February 26, 2025 • 35 mins
In this episode of The Circular Future , host Stephanie McLarty, Head of Sustainability at Quantum Lifecycle Partners, sits down with two leading voices in the circular economy movement: Jo-Anne St. Godard, Executive Director of the Circular Innovation Council, and Paul Shorthouse, Managing Director of Circular Economy Leadership Canada (CELC). Together, they explore how a circular economy can address some of society’s most pressing challenges—beyond just resource efficiency and clean tech. From affordability and housing crises to climate change, the conversation dives into actionable strategies for businesses, governments, and individuals to transition toward a more sustainable future.
The discussion also highlights key initiatives from both organizations, including their collaboration on the upcoming Canadian Circular Economy Summit in Montreal, where leaders from across industries will convene to share innovations, best practices, and actionable solutions.
Key Takeaways
- The circular economy rethinks production, consumption, and resource management, offering solutions to affordability, housing, and climate crises.
- Collaboration across industries, governments, and communities is key to driving systemic change, as shown by the Canadian Circular Economy Summit.
- A circular economy creates economic opportunities, including jobs, innovation, and resilience, while addressing issues like affordability and housing.
- Practical projects, like reusable packaging and organics collection systems, prove circular systems work and scale for greater impact.
- Everyone has a role in the circular economy—start small at the summit, but commit to long-term action for lasting change.
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Want to be a guest on The Circular Future podcast? Email Sanjay Trivedi at strivedi@quantumlifecycle.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Can a circular economy be more than just
resource efficiency, more thanits clean tech image, and help
solve some of society's pressingissues?
Welcome to the circular futureyour access to thought leaders
and innovations to help you be abusiness sustainability
champion, even if it's not yourcore job.
(00:29):
I'm your host, stephanieMcLarty, head of Sustainability
at Quantum Lifecycle Partners,your trusted partner in
electronics circularity.
We have many burning challenges, quite literally, that we are
facing these days.
Besides climate change, thereare crises in housing and
(00:50):
affordability and food security,just to name a few.
Can a circular economy help?
What could its future look likeand how do we make it all
happen?
With me are two industryjuggernauts to help answer these
big questions.
Joanne St Goddard is ExecutiveDirector at Circular Innovation
(01:12):
Councila leading nationalenvironmental nonprofit charity.
Joanne has 25 years ofexperience in public policy,
design, strategy and leadership,and she's dedicated to
accelerating Canada's transitiontoward a circular economy.
Welcome to the podcast, joanne.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Thanks so much, Stephanie.
Glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
And we have Paul Shorthouse, Managing Director of
Circular Economy LeadershipCanada, a network of leaders
from all industries and sectorsfocused on the transition to a
circular economy in Canada.
Paul is one of Canada's leadingexperts in the emerging
circular economy.
Welcome to the podcast, Paul.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Thanks, nice to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
And I will say that both of them are organizing the
Canadian Circular Economy Summit, which we will talk about a bit
later.
But first let's bring ourlisteners up to speed on who you
are and your backgrounds and,frankly, the things that we may
not know about.
So, joanne, I'll start with you.
What would be two things thatthe world wouldn't necessarily
(02:18):
know about the CircularInnovation Council?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So, for those that may have not had the pleasure of
doing business with or meetingyet, we've actually been around,
even though the name of theorganization is quite new.
We've been around as anorganization, as the Recycling
Council of Ontario, for aboutfour and a half decades and in
that role we were actuallyresponsible for bringing the
(02:43):
public and the private sectortogether to negotiate our
biggest recycling programactually in the globe certainly
in the country called the BlueBox Program.
So I think, in terms of ourlegacy, that's how people knew
the Recycling Council of Ontarioand for that we were actually
blessed with the United NationsEnvironmental Protection Agency
(03:05):
Award back in the day.
So that background is actuallyhow and why we became the
Circular Innovation Council inJune of 2020.
At that time we reallyrecognized that there was an
important opportunity to takeall of our technical,
operational and policy know-howand expertise over those four
(03:26):
decades and really join thisexpanding global community of
other organizations around theworld that were recognizing the
potential and the need for acircular economy.
