Title
In Conversation With David Fitzsimons – On Meaning & Stewardship
Date of Recording
December 18, 2020
Description
In this wide-ranging 40-minute conversation that was recorded in December 2020, Rajiv Ramchandra, Founder and Director of Re:CREATe and David Fitzsimons, Director of the European Remanufacturing Council discuss (with examples) how the design of the contemporary economic system (and by extension, products) incentivizes the production of waste, and how it goes against the grain of what we truly value – the innate human needs for meaning, relationship, stewardship, and guardianship.
As the weight of mindless consumption and ‘economic growth’ continue to weigh on us and damage our planet, these deep human ideals are beginning to show themselves in different ways ranging from the tremendous success of the ‘right-to-repair’ movement and the emergence of conscious entrepreneurs and businesses that make meaning, purpose, and stewardship the central premise of why they exist.
A hopeful and optimistic conversation, it acknowledges that by leading with heart and soul, that by endowing and retaining meaning, memory, and relationship in our actions and the things we produce, we can, together, co-create a beautiful world.
About David
David Fitzsimons is the Director of the European Remanufacturing Council and has led the council since January 2017. The European Remanufacturing Council is based in Brussels and represents multiple business sectors and trade associations that extend the life of products through remanufacture and refurbishment.
David represents the Council at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, with whom he led the “BetterThanNew” project. He is currently a member of the UN working group on product life extension; a member of Technical Committee (TC) 323 for the forthcoming 59000 series ISO standard for the circular economy; a member of the advising committee for the Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) conference, and a member of the World Economic Forum Council for advanced manufacturing and production.
He founded the circular economy consulting firm Oakdene Hollins in 1994 and is now director of the management board.
More Information
To learn more about the European Remanufacturing Council, please visit: https://www.remancouncil.eu/