Dr. Rachel Meidl on the True Meaning of Sustainability, Circular Economy, and how Lifecycle Assessments Can Challenge Conventional Wisdom

Within the spaces of ESG, technology, and innovation, the topic of waste management is often an afterthought. Well, this is not the case for this episode as Kaitlyn Allen and Rachel Meidl, LP.D., CHMM bring the subject of waste management to the forefront with their energized, informative discussion. For our ESG Decoded listeners, the episode does a great job of clarifying the actual meaning of terms that are used incorrectly far too often. We clarify definitions for ‘circular economy’ and ‘sustainability’ and their interconnectedness to waste management and life cycle impacts. One key takeaway: Sustainability is a feature of an overall system in its entirety, and individual parts can’t be optimized without optimizing the whole.

Dr. Meidl is a rockstar on the waste management stage. She is the fellow in energy and environment at Rice University's Baker Institute.  Her research focuses on sustainability; the circular economy; domestic and international policy and law as it relates to life cycle management of hazardous wastes; safety and environmental regulations of the treatment, storage, disposal, and transportation of chemicals within and outside the U.S.; assessing plastics, plastic recycling technologies, advanced electronics, and alternative energy applications from a sustainability and life cycle perspective to understand the environmental, economic, and social impacts across the supply chain; among many other topics.

Waste management is a complex field of work. In Dr. Meidl’s 20+ years’ experience, she has observed the correlation between growing economies, their increasing volume of waste, and corresponding policies that do not keep pace with the changes.

If you one day hear Dr. Meidl giving a TED Talk on this topic, just remember that you received a great primer on this podcast. Learn more about Dr. Meidl and her research and publications here.

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