So we made that leap in June of2020 and truly haven't really
looked back.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
That is amazing, and we'll talk more about that later
.
Okay and Paul, what would betwo things that the world
wouldn't necessarily know about?
Circular Economy LeadershipCanada.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Yeah, well, maybe the fact that we're a solution
space under the umbrella of ourbroader parent not-for-profit
charity known as Generate Canada, which used to be called the
Natural Step Canada, and we'reone of five solution spaces
under Generate Canada, includingthe Canada Plastics Pact, the
Nature Investment Hub, theCanadian Alliance for Net Zero,
(04:16):
agri-food and the Energy FuturesLab.
But CELC was launched in 2018at the G7 Ocean Summit.
Formerly we were known as theCircular Economy Lab in Ontario,
which got created in 2016 andevolved into the Circular
Economy Leadership Coalition,which was founded by eight
(04:38):
partners five multinationalsthat are focused on Canada,
including Unilever, ikea, canadaLoblaw, canadian Tire and
Walmart, and also three NGO orpolicy think tanks the Smart
Prosperity Institute, theNational Zero Waste Council and
the Institute for SustainableDevelopment, and since that time
(04:58):
, we've grown to a network ofabout 70 partner organizations
and really focused on advancingthe opportunities for bringing a
circular economy to Canada.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
So both of your organizations have really gone
through an evolution over theyears, and even for Quantum, I
mean, we used to see ourselvesas electronics recyclers and now
we very much see ourselves aspartners in sustainable
electronics lifecycle management.
Partners in sustainableelectronics lifecycle management
(05:28):
.
Joanne, can you reflect back tothe kinds of conversations that
we were having before aroundthe space and where we're at now
, where we're going, thesetrends that you're seeing in the
evolution of the circulareconomy?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Yeah, it's so exciting to see and I guess one
of the benefits of being aroundlong enough is that you can
actually back cast and thinkabout, you know, the beginnings
of these conversations whichreally, as you mentioned,
focused on end of lifemanagement, resource efficiency,
resource recovery, recyclingand those are such key pillars
of the circular economy.
But now that I do back cast,it's really apparent to me, or
(05:58):
it's becoming more apparent,that that was just a little nub
that's grown into this biggerconversation, but it was so
important and really, you know,avant-garde of its time.
But now we're recognizing thatthat was really focusing on a
very small part of theproduction and the consumption
cycle an important part but itwas about dealing with something
(06:19):
at end of life and really kindof having limited options to do
that life and really kind ofhaving limited options to do
that.
The circular economy moves usaway from sort of externalities
or market failures into shiftingmarkets, shifting economies,
redesigning them to be able tothink about eliminating waste,
not by recycling it butpreventing it, and creating
(06:42):
business models, products,systems, thinking about
end-of-life management,recycling from the beginning and
rearranging the market andconsumers to support a market
that actually prevents it fromthe onset.
So I see folks using theirknowledge and their history on
recycling, but starting to thinkmore broadly about, as I
(07:06):
mentioned, product and consumingin a way that is regenerative
is in lockstep with thelimitations of our natural
resources, thinking aboutprotecting them, thinking about
the biodiversity that liveswithin them.
And I would say the mostexciting change that really Paul
and I are moving into is awayfrom environmental policy and
(07:28):
programs and thinking abouteconomic policy and programs,
and that really allows you tothink about financial model,
business models, taxonomy,really thinking about the heart
and soul of what is an economicredesign.
But the history is importantand it's really guiding our
future.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
So, paul, why do you think we need a circular economy
?
Joanne's just brought us intothe conversation around.
It's more than just wasteprevention, it's around even the
economic possibilities.
Why do we need a circulareconomy and what can it do?
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Yeah, I mean the circular economy really looks at
how we get the most out of ourbusinesses and our resources and
our value chains and thecollaboration models that come
from that, and it really sparksinnovation in terms of how we
think differently about how wedo business and how we operate
(08:26):
within our communities and theopportunities for things like
food security or addressingeconomic crises in different
ways.
