“There is nothing permanent except change”, said the Greek philosopher Heraclitus over 2500 years ago. It is amazing how quickly twelve years can go by and how much you can still achieve in that time!
It was precisely twelve years ago when we, Anne and Paula, decided to set up a company focusing on circular economy and circular business development. Those were very early days for the circular economy: in Finland, just a few people had heard about it, and the topic was just about to enter the agenda of the European Commission. Reflecting on the starting point, we can now see how much has changed in just a decade.
During this time, Ethica has been one of the pioneers in boosting and accelerating circularity on many fronts, working together with companies, cities, governments, and research institutes. We piloted the world’s first closed-loop system for textiles – Relooping Fashion – already in 2014-2016 with VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland, and with a group of companies. We developed the Circular Design Sprint in 2016 and since then close to 500 professionals and 136 companies have gone through the sprints. We have developed Circular Economy Strategies and Circular Design Guidelines to our clients and written many well-received reports. Right now, we are about to wrap up the Nordic Circular Design Programme with 30+ Nordic companies.
We have always shared and been guided by a strong vision of regenerative, circular futures, and feel very grateful to have been able to inspire and guide so many others along the same path towards the same vision. We have developed many tools and methodologies from scratch, because none existed.
This is what we continue doing in the future, but the time has come to explore new avenues and ways to do it. During the last year, Anne took some time to realise her long-standing dream and wrote the book “Circular Strategies for Success”, to share her vision, insights, and experiences with wider audiences:
“I’ve always had a passion for writing, public speaking and lecturing at various business forums and universities, besides working as an expert. The writing process allowed me to do all of these while further deepening my knowledge through interviews and research I conducted for the book.”
Inspired by this experience, Anne has decided to leave Ethica as the co-owner and Head of Circular Design of the company. This decision will give her more time for new ventures with various organisations in different countries and continents. Working as a board member is one of the ways in which she intends to devote more time in the future. “Given the endless opportunities for circular innovation, coupled with the need to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in the EU and around the world, I’m confident that with my expertise and background I can bring unique value as a board member and advisor.”
“We have had many good discussions with Anne during the last few months about the future plans regarding Ethica, and also regarding our personal journeys, and what we still want to experience in life. Based on those discussions this is the best choice for both of us; to have the time and freedom to explore new things.
I feel tremendously grateful for these years of working closely with Anne building our expertise and team and completing many successful projects where Anne has had a key role. What originally was two passionate entrepreneurs has over the years grown into a team of many dedicated professionals, I feel very confident in continuing this work together with Ethica’s team while letting Anne take some new steps on her career.” says Paula, who will continue as the Managing Director of Ethica.
Anne feels the same: “Paula has been the most trustworthy business partner all these years. I have great respect for her and am delighted that she will continue to lead Ethica. This is not goodbye – you may still see me working on Ethica projects. The level of expertise in the Ethica team is extremely high and diverse, it’s a real dream team!”
Despite these changes, we will continue our excellent collaboration on a project basis. In the near future, Anne will also be focusing on her book promotion, and about Ethica’s new plans and strategy you can read more here.
