š Circular Economy in Action: Ellen MacArthur CEO Jonquil Hackenberg on Retailās Role | CGF 2025
In this live interview recorded from the VusionGroup Podcast Studio at the Consumer Goods Forum 2025 in Amsterdam, Jonquil Hackenberg, CEO of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, shares how retailers and brands can embrace circularity to tackle waste and promote sustainability at scale. From United Nations treaty negotiations on plastic (2:30) to launching 150+ regenerative food products (4:50), and the role of retail in reshaping consumer behavior (5:15), Jonquil outlines the tools and collaborations needed to normalize circular thinking. Plus, discover how to connect with the foundation's North American team (6:00) and why affordability and cool factor are key to sustainable product adoption.
#circulareconomy #sustainability #retailinnovation #EllenMacArthurFoundation #CGF2025 #plasticwaste #regenerativeagriculture #retailleadership #zerowaste #omnitalkretail
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Transcript
Hello everyone.
Speaker A:This is Omnitalk Retail.
Speaker A:I'm Chris Walton.
Speaker B:And I'm Anne Mathinga.
Speaker A:And we are coming to you live from the Fusion booth group at the Vuzian Groups booth.
Speaker A:I just said the Vujian booths group, didn't I'm the Fusion groups booth.
Speaker A:It's the start of the morning here on Thursday in Amsterdam because we are at the Consumer Goods Forum and come on by.
Speaker A: all of our coverage from CGF: Speaker A:Now joining us today is Jonquille Hackenberg, the CEO of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Speaker A:Welcome to Omnitalk.
Speaker A:Thanks for joining us.
Speaker C:Thanks, guys.
Speaker C:Good to be here.
Speaker B:Yeah, especially since you've been on the conference circuit too, Jonquil.
Speaker B:We were just talking about that before we started.
Speaker B:It's been a couple weeks of.
Speaker C:It's just that season time, isn't it?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:So you just push on through.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Well, tell us a little bit about your background and what the Ellen MacArthur foundation is and does.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:So I'm kind of a brand new CEO.
Speaker C:I started seven months ago.
Speaker C:So Ellen MacArthur foundation has been around 15 years and it's really centered around the circular economy, normalizing and making the circular economy real across the board.
Speaker C:My background, I'm career consultant basically.
Speaker C:But I've focused on big change.
Speaker C:So big changes.
Speaker C:And there's nothing bigger really than this so exciting challenge.
Speaker A:So what brings you to CGF and what role does the Ellen MacArthur foundation play here at CGF?
Speaker C:So we have a lot of.
Speaker C:So the way Ellen MacArthur foundation works is we have a lot of partners in our network and several of those partners are here.
Speaker C:So large organizations like Unilever, like Nestle and so forth, and we work to solve for problems together, both help them to reach individual goals, but then as a collective industry too.
Speaker C:So that's one.
Speaker C:We're here to talk about things like regenerative agriculture and plastics and packaging alternatives.
Speaker A:Got it.
Speaker A:So CGF basically helps facilitate those conversations with everyone here being at the same conference, is that right?
Speaker C:That's exactly right.
Speaker C:And we work really closely with CGF on lots of things.
Speaker C:So yeah, we're good friends with cgf.
Speaker B:Well, and you mentioned a couple of things like packaging and regenerative agriculture.
Speaker B:What are some of the things that the retail and CPG industry can do right now, Jonquil, to kind of see start making some momentum towards a more circular economy.
Speaker C:So there's a couple of things that's happening particularly around.
Speaker C:Let's talk about plastics and packaging.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:So there's United nations treaty that has been running for a while and that is due to have its final negotiations in August this year.
Speaker C:And that's really about calling for global rules for the industry.
Speaker C:So it's easier to do recycling, it's easier to have rules around extraction of virgin plastic.
Speaker C:It's easier to have rules around new materials and chemicals and materials.
Speaker C:And that's what the industry really needs because then it levels the playing field.
Speaker B:Right, right.
Speaker C:So that's, that's on the policy side and then on the business side we're looking at those solutions and helping scale up what those solutions could look like.
Speaker B:Okay, so you're going into the businesses, the retail and CBG businesses, and you're really helping them understand maybe some of the, excuse me, paths to get to this, this plan for reduction in plastics and packaging.
Speaker C:That's right.
Speaker C:So we're not, we're not a consultancy really.
