The Circular Economy Show Podcast Why do circular business models fail to scale? Relying on a narrow business case
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Oct 28, 2025 Maddy Oliver, a lead researcher on circular business models at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, is joined by Ella Hedley, a researcher who co-authored a report on scaling challenges in this area. They discuss how circular business models often fail to scale due to a narrow focus on sustainability. Maddy emphasizes the importance of a strong financial narrative for success, while Ella shares examples of projects that lost funding when not framed commercially. They argue for broader metrics and long-term mindsets to cultivate customer loyalty and operational change.
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Lead With The Financial Narrative
- Circular projects often start in sustainability teams and are perceived as purely environmental plays.
- Maddy Oliver argues that leading with a financial narrative internally is far more effective for scaling.
Lost Budget Because Story Focused On Sustainability
- A well-known innovating company pitched a circular pilot framed only around waste and CO2 reduction and lost internal budget.
- A disruptor later launched the same idea to market successfully because the original team failed to sell the financial story.
Model Future Revenues And Market Loss
- Model the financial opportunity at scale rather than relying only on pilot-scale numbers.
- Calculate lost market share (e.g., resale platforms) and use revenue-based metrics where possible to build a business-centric case.