So it's a job generator.
It's an opportunity to be moreresilient, both across our
supply chains and, with theconversations today focused so
much on things like tariffs andbuy local.
(08:48):
Circa Economy really brings alot of opportunity to bring some
of those business opportunitiesand investment opportunities
into our communities and thinkabout how we create new
partnerships with the localplayers that are part of the
value chain.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Joanne, what do you think?
What are some of the challengesthat we're facing?
Paul's brought up about tariffs, which were not really even
part of our vocabulary reallysix months ago and are now, you
know, front and center andsomething that the business
community is really concernedabout.
What are some of the ways thatthe circular economy can support
our societal challenges that wemay not think about?
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Yeah, you know, I learn more every day and there's
some things I take for grantedand I don't think about it in
the context of the circulareconomy and then yet I discover
another opportunity to reallyapply it and its principles and
practices and how it could be asolver for that.
Some of those examples reallylie in the practical things that
you think about today, which is, you know, affordability trying
(09:47):
to get insurance now in a worldthat is has, you know, climate
catastrophes and reallyexpensive insurance policies now
that have to, that are reallypaying for that and underpinning
it.
This is an everyday productthat we buy, we need for our
cars, our homes, cars, our homes.
We don't think about howclimate change and how a linear
(10:08):
economy has caused that nowreally fundamentally
unaffordable product and how acircular economy can address
that.
The housing crisis you knowthese days of living in houses
that are 4,000, 5,000, 6,000square feet, that have all of
this unoptimized space.
Do we need homes of that size?
How should we be building them?
How do we think aboutcommunities as ecosystems and
(10:32):
are we right sizing the way thatwe live within, you know, kind
of the housing that really suitsthe boundaries that we have to
live within today, consumerismis just.
You know, we really arerethinking the way that we buy
products, who we buy them from,how long do they last?
Can I repair it?
Can I get access toinstructions, tools?
(10:55):
Do I have a new relationshipwith the company that I buy from
in the sense that I want themto help me fix it when it breaks
down?
In the sense that I want themto help me fix it when it breaks
down?
So I think we're reallyreconfiguring the way that we
think about consumerism and howa circular economy can sort of
address some of theseaffordability and, obviously,
(11:19):
the environmental benefits thatcome with products that live
longer and that allow us to usethem longer as well.
So I think there's touch pointsalmost every day that I could
think about where the circulareconomy can apply to make our
lives more fulsome.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Absolutely.
One of the things that I reallylove about the circular economy
is that it makes so much sensein theory and there's so much
opportunity to make it happen inpractice, like big or small,
within our organizations, interms of how we think about our
resources and down to thepersonal level, in terms of
(11:55):
using buy nothing groups orrefilleries for our cleaning
products and more.
It's like really rooted inaction as well, and I know that
in terms of action, you have theCircular Economy Summit.
The last one was two years ago.
I was fortunate to be there.
(12:15):
The next one is coming up inApril.
But I think, first of all,what's really interesting about
the summit is the fact that youtwo have collaborated together
to make this summit happen.
So, paul, why did you choose tocollaborate to make the summit
happen in the first place?
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah, a key success factor really for the circular
economy is collaboration, andcollaboration across value
chains and breaking down silosand finding new opportunities to
create synergies.
So we are two of the leadingnational organizations or
networks that are focused onadvancing a circular economy in
(12:55):
Canada and bringing togetherdiverse stakeholders and
partners through our variousprojects and work streams and
focus areas on topics likeagri-food and construction and
finance and reuse and repair andpolicy and procurement.
These are all areas that,between our two organizations,
we're looking to focus on andtackle and while the
(13:16):
opportunities for a circulareconomy in Canada are big, we
figured the impact we could haveby coming together and
collaborating in terms ofhosting and co-hosting the
Circular Economy Summit would begreater than if we each went it
alone, and there's certainlylots of work to do so.
By bringing our respectivepartners and work streams
together under the CanadianCircular Economy Summit, it
allowed us to identify sort ofthe needs and the gaps for
(13:40):
advancing a circular economy inCanada and it led to the release
of a comprehensive circulareconomy action plan for Canada,
which we released in 2023 afterour first summit, and it was
really developed through theinput from our partners and our
stakeholders at the summit, butalso from all the work we've
been doing over the last fewyears.
