Dame Ellen MacArthur faced challenges when she famously sailed around the world – now she is confronting new ones, and they have nothing to do with boats.

What they do have in common with her record-breaking solo circumnavigation is the planet itself.

Having twice sailed around it, Ellen is now channelling her energies into saving it. And next week she arrives in Bradford to run a ground-breaking international conference in partnership with the University of Bradford.

The recently-formed Ellen MacArthur Foundation has forged a three-year partnership with the university. The foundation aims to equip young people for work in a world of increasingly-limited resources and inspire them to rethink, redesign and build a more sustainable future.

The international summit is to bring together the leading thinkers, businesses and academics on closed-loop thinking – the principal of the circular economy, which uses renewable energy to create a flow of materials whereby waste from one process is used to feed another.

Ten international lecturers at the forefront of the sustainability movement are speaking on one theme at the event, including Ellen, who first hit the headlines in 2001 when she single-handedly raced non-stop around the world, aged just 24.

The yachtswoman-turned-environmental crusader set a new world record in 2005 when she sailed around the world in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds.

Also taking to the podium will be Dr Peter Hopkinson, director of education for sustainable development at the University of Bradford and co-director of the higher education environmental improvement project.

Peter has worked with Ken Webster, head of learning at the foundation, to forge the relationship between the two bodies and also develop a post-graduate certificate in the circular economy.

“Bradford is a forward-thinking university when it comes to sustainability. The conference will provide much of the backbone for the post-graduate certificate,” says Dame Ellen, speaking before the event, “Those coming are amazing – leading figures on forward-thinking from across the world, in terms of how we can do things differently and be aspirational.

“Right now we don’t live sustainably. Fossil fuels are not a renewable energy resource and many materials are used once, then thrown away. Our economy is still based on a linear ‘take, make and dispose’ model.

“We are using resources that will not be around forever. We will be looking at how we can use things instead of using them up. We live in a globalised world. Things have to change on an industrial level.”

She adds: “The biggest thing I learned from sailing was to understand the importance of managing resources and knowing when I’d run out.”

Ellen has connections with Bradford: her mother, grandmother and Aunt Thea – who introduced her to sailing as a child – grew up in the city.

“Bradford is a place that looks to the future, and that is very much the ethos of the university. There is so much positive energy surrounding this event.”

Ellen began her bid to protect the planet for future generations after a trip to South Georgia in the South Atlantic to help with an albatross survey. “It gave me space and time to see things differently,” she said at the time. The sight of abandoned whaling stations led to her thinking about how man operates, exploiting a resource, taking what he wants and moving on.

The conference – which has attracted chief executives from FTSE 100 companies – is aimed at high-level business people and education representatives.

Peter Hopkinson, academic director for the 10+1 event, says: “The idea is to promote the concept of the circular economy and demonstrate its practical application and relevance in the education and business sector.”

He adds: “We are entering a world of species-loss and rising energy prices. We are looking at what we can do. We want to inspire business leaders, educational leaders and young people to be creative and innovative to take on these challenges.”

Examples of best practice from around the world will be highlighted.

Bradford 10+1 international conference takes place at the University of Bradford from Monday to Wednesday. There is a charge to attend. To book, visit bradford.ac.uk/ten-plus-one. A free public lecture takes place on Monday at 6pm in the Great Hall at the University of Bradford. For tickets, visit wegottickets.com/event/98058.