This event is open to both internals and externals to The University of Manchester

On Thursday 30th May 2024, Sustainable Futures will be hosting our fifth 2024 Seminar in our monthly seminar series with Dr Adeyemi Adelekan, Prof. Maria Sharmina and Dr Craig Thomas from The University of Manchester.

Indicative Agenda

14:00 - 14:05 - Introductions and Welcome.

14:05 - 14:25 - Dr Adeyemi Adelekan and Prof. Maria Sharmina, researchers from Tyndall Manchester at The University of Manchester, present 'Collaborative Business Models for a Plastics Circular Economy in the UK'.

14:25 - 14:30 - Q&A with Dr Adeyemi Adelekan and Prof. Maria Sharmina.

14:30 - 14:50 - Dr Craig Thomas, Lecturer in Environmental Governance at The University of Manchester, will present on Space and Sustainability.

14:50 - 14:55 - Q&A with Dr Craig Thomas.

14:55 - 15:00 - Closing thoughts from our seminar Chair.

15:00 - Event Close.

Talk Description

'Collaborative Business Models for a Plastics Circular Economy in the UK' | Dr Adeyemi Adelekan and Prof. Maria Sharmina

Plastics play a huge role in modern life, but their negative impact on the environment and health demands innovative solutions to mitigate their effects. In the UK, less than half of the plastics put on the market are recycled, leading to most ending up in landfills or incinerators. Research emphasizes the need for a unified household plastics collection system, integrating digital technologies to enhance sorting accuracy and value retention in mixed waste streams, thus promoting a circular economy.

However, collaborations among organizations are difficult and filled with contestations, particularly around how value is created and captured. Emerging studies have started to explore how value chain actors assess circular business models, aiming to explore sources of contestations and ways to navigate tensions to foster collaborations necessary to realize a circular economy.

Our 'One Bin to Rule Them All' project is situated within this context and involved a consortium consisting of stakeholders across the UK plastic supply chain. We employed a multi-method qualitative approach to explore the co-creation of collaborative circular business models to enable a 'One Bin system' for managing plastic waste in the UK.

In this talk, we will discuss the circular business model typologies co-created with stakeholders and the challenges associated with their implementation. We will also discuss the assessments and legitimacy judgments informing those contestations and the behaviour of value chain actors that also shape emerging circular economy institutions. The talk will end by highlighting elements important to value chain actors when assessing circular business models and discussing the implications of our findings for research and practice.

Space and Sustainability (exact talk title TBC) | Dr Craig Thomas

Talk description TBC.

Get to know our speakers

Dr Adeyemi Adelekan is a Postdoctoral Researcher at The University of Manchester. His research interests lie at the intersection of organizational strategy and sustainability transformation, focusing specifically on circular business models for plastics at Tyndall Manchester. Adeyemi draws on theories of organization and institutions to explore sustainability-related concepts, including the circular economy and net-zero transformation. His previous research employed the institutional work lens to investigate the circular economy strategies of social enterprises in Lagos, Nigeria. Aside from research, Adeyemi enjoys actively engaging in knowledge dissemination activities for impact. He regularly convenes impact-focused workshops and advises early-stage entrepreneurs organizing for sustainability across Africa and in the UK.

Prof. Maria Sharmina is Professor in Energy and Sustainability at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in the School of Engineering, University of Manchester. She is a Co-Director at Policy@Manchester, the University's sector-leading policy engagement platform. She served as Senior Academic Advisor with the Government Office for Science and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), working on the Net Zero Foresight project in 2021-2023.

Dr Craig Thomas is a Lecturer in Environmental Governance at the School of Environment, Education and Development at The University of Manchester.

This event will be hosted on Zoom. Please sign up to receive the zoom link to your inbox prior to the event.