SEAN JONES
ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
SEAN JONES
DIRECTOR OF CIRCULAR TECHNOLOGY
Sean Jones is a sustainability transformation leader with over 25 years of experience driving enterprise-wide circularity and zero-carbon initiatives across the technology, chemical, and manufacturing sectors. As the Director of Circular Technology at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, he focuses on accelerating the transition to a circular economy in North America by scaling innovative technologies, circular business models, and critical mineral recovery.
Prior to joining the Foundation Sean served as the Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft Germany, where he pioneered the development of sustainability ecosystems and successfully built a $ 100M sustainability business by integrating ESG outcomes into mainstream digital operations.
His career is defined by a unique ability to bridge the gap between complex digital technology and measurable environmental impact. Sean’ s extensive background includes senior leadership roles at Deloitte Digital, Accenture, and a 12-year tenure at BASF, where he led global strategies for shared services, e-commerce platforms, and operational excellence.
An expert in circular economy principles, Sean holds specialised certifications from TU Delft, The University of Freiburg, and the SDG Academy. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley in Chemical Engineering and holds an MBA from INSEAD.
“ Because of the high demand, there is a strong intrinsic motivation among all of the cloud infrastructure operators to reuse and repair as much as possible”
Sean Jones Director of Circular Technology Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Navigating the implementation chapter With the growing demand for materials and a spotlight on waste, the circular economy is moving from conceptual frameworks to largescale implementation. Over the past decade, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has defined key principles: eliminating waste, circulating products and materials at their highest value, for example through repair and refurbishment, and regenerating nature.
Alongside plastics and fashion and textiles, the Foundation recognises critical minerals as a central focus.
“ The key thing here is not just an understanding of circularity, but the implementation and scaling of circular solutions – getting companies from a pilot stage of what they’ re doing into really scaling it out,” Sean explains.
ellenmacarthurfoundation. org 7