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Chris Oestereich

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  • Linear to Circular / Morph
  • Wicked Problems Collaborative
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    • Linear to Circular / Morph
    • Wicked Problems Collaborative

    Chris Oestereich

    • Home
    • Linear to Circular / Morph
    • Wicked Problems Collaborative
    • …  
      • Home
      • Linear to Circular / Morph
      • Wicked Problems Collaborative
      • Home
      • Linear to Circular / Morph
      • Wicked Problems Collaborative
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        The Dividing Kingdom

        On June 23, 2016, the citizens of the United Kingdom went to the polls to answer a simple question that would decide a highly complex matter. That they were at the polls at all was due to a bit of political expediency from then Prime Minister David Cameron as he looked to appease UK Independence Party.

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        On June 23, 2016, the citizens of the United Kingdom went to the polls to answer a simple question that would decide a highly complex matter. That they were at the polls at all was due to a bit of political expediency from then Prime Minister David Cameron as he looked to appease UK Independence Party.

        The question the electorate was asked, "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" would determine whether or not the nation would in the union it had been a part of since joining the European Economic Community in 1973.

        Leave took the day with a slim majority (52% to 48%) on the non-binding vote. The result flung Cameron out of office, while his replacement, Theresa May, took the helm clamoring for a quick triggering of Article 50 and an extreme version of Brexit that looked nothing like the one discussed in the campaign.

        The UK has been shifting sideways ever since as its leaders repeatedly failed to find a path out of the mess they created for their people.

          • TEDx Chiang Mai - November '21

          Humanity's Choice: Paradigm Shift or Bust

        • The Big Picture

          I help communities and organizations shift towards the circular economy via Linear to Circular and our brand Morph Bags, as well as the Circular Design Lab. I’m also a writer and the publisher of the Wicked Problems Collaborative, a fellow and global ambassador of The RSA, and a lecturer at Thammasat University’s School of Global Studies in Bangkok, Thailand, where I teach active-learning courses on topics like social innovation and advocacy.

           

          Along with driving circular economy-related efforts, I design and facilitate a variety of workshops. I also give keynotes and moderate panels. Please reach out if that's of interest.

           

          I believe that we've put ourselves in a bad spot with our treatment of the planet. We need a paradigm shift in the way we view and interact with it and the life forms we share it with. If you'd like to hear more about that, please check out the talk above, Humanity's Choice: Paradigm Shift or Bust.

        • What I do

          It's all connected

          Linear to Circular

          Helping People, Planet, & Business

          L2C helps firms analyze their waste streams, design programs tailored to create financial and environmental benefits, and implement related programs to move towards the circular economy. We also design and implement workshops and training, and we have deep experience translating research into actionable insights via things case studies and articles targeted at relevant audiences.
          Visit L2C

          Morph

          Carried by Purpose

          Morph rescues useful materials from becoming waste and uses them to develop bags made for daily use as we work to improve the livelihoods of our collaborators. We aspire to a broad definition of economic utility as we work to help foster the circular economy and bring everyone we can along with us.
          Visit Morph

          Wicked Problems Collaborative

          Books are Good Food

          The WPC focuses on humanity’s biggest challenges.
          Check out our books:
          • Book #1: What Do We Do About Inequality?
          • Book #2: What do we do after the pandemic?
          • Pandemic Capitalism
          Visit the WPC

          Circular Design Lab

          Systemic Design for the Masses

          The CDL teaches communities to work on major social and environmental challenges. We design and lead workshops using systemic design-an approach that marries design and systems thinking-to help community members address wicked problems where they are. We’re also creating a framework and toolkit for systemic design.
          Visit the CDL
        • Matters will not improve of their own accord

          Why I Teach

        • Wicked Problems Collaborative

          Books are good food

        • Wandering thoughts

          Essays and whatnot

          World Health Network

          Protecting health and minimizing harm to individuals and society

          Centering Public health

          • Pretending It's Over Amplifies the Pandemic

          The Week

          All you need to know about everything that matters

          • Boris Johnson has Britain Barreling toward a Disastrous No-Deal Brexit
          • The U.K. has 2 very Bad Choices for the Next Prime Minister
          • Boris is Unfit
          • Brexit is a Huge Mistake. It’s Not Too Late to Stop It

          The RSA

          21st century enlightenment

          On the Plastic Problem

          • ​Digging into plastic waste in Thailand
          • Socioeconomic Factors of Plastic Waste Collection in Thailand and Beyond

          Serving Others

          • What Does it Mean to be Human-Centered?

