With over 120 Impact Hubs existing in the global network, many of them are running programs on the Circular Economy. We spoke to Ani Baboomian, a programs manager in the global Impact Hub team, to learn more about the initiatives that are being rolled out in various countries, the tangible impact they are creating, and their potential to transform the future of business.
Interview : Nazareth Seferian
Photo : Impact Hub NETWORK
Laura Chiriac, originally from northeastern Romania and now based in Bucharest, has a passion for wine and began pursuing professional certification in this industry at the age of 29. Somewhere along the road, her interest began to focus not only on the beverage, but the cup that holds it. Fast forward to today and she is the founder of Laura and Wine, a company that uses recycled material to make glasses for wine, coffee and other drinks.
“Even though I have a business and I’m selling something for profit, I also have another goal in mind—a story, giving a second chance at life to glasses that were once broken,” Laura explains when describing the core of her enterprise. Laura was one of the participants of the Romania ClimAccelerator run by Impact Hub Bucharest, a program that helped elevate the concept of Circular Economy in the country to the next level. It gave participants the opportunity to explore new and innovative solutions for the growth of their businesses. “My long-term plan is to find alternative methods for melting glass and to contribute, through parallel research with the business, to increasing the use of recycled materials in production in Romanian factories,” Laura says confidently.
Romania ClimAccelerator is just one of several programs on Circular Economy that the Impact Hub Network runs globally. Circular Economy has become a hot topic in the Impact Hub Network since 2012. Ani Baboomian, one of the earliest employees at Impact Hub Yerevan, first heard the term “Circular Economy” in 2018 during an Impact Hub training session in Geneva. “They split us up and suggested several themes for small group discussion. Circular Economy was one of those themes and, in fact, almost everyone went to that session. It was completely new to me then, but it grabbed my interest immediately,” Ani recalls.
Combating climate change is now a key topic for Impact Hubs around the world and the concept of Circular Economy equips entrepreneurs with new approaches to save the planet. Ani moved to Italy a few years ago and now leads several programs for the global Impact Hub Network, which brings together more than 500,000 impact makers in over 65 countries in the world.
Local Impact Hubs are supporting circular economy initiatives across continents, from the Netherlands and Switzerland in Europe to Senegal in Africa and Nepal in Asia. “It is important to recognize that CirculUP! is focused on building a whole ecosystem. When you’re bringing a new concept to the local economy, you cannot work in isolation with entrepreneurs alone,” Ani explains. Impact Hub takes a holistic approach to the CirculUP! program, and this approach to ecosystem building has been enshrined in an internal toolkit that supports Impact Hub teams around the world. Besides directly supporting entrepreneurs with new knowledge, skills, and funding, this involves working with civil society organizations, government officials, academia, media companies, and more.
ACEC members during a study trip to the Goede Doelen Loterijen office building in Amsterdam
In several Western European countries, governments drive the agenda for the Circular Economy, which has a clear understanding of the existing limits to natural resources and threats of climate change, along with a vision of the economic potential that can be harnessed through innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. However, in most of the world, change emerges from the bottom up through comprehensive programs like the ones developed by the Impact Hub Network. Ani is confident that sustained support is the key to making the Circular Economy an everyday topic anywhere in the world, including Armenia, and an institutional partner can make a key difference.
“Thanks to funding from the European Union, the program we are running in Armenia takes a large-scale and multistakeholder approach. I believe the European Union has a long-term commitment to this topic in many countries. Armenia and other countries like it could leapfrog into the Circular Economy at a faster pace than their western counterparts, with consistent and institutional support,” Ani believes.
The corporate sector can also serve as a powerful partner and supporter of Circular Economy programs. The Impact Hub Network is partnering with Bank of America as part of its Embedding Circularity program in China, Indonesia, and Japan. Localized versions of the global circular economy toolkit, complemented with relevant case studies, help entrepreneurial support organizations in these countries integrate circular practices into their own programs.
ACEC members during a study trip to The United Repair Center (URC) in Amsterdam
The toolkit is designed for incubators and accelerators and takes them, step by step, through the larger concepts and issue-based ecosystem-building principles, while also focusing on details and providing ready-to-use content for workshops. Although the environmental impact remains a key focus for any circular economy program, Impact Hub emphasizes that it also needs to make sound business sense if entrepreneurs are going to embrace this transition.
The numbers support this approach, demonstrating how entrepreneurs are learning to become more profitable while also having a positive impact on the environment.
Data from the circular economy programs of 12 Impact Hubs worldwide, including 82 small and growing businesses, have shown that participating entrepreneurs have more than doubled their median revenue, increasing it from US$ 5,000 to US$ 12,000.
Part of this increased revenue comes from the added value that the business is now offering its existing customers, and the new markets that are unlocked by its transition to circularity. In the case of the glasses made by Laura and Wine, for example, this is no longer about a receptacle that holds your beverage—it’s a unique item with a compelling story. Each glass is handmade with different recycled materials, blown and shaped in a way that ensures that no other piece will be exactly like it.
The transformation that comes with the move to circularity extends beyond the businesses or their products. For Ani, the concept of the Circular Economy is important because it also has a transformational impact on one’s mindset as a consumer. “I’ve never been comfortable with overconsumerism. I’m very excited that the Circular Economy comes with this mindset of reducing one’s waste by reusing products, and so on. I am now much more comfortable buying second-hand items than ever before, and I see others around me who have also changed their habits as consumers,” Ani says.
For Impact Hubs around the world, sustaining this behavioral change is a fundamental principle. Besides running programs on innovation and entrepreneurship, many Impact Hubs are communities with physical spaces, where the principles of circularity are increasingly embedded. Here’s just one example. Impact Hub Florence has an initiative every year after the Christmas holidays. Members of their community who received a present they did not need can exchange it for something else with another member. Instead of leaving the gift on a shelf as it gathers dust, this fun activity ensures that community members have an enjoyable interaction and part ways with more useful items, extending the life of various products and reducing waste.
As the CirculUP! program implemented by Impact Hub Yerevan is coming to an end this year, Ani is excited about what will be next. “I’ve learned a lot on this topic. I’m always excited when it comes to making connections for a positive impact, so it’s great to see Impact Hubs around the world looking at our example in Armenia and learning from the wonderful team in Yerevan!”
Join us on Telegram