And this action plan isstructured around sort of five
(14:00):
critical enablers to thecircular economy information,
collaboration, as I mentioned,policy innovation and investment
and it focuses on 30 short-termactions which give our
organization sort of focus, andso we've been working together
on a few of these and leading onothers, but also identifying
within the action plan areaswhere others need to step up and
(14:22):
lead some of these activitiesand opportunities.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, I really like how the action plan is laid out,
because it's got the 10-yearhorizon, like the long-term
vision, but then it's got thetwo-year action plan.
It's rooted in that action thatwe speak of.
Paul, could you speak to maybea couple of those 30 actions
that you've made significantprogress on since the last
(14:46):
summit?
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Sure, yeah, and there's a lot and maybe Joe can
also add a few from herperspective.
But we've been, as I mentioned,collaborating on a few with
Circa Innovation Council andthen leading on a few ourselves.
So just a couple of examplesWe've been working with the
finance sector in Canada, sowith leading banks, investors
and the insurance community tobetter understand the
(15:10):
opportunity for mobilizingcapital to support circular
economy businesses and investingin projects and infrastructure
and understanding what are someof the barriers that are
preventing capital from flowinginto those areas.
So we've been undertakingresearch with the finance sector
community.
We have a circular finance workstream and developed a guidance
(15:32):
document that's for the banksand other investors to better
understand how to move financeinto this sector.
So that's, as I mentioned, oneof the critical enablers around
finance.
Another space we've beenworking with governments at all
levels, so through our policyincubator, bringing the federal,
provincial, local governmentstogether to better understand
(15:53):
how to measure and standardizeapproaches for measurement
around circular economy.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Amazing.
And, joanne, what would be acouple of the projects that
you're really excited about orproud of?
Speaker 2 (16:26):
chosen two areas where we've brought, you know,
in the spirit of collaboration,one of our key pillars.
We've brought maybe eithercompetitors in an industry that
otherwise wouldn't work togetheron solving problems, or maybe a
public-private partnership likemine's, together to try to
address a barrier.
We did that, trying to addresssingle-use plastics, with a new
(16:46):
reuse collaborative model thatwe introduced in Ottawa in the
fall.
And this is where actually thegrocer industry, who had
otherwise are fierce competitors, would come together to see hey
, where could we actually sharea container and a system in a
place-based way and actuallycirculate it amongst us
replacing single-use plastics,have it sanitized and moved and
(17:09):
then actually refilled.
And after six months ofcollaborating with them they
agreed on places in-store wherethey could share reuse
containers and then offer thoseup to the neighboring
restaurants.
So now we're creating acircular system where there
would have been a linear one andbringing maybe unlikely
bedfellows together.
So those pilots are reallyimportant to us.
(17:31):
We've done another one, sort ofstill shaping it at a community
level, where we are trying tobuild organics collection and
edible food collection systemstogether for restaurants.
Any kind of food serviceindustry you can think of that
would otherwise just be puttingtheir organics in the disposal
because it's too expensive tohave an organics collection or
(17:53):
they don't know where to sendedible food, and we built
systems with them asneighborhoods to be able to
gather this up, build economiesof scale, building service
models that are cheaper thanactually disposal.
So a couple of end-of-lifeoptions there in our pilots
which help us prove out concepts, get our.
(18:14):
You know, we can roll up oursleeves and think through and
actually experience all of thosebarriers and then think through
how to problem solve with ourcollaborators to get over them,
and those have just given usincredible learnings.
And the other things that we'redoing is thinking about whole
sectors.
So how does Canadian small tomedium-sized businesses?
They make up 45% of our GDP.
(18:36):
They also create 50% of ourwaste and 50% of our carbon
emissions, but they're small andthey don't have a lot of
capacity to even understand whata circular economy is or maybe
think through how they canparticipate in it.
