Circular Economy in the Creative Industries
Webinar Time: 26th February 2025 at 12:00–13:30 UTC.

London (GMT): 12:00–13:30
New York (EST): 07:00–08:30
Berlin (CET): 13:00–14:30
Beijing (CST): 20:00–21:30
Sydney (AEDT): 23:00–00:30 (+1 Day)

Via Zoom

Check your local time here: timeanddate.com

Introduction

Join The Centre for Sustainable Design® (CfSD) at the University for the Creative Arts and the Cumulus Association for webinar covering Circular Economy (CE) in the Creative Industries. The aims of the webinar are to share current research, knowledge and experience related to CE and the Creative Industries, and gain insights into CE from creative disciplines within higher education. The webinar will also highlight examples of successful circular practices in the Creative Industries.

To better understand progress across the Creative Industries, CfSD is conducting research in 2025 to identify key gaps in the Creative Industries’ transition to a CE. This research will provide actionable recommendations for businesses, academia, and policymakers to foster innovation and sustainability across the sector. Initial findings will be presented at the webinar.

Background

The Creative Industries (including advertising, architecture, crafts, design and designer fashion, film, TV, gaming, software, publishing, music, and the performing and visual arts) are a driver of global economic activity, while also shaping culture and society. In recent years, the Creative Industries have started to recognise climate change impacts, but CE is emerging as an important approach to meeting growing regulatory, consumer and media pressures to reduce waste and increase resource efficiency.

Over 70 countries have national Circular Economy (CE) plans and strategies and the European Commission has passed two Circular Economy Actions Plans (CEAP) in 2015 and 2020. However, explicit CE links to the Creative Industries and sub sectors are limited, and the response by companies and universities in the sector is fragmented.

CE is an enabler of sustainable development and contributes to a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG12 ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’. However, until recently, there has not been a globally agreed definition. ISO59004 was launched in May 2024 and defines CE as an “economic system that uses a systemic approach to maintain a circular flow of resources, by recovering, retaining or adding to their value, while contributing to sustainable development”. This definition and an explanation of related terminology now starts to give guidance to organisations within the Creative Industries – including universities – on where to start. Notable examples where CE is being implemented include reducing textile waste in fashion, and reuse of costumes, sets, and props in theatre, and repurposing electronic equipment used in film and TV.

While CE has gained some traction in fashion, live music events, and theatre, its adoption in other creative sub-sectors remains limited. Hence, there is a need to identify ‘state of the art’ activities and lessons learnt related to CE in creative universities’ research, teaching, and academic programmes, and assess future opportunities and challenges that need to be overcome. For example:

• Research and knowledge transfer, CE offers a new lens for exploring solutions to waste issues in a broad range of creative practices. Interdisciplinary projects can uncover innovative approaches to circular design, waste reduction, and sustainable material use, fostering partnerships with industry and providing actionable insights into real-world challenges.
• PhD research can investigate barriers to CE in specific creative disciplines or its integration with technologies like AI (e.g., the difficulty in measuring the effectiveness of CE initiatives in virtual production environments in filmmaking).
• In teaching, CE principles enhance curricula by focusing on reuse and recycling in creative projects and inspiring student initiatives that connect theory with practice.
• Operationally, CE supports sustainable management of resources, such as stage props and electronic waste, leading to cost savings and stronger sustainability credentials.

Objectives

The webinar will:

• Introduce Circular Economy concepts: Provide a clear understanding of Circular Economy principles and their relevance to the Creative Industries.
• Showcase case studies: Present real-world examples from fashion, theatre and live events of CE in action, highlighting gaps in understanding and practice across the sector as a whole.
• Present prior and upcoming research: Share recent research and experiences from CfSD and encourage input to future research from Cumulus association members.
• Discuss challenges and opportunities: Explore barriers and opportunities for embedding CE principles in education and practice in creative disciplines.

Agenda

12:00 – Welcome and Introductions
Eija Salmi, Secretary General, Cumulus Association
Daniel Barcza, Head of Sustainability and Professor, at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design
Professor Martin Charter, Director, CfSD at UCA

12:20 – Building Bridges to a Circular Future: a brief introduction to the Circular Economy and its significance for the sub-sectors of the Creative Industries
Professor Martin Charter, Director, CfSD at UCA

12:30 – Closing the Gaps in Circular Understanding in 2025: Review what we have discovered so far, and emerging questions that relate to education.
Dr. Trevor Davis, Trevor Davis & Associates Ltd

12:50 – Interactive Panel Discussion and Q&A
Professor Martin Charter, Director, CfSD at UCA

13:20 – Closing Remarks
Professor Martin Charter, Director, CfSD at UCA

13:30 – Close

Audience

This event is relevant to members of the Cumulus Association as well as Creative Industries stakeholders, including educators, researchers, and practitioners in the sector.

Registration

The event is free of charge, but you will need to register by sending your name, job title and organisation to rcarruthers@uca.ac.uk. On receipt, you will be sent a confirmation and directions on how to join the webinar.

Funding

Funding for this project is from the Research England Strategic Priorities Fund. Research England is part of UK Research and Innovation, a public body funded by the UK government. For more information visit www.ukri.org or re.ukri.org.