Euronews’ Isabelle Kumar spoke to Ellen MacArthur in The Global Conversation first aired 31 July 2014. After battling towering waves alone at sea, she broke the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe in 2005, Ellen MacArthur returns with a new challenge: accelerate the transition to an eco-friendly circular economy.
During the interview, Ellen MacArthur also engages with Euronews’ online audience by answering questions submitted via #AskMacArthur.
On the circular economy:
“I think one of the most interesting elements of the European Commission’s work around the circular economy, is that they are looking at taking, for example, the eco-design directive, which is very much focused on the energy consumption of products, and saying how do we take that further to look at what sits within products, the recyclability of products of course, but actually that lies within the fact that the products are designed to be recycled, they’re designed to be regenerated, they are designed to be remanufactured, so its opening up much more to look at the whole system, rather than just the energy element.”
About the adrenalin:
“There’s a lot of adrenalin in both worlds. How does that adrenalin compare? When you sail around the world there is massive adrenalin, you fear for your life, but ultimately, it does not matter. If it all goes wrong, it’s just you, it’s your family, the implications on your family and friends, but ultimately it’s just you, it doesn’t really matter, and you do it for you because that’s your goal. This isn’t for me, this is something much larger, this is a massive challenge for all of us moving forwards. If there is a reason for adrenalin to be higher in this, well its because actually, this matters, our global economy really matters.”