162 Rachel Bronstein and Barry Waddilove: Skills for Planet from the Design Council

It’s episode 162 – we’re discussing design skills and why it’s crucial that design for circularity goes beyond the design of the product itself, to cover the materials, the customer experience, the supply chain, the collection of data for KPIs, and much more.

Helping us think about this are Rachel Bronstein, a Senior Programme Manager at the Design Council, and Barry Waddilove, who is supporting the Design Council’s “Design for Planet” initiative as a Sustainable Design Expert.

The Design Council is the UK’s national champion for design, across all design disciplines, and it aims to showcase brilliance, lead on new thinking, evidence value and influence policy, so that design can thrive. Design for Planet will feature on a global stage this September, when the Design Council hosts the World Design Congress.

The Design Council’s Skills for Planet mission aims to close a critical skills gap, highlighted when research found that while 66% of designers designed for planet, yet only 43% felt that they had the capabilities they needed. So the Skills for Planet mission is to help designers develop the skills to design places, products and services that regenerate the planet.

Rachel Bronstein is leading the delivery of Skills for Planet aiming to upskill 1 million designers in green design skills by 2030. Rachel has a multidisciplinary background from her work across the private, public and third sector.

Barry Waddilove has over 30 years’ experience in design and sustainability with brands and organizations across 25 countries. Barry has been working on circular economy projects since 2014, and most recently he’s has been working for the Swedish Consumer Electronics company Electrolux Group, as Head of Circular Economy and Partnerships in the global sustainability leadership team in Stockholm.

Rachel outlines the Skills for Planet Blueprint , co-created with over 100 design experts across industry, education and government. It provides a cross-disciplinary set of eighteen Green Design Skills across six interconnected areas: Regenerating Nature, Embedding Circularity, Eliminating Emissions, Empowering Green Communities, Influencing Green Behaviour, and Evaluating Green Impact.

We’ll hear more about the blueprint, the broader role of design in business and why it’s so important that business leaders understand the role of design and how it can support change projects, particularly around the circular economy.

We talk about the challenges in designing for circularity, and the opportunities that can come from partnerships and new business models. Barry and Rachel highlight a range of areas where design can play a key role, including making use of digital tools and data.

We discuss the importance of embracing complexity and the need for systemic approaches, and how to think about some of the conflicts and trade-offs that come up when we’re trying to design circular solutions.

International speaker, author and strategic advisor, Catherine Weetman helps people discover why circular, regenerative and fair solutions are better for people, planet – and prosperity.

Catherine’s 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.

Stay in touch for free insights and updates…

Read on for more on our guest and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention.

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Links we mention in the episode:

Links for our guest:

Rachel Bronstein on LinkedIn
Barry Waddilove on LinkedIn
The Design Council website: Make life better by design – Design Council
The Skills for Planet Blueprint webpage: Skills for Planet – Design Council

Books, people and organisations we mentioned

Episode 155 Martin Tomitsch and Steve Baty: Life-centred design https://www.rethinkglobal.info/155-martin-tomitsch-and-steve-baty-life-centred-design/

Catherine’s work:

Circular Economy Podcast on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/showcase/circular-economy-podcast/
Circular Economy Podcast website: circulareconomypodcast.com
Catherine Weetman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-weetman-9419107/
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) https://www.koganpage.com/CircEcon2
Interactive podcast index https://www.rethinkglobal.info/circular-economy-podcast-index/
Rethink Global www.rethinkglobal.info
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Guest bios

Rachel Bronstein is a Senior Programme Manager at the Design Council, the UK’s national champion for design. She is currently leading the delivery of the Design Council’s Skills for Planet Mission, which aims to upskill 1 million designers in green design skills by 2030, thereby galvanising the design sector to fulfil its potential in driving the green transition.

Having worked across the private, public and third sector, Rachel brings her multidisciplinary background to programmes at the Design Council. As a consultant, she was fortunate to work on a variety of projects – from designing a service to help streamline exports post-Brexit at the Department for International Trade, to re-defining the British Business Bank’s Employee Value Experience and transforming AVON’s customer experience.

Rachel has completed a year-long social leadership programme called On Purpose, which gave her the opportunity to transfer her skills to purpose-led organisations. Through the programme she received training on systems thinking, measuring impact, building movements, and values-led leadership. She leads programmes with a greater awareness of herself, others, and wider impact as a result.’

Barry Waddilove has 30+ years’ experience in design and sustainability with brands and organizations across 25 countries. During various roles at global corporates, he has developed deep knowledge of innovation processes and business model development. His academic research for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Cranfield University during 2014 and 2015 explored the role of System Design in Circular Business Model Development.

Most recently Barry has been working for the Swedish Consumer Electronics company Electrolux Group, first leading their US design team based in Charlotte, NC and then later joining the global sustainability leadership team in Stockholm as Head of Circular Economy and Partnerships. He is also currently supporting the UK Design Council’s “Design for Planet” initiative as a Sustainable Design Expert.

Barry holds an MDes in Design and Innovation for Sustainability from Cranfield University and is also a fellow of the RSA (The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce).

About Design Council

The Design Council is the UK’s national champion for design and is dedicated to all design disciplines. Their role is to showcase brilliance, lead on new thinking, evidence value and influence policy to create an environment in which design can thrive. This September the Design Council is hosting World Design Congress, putting its Design for Planet mission on a global stage.

About Skills for Planet
The Design Council’s Skills for Planet Mission came about in response to research, which found that while 66% of designers designed for planet in 2024, only 43% felt that they had the capabilities required to do so. This evidences a troubling gap between the demand for green design skills, and the supply.
The Design Council launched its Skills for Planet Mission to close this skills gap, setting out to upskill 1 million designers in green design skills by 2030. This work is critical because it will enable the design sector to fulfil its potential as a backbone of the green transition, powered by designers who have the skills needed to design places, products and services that regenerate the planet, rather than destroy it.

About Skills for Planet Blueprint

The skills that designers need to design for planet are defined in the Skills for Planet Blueprint. The Blueprint is the Design Council’s first milestone towards the Skills for Planet Mission, providing a shared language that enables the whole design sector to pull in the same direction and have maximum positive impact on the planet and its people.

The Blueprint was co-created with over 100 design experts across industry, education and government. The result is a cross-disciplinary set of eighteen Green Design Skills, which are organised into six interconnected areas: Regenerating Nature, Embedding Circularity, Eliminating Emissions, Empowering Green Communities, Influencing Green Behaviour, and Evaluating Green Impact.

Playlist: getting started with the circular economy…

Want to know more about the what the circular economy really is, and how it can help your business? Here’s a playlist to help you get to grips with the concept, how it creates value, and the common myths (spoiler alert – it’s much more than recycling!)

#1 What is the circular economy: A quick intro to explain what the circular economy is and why it’s important. We explore how it helps create better products and services, and at the same time helps to make a better world. I break it down into my 5 circular economy components, helping you think about each part of your business.
#2 The linear economy and your risk checklist: We dig a bit deeper into the way we do business now, the linear economy, and why that’s creating problems for business, society and our living planet. Also, we’ll look at the risks that emerge from those big-picture issues, and how they might affect your organisation.
#90 Does circular mean it’s sustainable? Catherine Weetman is worried that companies are using circular economy solutions to grow their business (and their footprints).
#101 Circular is better for people, planet and profit! How three simple strategies can help you get started with circular and regenerative solutions that are better for people, planet and profit.
#120 Priorities are changing: people find life is better when we care for and share things – circular economy strategies make that better for business, too.

And here’s Catherine’s guide: What is the circular economy?

Want to dig deeper?

Why not buy Catherine’s award-winning 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.

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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.