Circular Economy Business Models in Iceland – Birta Kristin Helgadottir

“I think now, business models will have to somehow rely more on collaboration rather than competition, So, I think, and maybe, naively hope, (this) will be the future of business models…We’ve harnessed geothermal power for ages, and then we decided we needed to… harness the effluent stream, the excess material that comes from, for example, the geothermal resource. And from that we are developing aquaculture, agriculture, the future of food, cosmetics and, spa life. So, enhancing the quality of life tremendously.” Birta Kristin Helgadottir on Electric Ladies Podcast

On Joan’s recent whirlwind tour of some of Iceland’s unique technologies and business models that help its economy run on 85% renewable energy, one of the things that fascinated her was their unique version of multi-use properties.  They have developed collaborative business parks that share resources in clever ways, creating miniature circular economies on each property. This seems like another way Iceland could be a pilot project for the rest of us on how to run a country on 100% renewable energy.

What are these unique business parks? Listen to Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson’s fascinating conversation with Birta Kristin Helgadottir, the Director of Green By Iceland, their public-private partnership driving their initiative to be a 100% renewable economy, conducted live in Reykjavik.

You’ll hear:

“Always follow your gut. You want to advance that’s one thing. You want to make money, that can be a totally different thing… So you have passion… go with a gut feeling and go with your instincts, because sometimes you just go with what you think society would think is right….(And,) the traditional path towards a great career and a perfect life that there is an ideology about that, but you need to shape your own ideology. ” Birta Kristin Helgadottir on Electric Ladies Podcast

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