Ellen MacArthur

Dame Ellen MacArthur is world known for her efforts to save the planet through her foundation that works to inspire people to re-think, re-design and build a positive future circular economy.

She made yachting history in 2005, when at the age of 24 she became the youngest woman ever to sail solo around the world.

In 2009, following four years traveling the world and researching the challenges facing the current global economy, having become acutely aware of the finite nature of the resources, Ellen founded the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a UK registered charity whose mission is to accelerate the transition to a regenerative circular economy.

The aim is the implementation of a new economic system that delivers better outcomes for people and the environment.

Business models, products, and materials are designed to increase use and reuse, replicating the balance of the natural world, where nothing becomes waste and everything has value. A circular economy, increasingly built on renewable energy and materials, is distributed, diverse, and inclusive.

A circular economy is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.

Dame Ellen Mac Arthur has also acted as Vice-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Meta-Council on the circular economy, and has sat on the European Commission’s Resource Efficiency Platform between 2012 and 2014. She received the French Legion of Honour from President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008.

What she offers you

Ellen communicates with corporate audiences through her incredible story, and encourages environmental awareness with passion, determination and charm. Her aim is to catalyse change and communicate the importance of social responsibility to the environment.