Hope is a double edged sword for those who work in the circular economy. On one hand, we see the potential for this concept to provide a way for humans to maintain the quality of life we currently have on this planet without destroying the planet in the process. But on the other hand, progress seems too slow, the sector too small and the journey sometimes a bit too lonely.
That’s why Circular Philadelphia was created – to give a center of gravity in Philly to entrepreneurs and organizations that are trying to reduce waste while running thriving enterprises or individuals who are trying to make better buying decisions. So it was incredible to attend the Circularity 24 conference in Chicago at the end of May with thousands of entrepreneurs, major corporations, governments and people who are making the circular economy a reality.
The message of radical hope was on display during Molly Kawahata’s keynote. Kawahata got her start as a youth advisor on the Obama campaign in 2008 and then as a Climate Advisor in the Obama White House. She now runs Systemic Impact Strategies, and her life story is depicted in this Patagonia documentary. Although everyone in attendance seemed to be in the same action-oriented mindset, Kawahata pulled from her mountain climbing experience to remind the crowd that we need to find energy and excitement even as we may be struggling to keep progressing.
The beauty of being co-directors of an organization meant that we could divide and conquer sessions. Nic was invigorated to attend the Building Products Forum and hear from major real estate developers that they are ready to buy circular building materials that can be deconstructed and disassembled; they just need the products. Or to see our old friend Mardi Ditze who used to work in the City’s Energy Office now take the lead at IKEA to make their retail products and operations circular by 2030.
Sam immersed herself in conversations about circular fashion and textiles and noted the multiple policy initiatives working their way through federal and state governments that have the potential to make real change within the industry. Additionally, she was encouraged to hear that major brands like H&M and Primark have committed to beginning the shift to circular business models like resale and rental that decouple profits from production.
But what really sent us back to Philly saying that the circular economy is not just a possibility, but an impending reality, was being able to connect with other cities that have either non-profit organizations and/or government offices focused solely on progressing circularity. We caught up with Cathi Lehn, the circular economy manager for the City of Cleveland who just participated in and supported a “Sew-A-Thon” for Cleveland’s circular textile community and then came to the conference. Madelyn Morgan’s circularity team for the City of Austin is currently signing up start ups for Austin’s Circular Economy Accelerator and planning to build an EPA-funded materials reuse center, but she still found the time to come.
And we saw our newest friend, Phoenix’s circular economy project manager Amanda Jordan, who will have more than enough on her project plate over the next year as Phoenix plans to build a 40-acre materials recovery and reuse campus. Amanda and Maddie appeared on a panel titled, “The Future of Cities is Circular,” and after hearing what they had to say, we couldn’t help but believe it.
This past March, Circular Philadelphia organized these three cities along with another six into a grassroots Circular Cities Network where we meet every other month to share updates, best practices and that oh-so-important hope that we mentioned before. But conferences like these allow us to get out of the zoom windows to collaborate and have some fun in real life, which even in this age of instant communication cannot be replaced.
There are so many connections and ideas that we’ll be sharing with our members and board, but the biggest takeaway that we’re coming home with is that we are not alone. And in a time when Philly city government lacks the leadership to advance the circular economy as a strategy to not only protect our planet for future generations, but to solve Philly’s immediate issues, we need this reminder that we’re not alone.
We’re returning to Philly hopeful about continuing to make progress toward a circular economy. Thanks to the great ideas and fresh energy we harnessed at Circularity 24, we know we’ll get by with a little help from our friends.
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