Chris Oestereich formerly led the zero-waste efforts for Albertsons, which worked to reduce the waste sent to landfill by the firm’s grocery stores and distribution centers. He now works with multinationals, development agencies, and academic institutions to rethink systems for financial, social, and environmental benefits through his firm, Linear to Circular (L2C). Through L2C, he’s currently launching an upcycled fashion brand, Morph Bags, that is partnering with informal workers to create their products. Morph is a solution provider that helps organizations turn their landfill-bound waste into useful products, while aiming to optimize the long-term value of those materials in the spirit of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Butterfly Diagram.

As a co-founder of the Circular Design Lab, Chris teaches systemic design to community members who want to design positive change for local issues via a systems thinking mindset. Chris is the publisher of the Wicked Problems Collaborative, an independent press that focuses on humanity’s biggest challenges, and he’s written for a wide range of outlets, including the Harvard Business Review, The RSA, Think Magazine The Week, OpenDemocracy, and the World Health Network. Chris is also a lecturer and former faculty member at Thammasat University’s School of Global Studies, where he teaches courses related to social innovation, and sustainability.