Manuel Maqueda
Special Program Instructor, Applied Circular Economics and Regenerative Economics, Harvard University.
Manuel Maqueda is an international teacher, speaker and innovator with a focus on restoring the balance of living systems, and reversing climate change.
Full Profile
About Manuel Maqueda
Manuel Maqueda is a globally recognised teacher, innovator, and keynote speaker, dedicated to helping organisations address today’s most pressing sustainability challenges and seize fresh opportunities for business transformation through circular and regenerative economic principles. Renowned for engaging, myth-busting presentations that are memorable and empowering, Manuel makes complex ideas accessible, practical, and deeply relevant for corporate leaders, governments, and academic audiences.
Regenerative Economics & Circular Innovation
As Special Program Instructor at Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education, Manuel teaches Applied Circular Economics and Regenerative Economics, advancing effective, actionable approaches to reverse climate change and restore living systems. He is the architect behind courses at UC Berkeley and UCLA Extension, empowering leaders and teams to move beyond traditional sustainability and proactively embrace regeneration.
He consults for global companies and governments on how circular and regenerative economic transformation enables long-term resilience, profitability, and competitive advantage. Organisations turn to Manuel to navigate material innovation, reduce risks from single-use plastics, boost supply chain efficiency, and unlock new revenue through more ethical, future-ready business models.
Business Challenges Addressed
- Eliminating Waste and Unlocking Value: Manuel highlights how over 90% of economic value is typically lost within a year, showing leaders how circular models retain and even grow value in dynamic ways.
- Failing ‘Sustainability’: Exposes common pitfalls in superficial sustainability efforts, guiding businesses to align environmental goals with genuine impact and brand reputation protection.
- Plastic Pollution Solutions: As co-founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition and SUPER-a tiered certification programme-Manuel helps companies innovate for plastic-free operations, responding to regulatory pressure and consumer demand for authenticity.
- AI for Climate Resilience: Pioneering at Viento.ai, Manuel leverages AI with human ingenuity to design proactive responses to climate disasters, building operational resilience and future-proofing risk management strategies.
- Leading Regenerative Transformation: Guides organisations through the paradigm shift toward genuinely regenerative business, demonstrating tangible benefits in job creation, long-term value, and strong stakeholder engagement.
Talks
Few concepts are more misunderstood and yet more pivotal to business and ecological innovation and success. In this myth-busting talk you will get a grasp of pivotal circular economy concepts and gain actionable insights on how to incorporate circular thinking into your daily business.
Did you know that over 90% of the value created by our economy is destroyed in less than one year, and turned into waste? Gain actionable insights on how to overcome challenges and leverage opportunities in the unavoidable transition to a circular and regenerative economy, which is worth trillions, and it’s bound to create millions of jobs while turning business models inside-out.
Are you ready to embrace regeneration? Sustainability may make you more eco-efficient, circular business models may make you more competitive, resilient and eco-effective; but only regenerative thinking can provide the right framework for exponential innovation and climate change mitigation. Gain actionable insights on how to overcome challenges and leverage opportunities in this transition.
Fraught with real-world examples and metrics, this eye-opening and actionable journey will take you along six common ways of thinking and talking about sustainability that are guaranteed to fail miserably at delivering impact -and which may damage your brand and your reputation in the process, too.
Mainstream climate change mitigation strategies focused on decarbonizing energy and transport are likely headed for a spectacular failure. Learn three overlooked ways of thinking that will unlock new and more effective ways to think about climate action for leaders, businesses and governments alike.
A deep dive into the often misrepresented and misunderstood reality of plastic pollution and its impacts on the environment and public health. This eye-opening talk will be punctuated by actionable insights, do’s and don’ts, and challenges and opportunities for businesses and our society at large to innovate our way towards a future free of plastic pollution.
In this talk we will use the behind-the-scenes story of the making of the award-winning documentary film Albatross to learn about the relationship between humans, place, and ecology; and to envision possible futures for our species. Using breathtaking photos and footage, we will travel virtually to Midway, a remote marine sanctuary in the Pacific, and witness the lives of majestic seabirds that feed their chicks plastic garbage instead of food. In the process we will explore the power of art, storytelling, and film to transform the world.
From preventing extreme weather events to enabling regenerative businesses, AI and related exponential technologies are poised to become angular tools in enabling climate action, industrial symbiosis, circular economics, and planetary regeneration at scale. This eye-opening talk will be punctuated by actionable insights, and reveal key challenges and opportunities for businesses and our society at large.