Diving into the Circular Economy

In this episode, we explore the dynamic world of the circular economy—a concept transforming how businesses think about sustainability, resources, and long-term value creation.

Join Catherine Beare, Regional Director for Business Assurance at Intertek (UK & Iberia), as she speaks with Emilce Romarion, Senior Sustainability Consultant at Intertek Assuris (Argentina), who brings years of hands-on experience in life cycle assessments, GHG accounting, and decarbonization strategies across diverse industries.

Together, they break down the fundamentals of the circular economy, discuss why it’s gaining global momentum, and share insights on how companies can begin shifting from linear models to more circular, regenerative systems.

Speakers:

• Catherine Beare- Regional Director - Business Assurance (UK & Iberia)
• Emilce Romarion- Sustainability Consultant, Quality, Intertek Assuris 

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Transcript

00:16 --> 01:46
Speaker 1 – Catherine Beare, Regional Director - Business Assurance (UK & Iberia)
Hello and welcome to this podcast, where today we are going to dive into the extremely interesting topic on circular economy.
I'm Catherine Beare, the regional director for business assurance in the UK and Iberia for Intertek. And I'm delighted to be joined by my colleague based in Argentina, Emilce Romarion, who is our senior sustainability consultant for our Assuris business. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Now Emilce has worked in sustainability for many years with extensive experience in both life cycle assessments, GHG accounting, and also decarbonization strategies. She has conducted analysis and verifications for a wide range of industries and has also been deeply involved in circular economy implementation.
Now, Emilce, the circular economy is gaining lots of momentum globally as businesses look for smarter, more sustainable models. So, today I'm really keen to explore what this shift means and how companies can start adapting. So, let's kick off with my first question. How would you define the circular economy in a simple way?

01:46 --> 02:23
Speaker 2 – Emilce Romarion, Sustainability Consultant, Quality, Intertek Assuris
Thank you so much. First of all, for your invitation to this podcast.
In response to your first question, in a simple way, I will say that a circular economy is a way of making and using things in a way that maximize the use of resources. So, instead of throwing things away after use, we try to reuse it, repair it, recycle it and find new uses for materials and products.
This way, we generate less waste and protect the environment and help build a more sustainable future.

02:23 --> 02:38
Speaker 1 – Catherine Beare, Regional Director - Business Assurance (UK & Iberia)
Excellent. I mean that is very clear, in terms of the end goal without a doubt.
Now, why is it so important at this time? What's the big focus? Why has this become such an important topic?

02:38 --> 03:28
Speaker 2 – Emilce Romarion, Sustainability Consultant, Quality, Intertek Assuris
OK. That's a very good question. And, I can say that is because right now we are consuming the planet's resources faster than they can be regenerated.
So, I think it's shocking, we just destruct, produce, and throw away so much that is causing climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity. And in this way, the circular economy, I think, will help us to reduce pressure on natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build more resilient and efficient system. Besides, it's not just good for the planet, it also opens up new business opportunities. I mean, it could create green jobs and help companies save money by being more resource efficient.

03:28 --> 03:42
Speaker 1 – Catherine Beare, Regional Director - Business Assurance (UK & Iberia)
Excellent, which is the end goal that most people are looking to achieve
So, lets talk about how is it actually applied in practice.

03:42 --> 05:04
Speaker 2 – Emilce Romarion, Sustainability Consultant, Quality, Intertek Assuris
Great. That's a very great challenge. It shows in many ways.  I can say, for example by designing products that last longer and are easier to repair or recycle, we all know how the new era of buying a throwaway is devastating the planet. So it is time to go back to the old culture, where appliances lasted for years and years and could be repaired.
Another point is that we could use recycle and renewable materials, establish take back or reuse programs, and also turn waste into new materials, for example, such as the food scraps into compost or by-products into new productions chains.
I would also like to tell the listening audience that last year a new set of international standard was published--the ISO 59,000 family. This standard helps organizations map their circularity, assess their current practices, and develop action plans to move towards a more circular system.
They help bring clarity and structure to what can sometimes seem an abstract concept.

05:04 --> 05:41
Speaker 1 – Catherine Beare, Regional Director - Business Assurance (UK & Iberia)
Yeah. And I think that is one of the important parts, if I may interject, and say that I think you're right. It's how it becomes from being abstract to something that they actually understand how to apply, and where they start thinking of it.
So I guess with that in mind, what first step would you recommend to a company or an individual that wants to start implementing the circular economy? Where do they begin? What is it they sit down and practically do?

05:41 --> 07:54
Speaker 2 – Emilce Romarion, Sustainability Consultant, Quality, Intertek Assuris
In the beginning, my recommendations will be based on this ISO standand. This first step, is to carry out a diagnostic.  Just like you will go to a doctor to understand your health before deciding on a treatment. In the case of a company or project, this diagnostic helps identify the current situation and areas for improvement.
So, I should mention four key aspect that can be evaluated. The 1st point covers the material input flows, or in simpler words analyzes the material being used. You can ask the questions: Do they come from recycling or reused sources? Are they virgin materials?  This helps assess the dependency on new resources and the potential to close the loop from the start.
The 2nd point, the evaluation could be about the material output flows, so you can evaluate the waste generated. The questions for this point could be: How much of it can be reused or recycled, even if the company doesn't reuse it directly? Does it have the potential to be used by someone else?
Then the 3rd point, the energy can be evaluated and here you can consider: How much of the energy used comes from renewable sources? and also, whether recovered energy or co-product energy is used?
And finally, the fourth point, water could be evaluated. At this point, water used can be reviewed through indicators such as reduction of water consumption, water we use, on site water recycling, or off site water recycling.
So, after completing this diagnostic, it is possible to create a clear action plan to identify where to act and implement improvements in circularity. This allows the organization to prioritize efforts, set measurable goals, and track progress over time.

07:54 --> 10:27
Speaker 1 – Catherine Beare, Regional Director - Business Assurance (UK & Iberia)
Excellent. I'm just thinking when I'm listening to you. It's interesting because the organizations can put practical steps in place, but they really need to work through the concept of this but so much opportunity.
Thank you, Emilce.
That was fantastic knowledge on the circular economy and some great advice on first steps. This is a topic I think we could talk about all day.
So listen out, as I'm sure we will have many more of these podcasts to come.
As a reminder, here's how Intertek can help you with your circular economy next steps.
Firstly, we can do something called circularity diagnostics. We assess material flows and identify opportunities to reduce waste, improve resource efficiencies, and close loops in your operations.
Secondly, we can conduct life cycle assessments. We conduct product and organizational LCAs to measure environmental impacts and support eco design and decision making.
And finally, GHG assurance, where we can help you quantify your greenhouse gas emissions or we can verify your GHG to align with global climate frameworks and actually, sorry one more.
Circular strategy development. We co-create actionable circular economy road maps, integrating innovation, policy and sustainability goals into your business models. So excellent strategy consulting support that we can provide on that side.
For more information, please do go and visit our website: www.intertek.com/assuris/sustainability.
So, that concludes today's podcast Emilce.
Thank you so much again for joining me today, and for sharing your valuable contributions with our listeners. And thank you, the listeners, for joining us today and do watch out for more episodes from the Assuris team to help with your sustainability journey.