Circularity: a competitive edge in the era of tariffs?

In a world of rising tariffs and supply chain disruption, could circularity be one of the smartest business moves a company can make? Danielle Holly, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s North America Lead, is joined by Tensie Whelan, founder of the Center for Sustainable Business at NYU Stern and former President of the Rainforest Alliance, to explore this and more.

Episode 215 of the The Circular Economy Show Podcast podcast, hosted by Danielle Holly, Tensie Whelan, titled "Circularity: a competitive edge in the era of tariffs?" was published on April 14, 2026 and runs 28 minutes.

April 14, 2026 ·28m · The Circular Economy Show Podcast

0:00 / 0:00

Summary

In a world of rising tariffs and supply chain disruption, could circularity be one of the smartest business moves a company can make? Danielle Holly, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s North America Lead, is joined by Tensie Whelan, founder of the Center for Sustainable Business at NYU Stern and former President of the Rainforest Alliance, to explore this and more.

Episode Description

In a world of rising tariffs and supply chain disruption, could circularity be one of the smartest business moves a company can make? Danielle Holly, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s North America Lead, is joined by Tensie Whelan, founder of the Center for Sustainable Business at NYU Stern and former President of the Rainforest Alliance, to explore this and more.

Tensie explains the ROSI (Return on Sustainability Investment) framework, developed at NYU Stern to help companies track and monetise the full value of sustainability strategies. This includes operational efficiency, risk reduction, new revenue and customer loyalty. Together, they explore how circular approaches can shorten supply chains and reduce exposure to tariffs and geopolitical shocks.

They also tackle the harder questions: why do most companies still not act, even when the numbers stack up? And what will it take to bring finance, governance and the boardroom along for the journey?

Sign up to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's North America newsletter to keep up with the latest on circularity in North America. And if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review or share it with a colleague to help us spread the word.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

Business Interruption Insurance: When Circularity Pays Off

Apr 21, 2026 ·37m

Insurance Claims: How Tryg Made Repair the Default Choice

Apr 14, 2026 ·25m

Climate Resilience: How Allianz Evaluates Supply Chains

Apr 7, 2026 ·41m

Circularity at Airbus: How SecondLife Cuts Waste and Costs

Mar 31, 2026 ·47m

Breitling Rewind: Repair as a Heritage Business Model

Mar 24, 2026 ·45m

Circular Strategy at Philips: Turning Trade-Ins Into Revenue

Mar 17, 2026 ·42m

Similar Podcasts

Circular Economy Podcast Catherine Weetman Catherine Weetman interviews the inspiring people who are making the circular economy happen. We explore how circular, regenerative and fair solutions are better for people, planet and prosperity. We’ll hear from entrepreneurs & business owners, social enterprises, and leading thinkers. You’ll find the show notes and links at www.circulareconomypodcast.com, where you can subscribe to updates and useful resources. Getting In the Loop: Circular Economy | Sustainability | Closing the Loop Katherine Whalen Welcome to Getting In the Loop – a podcast dedicated to exploring how to transform to a more circular society that recognises our planet’s limited resources. Join host Katie Whalen as she examines the challenges facing our current resource use and discovers alternatives to the ‘take, make, dispose’ way of doing things. Each week she interviews circular economy experts about what they’re doing and learning (including Anna Tari of the Circular Economy Club, Ken Webster of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and many more). Together we'll uncover what circular economy means in practice and find out what's being done to keep our resources in a loop rather than sent to waste. Find show notes and resources at gettinginthelooppodcast.com. It's time for you to get in the loop! Invest Like a Boss Sam Marks Johnny FD Derek Spartz Interviews with the world's best investors and find out what they are currently investing in whether it be the stocks, retirement accounts, Wealthfront, Betterment, Vanguard, mutual funds, real estate, Forex, REITs, or other types of Investing methods. Millionaire and Entrepreneur Sam Marks, Johnny FD & Derek Spartz invest alongside listeners as they share their personal portfolios as they save their hard earned money for travel, life and retirement. Invest Like a Boss covers all aspects of investing in the modern age in a fun, entertaining way. The show hosts interview the worlds best investors, financial Insiders, entrepreneurs and CEOs to find out what they are investing in and strategies to gain outsized returns. In this modern age of investing, new investment instruments are popping up each day, from P-2-P lending, to robo-advisors, equity crowd-funding to REITS. Investors today need to combine centuries of investment wisdom with an modern outlook and approach. Entrepreneurs Sa Waiting For Review Dave Wood The show is a fortnightly catch up between David Gary Wood, and Daniel Jilg!David is the longtime host of the show, an iOS development coach based in Wellington, New Zealand. His side project applications include GoVJ (https://govjapp.com), and he is currently working on several small projects.Daniel is an establish independent developer based in the south of Germany. He is the founder of: Telemetry Deck (https://telemetrydeck.com), "Lightweight Analytics That's Not Evil", an analytics service for apps that provides speedy and accurate analytics whilst keeping user's data private and anonymised.

URL copied to clipboard!