Speaker C:What we do is we, we produce research to unlock insights to help investment flow.
Speaker B:Got it.
Speaker C:And then we convene people from across the industry.
Speaker B:Got it.
Speaker C:Okay, same thing.
Speaker A:Okay, got it.
Speaker A:So, so, you know, as former retailers ourselves, two of the industries that we talk about, or two of the verticals I should say that we talk about a lot, of course, are grocery and fashion.
Speaker A:So with you, we'd like to click into those a little bit too and talk about what do you think the retail leaders of those two industries particularly need to think about in terms of making their organizations more circular, for lack of a better way to put it?
Speaker C:Yeah, it's a great question.
Speaker C:I think for me, the way I see that they can really lean into this is to help start to normalize the circular economy.
Speaker C:And by that I mean, what's the relationship between retail and consumer?
Speaker C:So it's more normal to buy secondhand clothing or so you could rent, you can repair, you can recycle, you can re, whatever.
Speaker C:And that's a growing trend that we want to see more of rather than so encouraging, finding ways to encourage consumers to make that the norm.
Speaker C:And the second thing is around regenerative agriculture.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So we launched a challenge about 20 months ago now, a bit longer than that.
Speaker C:And it was to say, right, go and design products that are better for nature and also for your diet.
Speaker C:And organizations had 18 months to do it.
Speaker C:And in January this year we launched what they launched nearly 150 products from 12 different countries, which is everything from breakfast to dinner and everything in between, which is really cool.
Speaker C:So it's proving that you can do that design that's Better for nature, but also for your health.
Speaker A:And that makes sense for the CPGs.
Speaker A:What role do the retailers play in terms of the regeneration effort?
Speaker C:So the retailers, they are stocking that and they're shelving that so that, you know, that rolled out across several supermarkets in the uk, but also in Brazil.
Speaker C:And so their role effectively is to encourage consumers to buy alternative products.
Speaker C:But what we need to work on is a, it's got to be cool.
Speaker C:And the second thing is it's got to be affordable.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker A:So your point is they need to emphasize that in their assortment designs, in store design.
Speaker A:Marketing too.
Speaker C:In marketing and maybe even in.
Speaker C:In vouchers, for example.
Speaker C:So encouraging different ways of buying, which is really important.
Speaker A:Promotions.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Y.
Speaker B:So, Jonquil, if people are listening, and especially our audience based in the US they're trying to figure out how they maybe tap into some of the research that the Ellen MacArthur foundation has done that they can start making some of these plans internally to become more circular.
Speaker B:What's the best way for them to find out more, to get in touch with you or other people on the team?
Speaker C:So they should contact Danielle Holley, who's our North America's lead.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker C:Based all over the world, but we have offices in the US and we.
Speaker C:We look at North America as a whole.
Speaker C:So whether it's retail, consumer plastics and packaging, anything around consumer E waste, we're really focused on all of those things.
Speaker C:And Danielle leads that out for us, and she's awesome.
Speaker A:So how many CGFs is this for you?
Speaker C:Actually, this is only my second.
Speaker A:Second one.
Speaker C:Really?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:So my last one was in Dublin three years ago.
Speaker A:In Dublin.
Speaker A:Okay, so.
Speaker A:Oh, so you took a little break between the first and second one.
Speaker B:She's been hitting the C circuit, though.
Speaker B:She's been in a lot of conferences.
Speaker B:I imagine you have to be very.
Speaker A:Imagine you're on the road.
Speaker B:Everybody needs circularity help and support in their lives.
Speaker A:So what are you excited about at this conference in particular?
Speaker C:Well, I was really excited about the l' Oreal dinner last night, which is great.
Speaker A:I heard about that.
Speaker A:I heard about that.
Speaker A:Bonnie.
Speaker A:Bonnie Tyler.
Speaker A:Yeah, Bonnie Tyler was there.
Speaker A:That's the second time I've heard Dolly Parton today, too randomly, so it's so funny.
Speaker A:But yeah, Bonnie Tyler was there.
Speaker A:Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That's great.
Speaker A:That's epic.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:That's great.
Speaker A:All right, well, thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker C:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker A:No, it's really a pleasure.
Speaker A: from the Consumer Goods Forum: Speaker A:And we'll be back all day with interviews.
Speaker A:And until then, Ann, be careful out there.
