Erica Purvis

Erica combines a background in Sustainable Design Engineering with program and policy development for impact. Graduating in Product Design Engineering in 2006 with a first-class MEng, she worked as a sustainable design engineer for Philips in the Netherlands before moving to London as design and impact manager for Keep Britain Tidy. In 2014, she founded Technical Nature, merging her passion for nature with sustainable circular design and regenerative business innovation. She collaborates with organizations and individuals, mentoring with various climate accelerators, incubators, and universities.

Erica consults on product design and creative strategies for impact. In 2021, she co-founded Design Nature CIC, a social enterprise empowering young people to design for sustainability, earning recognition as one of the Big Issue 100 Gamechangers in 2024. Recently, she was appointed Visiting Professor at the Glasgow School of Art in Product Design Engineering with the Royal Academy of Engineering, supporting the integration of industry and academic practices in sustainable and circular design. She also co-founded a global movement (OSCEdays) to explore the role of open source in enabling a circular economy. Active in her local community, Erica volunteers with and is a former director of Reading Hydro CBS and contributes to the local Climate Emergency Strategy. She is also a voluntary editor for the London Area Pituitary Foundation Newsletter.