Dr Nicolás Labra Cataldo

Nico is a Research Associate in Environmental Sustainability Assessment working with Bupa to uncover genuinely circular pathways for healthcare materials. He uses life cycle assessment and systems analysis to understand how materials move through healthcare settings. With experience across academia, government, and the non-profit sector in Latin America, South Asia, and the UK, he specialises in evidence-based approaches to the circular economy and waste management, aiming to strengthen sustainability discussions with robust science and to challenge greenwashing and oversimplified “circular” claims. Nico earned his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Manchester, where he examined the informal waste management sector in the Global South through a transdisciplinary lens to identify pathways for a just and inclusive circular economy. He also holds an MSc in Sustainable Development from Utrecht University and a BSc in Industrial Engineering with a diploma in Chemical Engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. When he’s not having fun with environmental databases and system modelling, he’s probably trying out a new sport or playing bass guitar.