Host: Roy Vercoulen, Founder of Circular IQ
Guest: Thijs Struijk, ESG Mission Guide
Welcome to the second episode of Circularity: Why Bother? In this episode, host Roy Vercoulen, founder of Circular IQ, sits down with Thijs Struijk-Kafchi from ESG Mission Guide to explore the crucial role of storytelling in breaking down silos and driving impactful sustainability initiatives.
Many businesses struggle to integrate sustainability efforts beyond compliance. Sustainability and ESG teams often remain trapped within their own departments, limiting their influence on business strategy and decision-making. But what if the key to unlocking real change lies in storytelling?
Why ESG and Circularity Stay Trapped in Silos
Sustainability initiatives often remain confined within specific departments because organizations tend to treat sustainability as a compliance issue rather than a business opportunity. Leadership often fails to see how sustainability aligns with core business objectives, leading to missed opportunities for innovation and long-term value creation.
The Role of Storytelling in Breaking Barriers
One of the most powerful tools in sustainability is storytelling. By crafting compelling narratives that align with business strategy, sustainability managers can engage leadership, employees, and investors in meaningful conversations about impact, efficiency, and value creation. The right message, delivered at the right time, can drive real change.
The LEGO Analogy: A Circular Economy in Action
A great example of circular economy thinking is LEGO. While LEGO bricks are made from plastic, their value extends across generations. Unlike single-use products, LEGO pieces are designed to be reused, rebuilt, and passed down, making them an excellent metaphor for circularity.
Much like how sustainability initiatives need to be embedded into business strategy, LEGO bricks maintain their relevance by continuously adapting to new creative possibilities. They are never discarded but instead repurposed for new structures, demonstrating the principles of material longevity and value retention that are essential to the circular economy.
ESG Board Logic: Aligning Sustainability with Business Priorities
- Reframing the Narrative – Sustainability should be positioned as a driver of business value, not just a regulatory requirement.
- Breaking Silos – Effective storytelling helps translate sustainability into the language of leadership, making it relevant to their priorities.
- Leveraging ESG Board Logic – Sustainability efforts need to align with key business parameters such as market access, operational efficiency, and long-term profitability.
The Power of Comparability
With regulations like CSRD and ESRS, sustainability performance is becoming more transparent and comparable across industries. This shift allows businesses to benchmark their efforts, identify opportunities for improvement, and move beyond mere compliance toward meaningful impact.
Resources Mentioned
- Anthropology of Data
linkedin.com/pulse/cracking-code-how-anthropologists-elevate-data-analytics-carmen-luke/ - The Sustainability of Everything – A lecture by anthropologistTim Ingold
youtube.com/watch?v=ncLv9Gk7XrI - ESG Board Logic framework for engaging leadership in sustainability
medium.com/@thijs_79997/how-to-design-an-esg-strategy-that-drives-boardroom-decisions-d548e5861b1a
Final Thoughts
As we wrap up today’s discussion, we invite you to explore more about circularity and how Circular IQ can help businesses measure, improve, and report on their progress. Whether you're looking for software solutions, consultancy, or insights into how circularity can create value for your organization, Circular IQ is here to support you.
If you have a circular economy story to share or would like to be a guest on a future episode, reach out to the Circularity: Why Bother? team through the Circular IQ website. We’re always on the lookout for inspiring leaders, innovative solutions, and thought-provoking questions to bring into the conversation.
Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, leave a comment with your thoughts, and share your challenges. Your feedback helps shape the journey towards a more circular and sustainable future.
Stay tuned for the next episode, where we’ll dive deeper into a real-life example of circularity in action. Until then, start small, think big, and embrace the opportunities circularity can bring!
