Merryn Haines-Gadd

Merryn is a specialist in design and innovation for sustainability and is a passionate advocate for using design and strategic systems thinking to solve environmental challenges. For the last five years, she has been a fellow at the Exeter Centre for Circular Economy in the University of Exeter Business School, delivering industry-led academic research, private consulting, and executive education programs that support businesses to improve the sustainability of their products and services within the fashion, FMCG, transport, consumer products, energy, and electronics sectors. Key projects include: Circular Revolution - an EU-funded business outreach initiative supporting Welsh SMEs to adopt circular innovation; and Manufacturing Immortality - an EPSRC consortium exploring the application opportunities and environmental implications of deploying self-healing materials into products.

Through her research and consulting, she has also co-authored several service design and business innovation toolkits for companies looking to embed circular thinking, such as the ‘Circular Business Model Design Guide’ with PA Consulting and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, ‘Creating Customer Experiences for a Circular Economy’ with Clarasys, and ‘The Emotionally Durable Design Nine’ as part of her PhD with Philips Lighting.

Prior to academia, Merryn began her career as an interdisciplinary designer-maker and co-founded a studio collective that developed eco-focused products and furniture.