Circular Materials and Lifecycle Innovation across FIVE-C Sectors

Day & Time:

2nd September 2026

Location:

University of Salford

Organised by: FIVE-C Network, University of Salford

Executive Summary

The FIVE-C Network one-day symposium will focus on the theme ‘Circular Materials and Lifecycle Innovation across FIVE-C Sectors.’
This event will explore how circularity in materials can accelerate sustainable transformation across digital, construction, fashion & textiles, renewable energy and healthcare, bringing together both STEM and SHAPE researchers to address technical, social, economic and cultural dimensions in equal measure.

Confirmed speakers and panellists:

Dr Faye Smith, OBE, CEng, FIMMM

Chair, Composites UK

Faye is a Director of Avalon Consultancy Services and Chair of the Board of Composites UK. In her Consultancy role Faye supports the materials sector in strategy, R&D, inward investment and business development. For 17 years she was a Materials FDI Specialist for the Dept for Business & Trade and currently supports Invest Manchester in a similar role. In her specialist area of composite materials, Faye helped develop two UK Composite Strategies, the first of which established the NCC. Faye is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the IOM3 and was awarded an OBE in 2022.

Professor Fiona Charnley

EPSRC’s DICE Network+ lead, University of Exeter

Fiona Charnley is Professor of Circular Innovation and Associate Dean for Research in the Business School at the University of Exeter. She is Co-Director of the Exeter Centre for the Circular Economy and leads multiple government and industry-funded research projects covering topics such as the use of digital technology to accelerate the adoption of the circular economy, circular healthcare and remanufacturing for the recovery of critical minerals. Fiona has also published a book on the Circular Economy: Handbook of the Circular Economy: Transitions and Transformation

Amy Peace

Innovation Lead – Circular Economy, Innovate UK

With a background in Chemical Engineering, Amy has coordinated sustainability projects and programmes in industry, industrial clusters and pan-EU cross-sector initiatives. Amy’s Innovate UK work portfolio includes UKRI investments in interdisciplinary circular economy and Life Cycle Analysis initiatives, and the development of future programmes to aid the transition of manufacturing and materials sectors to get to Net Zero, highlighting the importance of embedded carbon in supply chains.

Andy Sheppard

Associate Director – Sustainable Buildings at Arup

Andy is an Associate Director who’s been specialising in sustainable buildings for 18 years. He leads a dedicated, talented team along with the development of global training courses on sustainability implementation. Andy’s experience has shown him that the reasons for success or failure in any sustainability space are very rarely technical; leading him to have a deep interest in the real-world implementation of solutions, examining underlying organisational structure and the psychology of teams all trying to exist in complex societal systems.

Thomas Addison

Local Economic Strategy Principal (Low Carbon Economy), Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Tom is Low Carbon Economy Principal at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and programme manager for Bee Net Zero, Greater Manchester’s business-led partnership that has the mission to make the city-region the easiest place in the UK to become a net-zero business. He joined in April 2023 from the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Rachel Garner

Head of Sustainability, Vision Linens

Rachael Garner is Head of Sustainability Strategy & Communications at Vision Linens, leading sustainability programmes across international textile supply chains. Her work focuses on translating sustainability ambitions into practical business action through innovation, collaboration, and systems thinking. With experience across commercial and non-profit sectors, Rachael is particularly interested in how organisations can work together to accelerate decarbonisation, circularity, and responsible supply chains.

Rationale

Circular materials research is inherently cross-disciplinary: breakthroughs in chemistry, engineering and materials science must be understood alongside shifts in behaviour, governance, business models and cultural adoption.
This symposium will therefore create a rare platform where scientists, engineers, social scientists, designers and policy specialists engage on equal footing to examine how materials can be re-imagined, reused and reintegrated into sustainable value chains.

Aims

Showcase innovative technical research in circular materials — such as bio-based alternatives, recyclability by design, smart materials enabling reuse, and advanced recovery technologies.
Highlight social sciences and humanities perspectives — including lifecycle assessment, industrial ecology, behavioural drivers, cultural acceptance, procurement practices, and governance frameworks.
Foster integrated dialogue across STEM and SHAPE, ensuring lifecycle analysis and socio-economic evaluation inform technical development, and conversely that social frameworks are grounded in the realities of materials science and engineering.
Identify opportunities for cross-sectoral learning: how lessons from construction deconstruction can inform healthcare procurement, or how digital tools and data infrastructures can support circularity in textiles or renewable energy.

Key Themes

Lifecycle Thinking Across Disciplines – environmental, economic and social assessment of circular strategies, drawing from both engineering models and social science methodologies.
Designing for Circularity – material innovations and design approaches that enable reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycling.
Recovery, Recycling and Reuse Technologies – STEM advances in recovery processes coupled with SHAPE insights into infrastructure, supply chains, and labour implications.
Policy, Governance and Cultural Change – exploring how regulation, business models, consumer behaviour, and equity considerations enable or hinder circular adoption.
Cross-Sector Innovation – systems approaches that connect circular practices across FIVE-C sectors, supported by both technical advances and social frameworks.

Agenda

Want to be part of the action? You can submit your abstract to present your research.

Registration Fees

Places are very limited, so book your ticket now.

Frequently asked questions

What are the different rates?

• Member rates are existing members of the FIVE-C Network.

• If you aren’t sure, get in touch with us and we can help.

When are tickets on sale?

• Tickets are now on sale.

I can no longer make the event, what are my options?

• If you have booked a ticket and can no longer make it, you can transfer your ticket to a colleague (and advise us of who will take your place), or you can apply for a refund up until 14 days before the event. If you cancel your place within 14 days of the event, we are unable to offer a refund.