thus passionate about the Circular Economy as a means to stay within planetary boundaries. Driven by her passion for the Circular Economy, Janina has actively pursued knowledge and expertise in the field. She has completed various certifications and participated in workshops accredited by institutions such as TU Delft, the Circular Economy Institution, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Cambridge University.
At Furnify, a company dedicated to creating circular spaces, Janina is in charge of Business Development and Consulting, merging her expertise in spatial design with her expertise in Circular Design. Eager to accelerate the Circular Economy through connecting, collaboration, and sharing she founded the Circular Economy Club in Amsterdam, a non-profit focusing on creating a network of Circular Pioneers in Amsterdam through regular events.
Furnify creates circular spaces and turns a company’s sustainable ambitions into a circular reality by offering 2nd life alternatives for new designs. Furnify’s mission is to reduce the environmental impact of a spatial redesign without compromising aesthetics by offering four services: consulting, design, realization, and story telling. They are your circular design partner for an environmentally conscious approach to spaces.
Interview Transcript
Click here to open the transcript…
Want to find out more about the circular economy?
If you’d like to learn more about the circular economy and how it could help your business, why not listen to Episode 1, or read our guide: What is the Circular Economy?
To go deeper, you could buy Catherine’s book, A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business. This comprehensive guide uses a bottom-up, practical approach, and includes hundreds of real examples from around the world, to help you really ‘get’ the circular economy. Even better, you’ll be inspired with ideas to make your own business more competitive, resilient and sustainable.
Please let us know what you think of the podcast – and we’d love it if you could leave us a review on iTunes, or wherever you find your podcasts. Or send us an email…
Podcast music
Thanks to Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow, otherwise known as the brilliant, inventive and generous folk duo, O’Hooley & Tidow for allowing me to use the instrumentals from the live version of Summat’s Brewin’ as music for the podcast. You can find the whole track (inspired by the Copper Family song “Oh Good Ale”) on their album, also called Summat’s Brewin’. Or, follow them on Twitter.
113 Steven Bethell: systemic solutions to the crisis of stuff
112 Fiona Dear: reviving repair and reuse for our tech
111 Sara Howard: symbiotic circular ceramics
110 Katie Beverley: designing a circular economy
