Keynote Panel - Place-based Circular Society Innovations

Circular economy transitions are often framed in terms of technology and economy — but what about the people and places that make them work?

Welcome to the Keynote Panel showcasing - what a Circular Society can look like. This session is co-hosted by the ESRC Place-based Circular Society Innovations project with the MMU Sustainability Hub at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. Join us for an exciting evening of discussions and insights on circular projects that foreground societal objectives across Greater Manchester.

Our keynote speakers from Cracking Good Food, Creative Design and Manufacture and Cera Cycloan, prove that circular projects and organisations are always social in nature. They involve people, impact society, and are realised through social relations and processes.

Drawing on real-world examples, our panel will share their expertise and experiences in creating sustainable solutions for a better future, bringing circular society to life! Together we will consider how embedding social dimensions can make circular transitions more socially just and inclusive, economically resilient, and ecologically restorative.

Our panel includes:

• Jane Deane, Project Manager at Cracking Good Food
• Numan Azmi, Co-Founder/Managing Director at Creative Design and Manufacture UK
• Brian Pendlebury, Founder of Cera Cycloan.

Don't miss this opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and learn how you can make a positive impact on communities and the environment. See you there - Thursday 23rd October 17:00-19:00!

Panel Biographies:

Jane Deane:

Jane is Bid Writer and Project Manager at Cracking Good Food – a CIC whose mission is to tackle food and fuel poverty and to ensure all have access to good food. Food waste, low fuel cooking, community growing spaces and a ground breaking award winning kitchen kit recycling project are all part of how CGF are tackling environmental issues relating to food.

Before joining CGF Jane was Programme Director at MediaCityUK, responsible for the public sector economic, cultural and transport and infrastructure programmes and Programme Director at New East Manchester, including responsibility for Sportcity.

In her spare time she enjoys long distance running and rowing.

Numan Azmi:

Numan is a social entrepreneur and Co-Founder/Managing Director of Creative Design & Manufacture UK (CDM UK), a multi award-winning textile heritage social enterprise. With 15 years’ senior management experience in publishing, retail, manufacturing and academia, followed by 22 years running his own consultancy, he has served as Director, Chair and Non-Executive Director across numerous social enterprises and boards. CDM UK supports vulnerable and marginalised women and children, offering holistic, textile-based workshops that build skills for employment, enterprise or further education. Its mission is to foster empowerment, financial independence and positive transformation for disadvantaged communities in Greater Manchester and beyond.

Brian Pendlebury:

I am a restorative practitioner with extensive experience facilitating meetings and conferences to resolve grievances across justice, communities, families, workplaces, and schools. I’ve worked with Family Rights Group to promote restorative practice, increase victim empathy, and support positive behaviour change. My focus is on natural integration and re-integration, listening deeply to foster understanding and rebuild relationships. In 2014, I founded Cycloan Education and Restorative Approaches Ltd—a social enterprise offering restorative alternative education, a recycling centre, cycle shop, and maintenance workshop—combining practical skills with restorative values to support long-term personal and community transformation.