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Presentation 1:
Title: Circular food initiatives and continuous productive urban landscapes - A critical reflection on the potential to scale circular initiatives for systemic change in city region
Speakers: Shova Thapa Karki, University of Sussex and Andre Viljoen, University of Brighton
Abstract:
Researching and theorising about sustainable and equitable urban food systems crosses many disciplinary boundaries and requires qualitative (e.g. design) and quantifiable assessments (e.g. economic, environmental etc). A multidisciplinary approach to advancing this field of research leads to siloed knowledge that limits the understanding of feedback mechanisms within the food system, limiting research insights that can be applied in practice. In this research, we bring our individual disciplinary insights to examine urban food systems and the circular food initiatives, both bottom-up and top-down, through the lens of place making and scaling.
Bios:
Andre Viljoen is Professor of Architecture at the University of Brighton. He and Katrin Bohn have been researching the role that urban agriculture can play in shaping cities to be more sustainable and resilient. In in 2015 Bohn & Viljoen’s won the RIBA President’s Award for Outstanding University Located Research.
Shova Thapa Karki is an Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship and Sustainability at the University of Sussex Business School. She is an interdisciplinary researcher with expertise in the intersection of entrepreneurship and sustainability. Her research focuses on the circular economy and sustainable entrepreneurship.
Presentation 2:
Title: Food Strategy and the circular economy: The context of Brighton and Hove
Speaker: Ali Ghanimi, Brighton & Hove Food Partnership
Abstract:
Ali will focus on the second food strategy for the city which was approved in January and discuss how the food strategy links within the council’s circular food action plans.
Bio:
Ali is Senior Manager at the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership and played a key role in developing the second food strategy for the city.
Presentation 3:
Title: Rwanda's agri-food sector and circular economy: A case study of circular business model innovation
Speaker: Sung Kyu Kim, University of Sussex
Abstract:
Agriculture plays a vital role in African economies, supporting millions of people through food and nutrition security, livelihoods, and international trade. However, significant inefficiencies persist across food value chains—food loss and waste not only undermine economic growth and human development potential but also contribute substantially to greenhouse gas emissions. In response, there is growing momentum to transform Africa’s food systems using circular and regenerative principles. While research on the circular economy is expanding, particularly in industrial and manufacturing sectors, we still know very little about how Circular Economy (CE) principles are being applied within food systems in emerging and developing economies. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how CE principles are understood and implemented by agribusinesses in Rwanda. Rwanda offers an insightful case study as the government of Rwanda is committed to CE, and in 2022, it launched the Rwanda National Circular Economy Action Plan and Roadmap with ambitious policies to accelerate the CE transition. Using semi-structured interviews with agribusinesses and a roundtable discussion with broader agri-food stakeholders, we examined their knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to circular business models. We also identified key challenges that hinder the wider adoption and scaling of CE approaches in the sector.
Bio:
Dr. Sung Kyu Kim is an Assistant Professor of Energy Policy and Sustainability at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU). His research contributes to the broader debate on the future of food and agricultural systems, critically examining the tension between national agricultural agendas—often driven by technology-intensive, productivity-focused strategies—and the need for a transition toward more diverse and circular food system pathways.
Presentation 4:
Title: The antecedents of circular economy thinking in successive restructuring of the British animal feeds sector, 1860-1914.
Speakers: Paul Poornan and Andrew Godley, University of Sussex
Abstract:
There have been multiple calls in the Circular Economy (CE) literature recently for a greater understanding of the historical origins and emergence of CE thinking that could aid conceptual clarification. This paper shows how the initial conceptualization of CE thinking in Britain in the 1850s and 1860s was firmly associated with the emerging animal feeds sector. The roots of the industry go back to the re-use of unwanted by-products from corn milling and seed crushing; the primary products of which were flour and oil for human consumption, but their waste products of wheatfeed and oilseed cake were used as winter feed for livestock. The invention of compound feed then enabled this re-use of a waste product to become industrialised. This attracted the unwanted by-products from many parts of the human food supply chain, such as the sugar and alcohol industries. Several of the heavily capitalised firms of flour millers and seed crushers diversified into animal feeds production and so entirely restructured the industry. The paper then explores what it might have been about animal feeds which was such a major catalyst for valorization at this time. It explores the importance of the principle of perishability to the retention of value in residuals and suggests that this was a strong incentive for innovation and industrial restructuring; and so hence explains why CE thinking and practice emerged first in animal feeds.
Bios:
Paul Poornan: Paul graduated in Animal Physiology & Nutrition at Leeds University, and was subsequently appointed nutritionist responsible for feed formulations at seven feed mills for all classes of farm livestock. Later, after a decade working overseas as a nutritional consultant and completing assignments in Africa, Far East, USA and Europe, he became CEO of a regional UK feed compounder (pig and ruminant) for ten years. Paul then joined a major poultry feed company, specializing in factory optimization, raw material purchasing and feed formulation. He retired in 2019 having served the previous 13 years as CEO. Paul has served on numerous committees including those of the Society of Feed Technologists and the Agricultural Industries Confederation - the trade association of the UK feed industry.
Andrew Godley: Andrew is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Department of Strategy and Marketing, University of Sussex Business School. He was previously Pro Dean of Henley Business School, University of Reading, and the founding Academic Director of the Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship at the Henley Business School, University of Reading. He has served as a Trustee of the Business History Conference, as Secretary of the Association of Business Historians, and also on the editorial board of Business History. His research covers a wide range of topics in the areas of historical entrepreneurship, technological change and the complexities of consumer reception of novel products. He has published articles in Journal of International Business Studies, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Journal of Management Studies, as well as Business History and Business History Review. His most recent book is The Making of the Modern Supermarket (with Bridget Salmon), Oxford University Press, 2025.