Circular Economy Podcast

What if a circular packaging solution could fit seamlessly into existing systems, provide a better user experience, and deliver important sustainability benefits? Victor Ljungberg is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Meadow, a Stockholm-based startup that is collaborating with major packaging companies to provide refillable, recyclable solutions for big brands. Meadow's packaging solution transforms aluminium beverage cans into refillable cartridges combined with reusable dispensers. The system aims to reduce single-use packaging and plastic waste, by leveraging aluminium's high recyclability and low material use. Meadow’s system focuses on convenience and premium user experience, and is designed to be scalable and compatible with existing supply chains. Victor Ljungberg is an entrepreneurial leader with a background in marketing and sales, and a passion for social impact. Victor is also a founding board member at Sparks Generation, a social impact platform that helps young people discover and explore their passions, to avoid isolation and fight mental illness. The MEADOW KAPSUL™ offers a lightweight, user-friendly alternative to linear packaging across multiple industries, including personal care, beauty, food, and beverages. We’ll hear how partnering with global leaders like Ball Corporation enables Meadow to deliver scalable, sustainable packaging solutions that combine environmental impact reduction with enhanced consumer experience.

We’re all seeing how geoeconomic tensions are affecting the supply of key resources, including mined minerals and fuels together with food and other biological resources. My guest, Dr Jack Barrie, is the lead author of a recent World Economic Forum white paper, The Future of Materials Systems: cooperation opportunities in a Multipolar World. In the context of today’s world of competing regions and powers - where the multilateral system is really struggling to make progress – Jack and his contributors set out to answer an important question: how do we keep progress going? Dr Jack Barrie is an independent global advisor and researcher specialising in the circular economy, with more than 15 years’ experience working at the intersection of policy, international trade, and material value chains. Most recently, Jack led the Global Materials Collaboration at the World Economic Forum, developing scenarios for international cooperation on materials and circularity to support economic resilience, climate action, and nature-positive outcomes. He has held several global advisory roles, including as a member of the UK Government Circular Economy Task Force and as a specialist advisor to UNECE on ESG traceability of sustainable value chains in the circular economy. Jack is also a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Global Circularity Protocol. He holds a PhD in circular economy innovation policy from the University of Strathclyde, alongside further degrees from the University of Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh, and Aalborg University. We’ll discuss the findings of the World Economic Forum white paper, including its key recommendations and how we make those tangible. Jack also shares some surprising insights about how governments are using the circular economy, and why he sees some of those strategies as deeply problematic.