Adaptive Reuse and Circular Economy: From Meatpacking Plant to Thriving Industrial Ecosystem

In this episode, Bard MBA student Eric Sargent interviews John Edel, founder and director of Bubbly Dynamics, about transforming derelict Chicago industrial buildings into closed-loop ecosystems for small businesses. John shares the story behind The Plant, a former meatpacking facility now home to 25 food producers, brewers, urban farmers, and manufacturers who share resources, waste streams, and community. He discusses industrial symbiosis, adaptive reuse, and slow money financing, and explains how Bubbly Dynamics proves that responsible, community-centered industrial redevelopment can be financially viable.

MEET THE SPEAKERS

John Edel
John is both an eco and social entrepreneur. His most recent endeavor, The Plant, is a project combining adaptive industrial reuse, waste recovery, smart building technologies, and aquaponics to create the nation's first vertical farm and food-business incubator. Located in a former meatpacking facility in Chicago’s historic Stockyards, The Plant is home to 24 businesses whose inputs and outputs are woven together as a living laboratory for the circular economy.

John also is the owner and developer of the Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Center, an affordable, energy-efficient space for small and emerging manufacturers, product assemblers, and other businesses committed to sustainability. As General Contractor, Edel took the facility from a burnt-out shell to 100% occupancy while using a mixture of waste-stream recycled materials and leading edge technology to make the building exceptionally energy efficient and pleasantly non-toxic. The renovation was assisted by a core group of volunteers and by bartering with suppliers, tenants and scrappers. The building's green roof is a photo of Edel's daughter Zoe rendered in 9,600 sedum plants, each of which is a pixel in her image.

In previous careers, Edel taught computer graphics, designed sets for broadcast television, art directed video games, and worked as a chef on private railroad cars. He has a lifelong dream of combining industrial preservation with new uses to reinvigorate Chicago's lost industrial base.

Eric Sargent
Eric is a Bard MBA in Sustainability student and founder and president of Circular Economy Club Boston. He is an experienced program and project manager focused on circular and sustainable value chain solutions that drive revenue and reduce costs. With more than nine years of experience, Eric has developed, championed, and advanced projects from concept to reality. He is currently an EDF Fellow at Greystar. 

J. Renay Loper 
Renay is a Clinical Faculty in Organizational Leadership for the Bard MBA in Sustainability, where she focuses on justice-centered transformation in the workplace. Previously, she was the Vice President of Program Innovation at PYXERA Global where she served on the Executive Leadership Team, led five country offices, drove the development of new business and programs, co-led the organization's work on inclusive circular cities, and advised corporate clients on their social impact strategies. Renay also led the organization’s ARC (Antiracist Collective) initiatives, which included internal and external efforts toward dismantling unjust systems. To this end, Renay created Rhetoric to Action, a series of conversations to bridge sectors toward collective action around social and racial justice.

Prior to PYXERA Global, Renay led the grassroots exchange and education grant portfolio at the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, and has served in a variety of leadership roles in higher education, nonprofit, and business prior to that. Renay is an avid speaker and facilitator, has authored and edited numerous publications, including a resource journal, Student Affairs Professionals Cultivating Campus Climates Inclusive of International Students (Jossey Bass). Renay serves on the board of directors of nonprofits including Community Change, Harpswell Foundation, and Girl Rising.