Rate My Professor Fiona Charnley

Fiona Charnley is Professor of Circular Innovation within the University of Exeter Business School and Co-Director of the Exeter Centre for the Circular Economy. She earned her PhD in Sustainable Design and MSc by Research in Product Design from Cranfield University. Earlier in her career, she served as a Lecturer in Sustainable Product and Service Design at Cranfield University, contributing to research in competitive creative design and circular economy principles. Charnley has established herself as a leading expert in design, innovation, and manufacturing for sustainability, with extensive publications advancing the field. Notable works include 'A conceptual framework for circular design' (2016, Sustainability), 'Skills and capabilities for a sustainable and circular economy: The changing role of design' (2017, Journal of Cleaner Production), 'Unlocking value for a circular economy through 3D printing: A research agenda' (2017, Technological Forecasting and Social Change), 'Digitisation and the circular economy: A review of current research and future trends' (2018, Energies), and 'Simulation to Enable a Data-Driven Circular Economy' (2019, Sustainability). She co-edited the 'Handbook of the Circular Economy: Transitions and Transformation' (2023, De Gruyter).

As Associate Dean for Research and Impact at the University of Exeter Business School, Charnley drives institutional research strategy. She co-directs the UKRI National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Hub (DICE Network+), which has funded projects totaling £160,000 for vital research. She chairs the EPSRC Manufacturing and the Circular Economy Theme Strategic Advisory Team and leads the £1,512,228 EPSRC grant for Digitally Enabled Circular Healthcare Innovation (DECHI, 2025-2027). Her influence extends to policy and industry, including contributions to an NHS roadmap tackling waste, circular strategies for the solar industry, and discussions on infrastructure pressures from AI data centres. Charnley delivers executive training programs, serves as Senior Associate at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and engages in public lectures on circular economy topics amid challenges like COVID-19. Her research garners over 5,000 citations, shaping academic discourse on resource transformation and value creation.