          Circular Design Lab

          • Fostering Communities for Bottom-Up Change
          • Planting a Seed of Community

          The Future of Work

          • Put Your Dreams Away for Now?

          Our Treatment of Refugees

          • The Humble Abode Games

          Supporting Social Innovations

          • Fostering a Social Innovation Community

          End Coronavirus

          A multi-disciplinary effort to eliminate COVID-19

          • Living through COVID-19 in Australia
          • The UK Government is Enabling COVID-19
          • Taking a Step Back

          openDemocracy

          Free thinking for the world

          Our Broken Economic System

          • Pandemic Capitalism

          Harvard Business Review

          Ideas and advice for Leaders

          The Circular Economy is Good Business

          • Don’t Let Regulation Turn Your Business into a Rube Goldberg Machine 

          Sustainable Brands

          Systems thinking in action

          Radical Intrapreneurship

          • Unleash the Radical Intrapreneurs!
          • Are You a Radical Intrapreneur?

          On the Role of Sustainability Leaders

          • Why It’s Time to Reframe the Role of Sustainability Leaders

          Advocacy, Purpose, and Engagement

          • How to Find Lasting Motivation and Engagement at Work
          • Can a Tuktuk Ride Change the World?

          Impact Assessment

          • How Do We Assess Impact (and Why Should We)?

          Inclusive Business

          • Is It About Cutting Out the Middleman?

          THINK

          Ideas and innovative solutions to today’s most pressing problems

          East Meets West in the Pandemic

          • Observing Disintegration

          The Necessity of Circularity

          • The Circular Economy is Not Optional

          SALT Magazine

          Compassionate business thinking

          Challenging Your Beliefs

          • How to Create a Healthier Planet: Be Willing to Be Wrong

          On Driverless Cars

          • Why Every Decision We Now Make Will Shape the Future

          Avoiding Corporate Calcification

          • It’s Time to Reframe Corporate Sustainability
          • Disrupt the Corporate Immune System
          • Pump up the Jazz…Because Orchestral Business Won’t Survive

          Social Space

          Innovation + impact

          Questioning Tech

          • Is It Time To Curb The Tech Bandwagon?

          Re-envisioning Schools

          • Can We Rethink Education for an Inclusive Future?

          The Nation

          Thailand's Independent Newspaper

          The Sufficiency Economy

          • Let’s Honor the Late King by Committing to the Sufficiency Economy

          SDG Helpdesk

          A one-stop shop for SDG-related tools, knowledge, & more

          Green Growth

          • Edible Garden City (Singapore)
          • The Picha Project (Malaysia)
          • Zero Baht Shop (Thailand)
        • aFFILIATIONS

          Partner organizations

          The RSA

          21st century enlightenment

          As a Global Ambassador of the RSA, I have hosted events like the Bangkok Talks series in collaboration with the School of Global Studies at Thammasat University. The RSA has also provided grant money to help support the Circular Design Lab.

          Thammasat University - School of Global Studies

          Innovators for sustainable solutions to complex global issues

          I'm a former faculty member and current adjunct at Thammasat University’s School of Global Studies (SGS). I teach courses designed for active learning on social innovation, advocacy, and social enterprise in the ASEAN context.

          Circular Economy Club - Bangkok

          Local action. Global impact.

          As Thailand’s Organizer for the Circular Economy Club, I host events that bring together circular economy proponents for collaborative learning and to develop possibilities.

          The Pledge on Food Waste

          Time to save food

          I’m a member of the Board of Advisors for The Pledge on Food Waste, where I’ve provided guidance for the certification program’s creation and ongoing evolution.

          Design Thinking Program

          Create unique value

          I’m an advisor to the Design Thinking Certificate Program at Missouri State University, which focuses on innovative thinking as a means of designing products and services. 

        • Story-Based Systemic Design

          Sit with the problem

          Story-Based Systemic Design (SBSD) helps people design change with sustainability being central to the process.

          SBSD is a participant-driven framework for systemic design that integrates systems thinking and storytelling in seeking community-developed solutions to wicked problems.

           

          Learn more about SBSD over at the Linear to Circular site.

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