And so we're building SME hubs,which are going to be full of
resources for small tomedium-sized enterprises to
better understand the economicopportunities of a circular
(18:59):
economy and how they canparticipate as well.
So those resources are reallyimportant and I would say one
final participate as well.
So those resources are reallyimportant.
And I would say one final, areally important piece of work
for our organization inparticular Paul mentioned it is
procurement.
So governments own 16% of thecountry's GDP.
Never more important now, aswe're thinking about tariffs,
(19:20):
this bi-Canadian sentiment thatwe are now, you know, really
thinking about.
You know, and really buildingresiliency in our economies
around the threat of tariffs,but recognizing that, in fact,
that procurement power thatgovernments have to tap into and
to accelerate a circulareconomy, to prefer Canadian-made
low-carbon, low-waste goods asa kickstarter, as our abilities
(19:43):
to really move us in thatdirection quickly and meet their
environmental and economic andsocial goals all at the same
time.
So we've been working in thespace of public procurement for
some time now and I'm happy tosay that we've really made a lot
of inroads in years and in factit takes a lot of good space in
our summit agenda.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Well, that's a great segue into this year's summit.
Clearly, you have been busysince the last summit in 2023.
And I want you to know, I gotgoosebumps three times hearing
about the progress that you'vemade in these areas, which are
really meaningful to people'slives and to businesses, and
(20:24):
there's so much win-winopportunities.
So let's dive into this year'ssummit and I should note,
quantum is a sponsor of thisyear's summit.
Joanne, what is this year'ssummit all about?
Walk us through key items inthe agenda and really what we
can expect.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, we're really getting excited.
We started with the summit in2023 in Toronto and really came
together to say, hey, let's seeif people agree that there's
such a.
You know that this is a reallyimportant time for us to double
down on our beliefs in thecircular economy and its
abilities.
And the response 400 peopleawaiting list of delegations,
(21:03):
incredibly rich and very denseagenda where we covered all
kinds of topics came out of thatwith the really practical
action plan that we are so proudof, and so we came back
together and said let's do itagain, and 2025 in Montreal
seemed like the place to go.
There were so many amazingthings happening in Quebec, an
incredible showcasing ofCanadian innovation and really
(21:24):
community abilities that arehappening in Quebec, so no
better place to hold it thanMontreal.
And we're doubling down.
We're literally opening upanother 450 seats, so we're
hoping for a cast of 900 to comeand we're almost there 80% sold
out today and an incredibleresponse by both the public and
(21:45):
the private sector to support us.
And again, another two and ahalf days, a little bit longer,
so we're giving people a littlebit more in our agenda in terms
of time and availability, addingon some tours which we didn't
have in 2023.
But again, for those that arecoming and those that haven't
(22:05):
yet registered, you're going tosee a are going to bring all of
their rich experiences andimpart their knowledge in us.
(22:33):
And then I think the mostimportant part for me is just to
take stock of the Canadianinnovations that have happened
between 2023 and 2025.
It's incredible how much isgoing on across the country and
sometimes we forget.
We keep pushing and pushing,but we forget to just take stock
of how far we've come, andthat's also equally energizing.
So we're going to do a littlebit of that and celebrating at
(22:55):
the 2025 summit as well.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
I totally agree.
When we're in it and doing it,it's important to pause and
reflect and celebrate on all theprogress that's been made, and
we don't often do that enough.
Paul, what are you most excitedabout for this agenda and,
specifically, how it's going tobe different than last time?
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Yeah, we were really focused on designing an event
that's interactive and outcomefocused.
So we don't just want to havetalking heads on stage, we
really want to have the audienceand the stakeholders and the
delegates all interacting witheach other, and so we're trying
to create an agenda that allowsfor a lot of that.
So bringing our broad networkof stakeholders from across
(23:38):
Canada together to showcaseleadership and inspire through
action and showcase bestpractices and the innovation
that's happening across Canada.
So we've designed, you know,workshops and networking
opportunities and lounge spacesand a range of different
interactive business to businesstype activities, business to
(23:59):
government and government togovernment.
As Joanne mentioned, we'reusing the framework of the
action plan, so the fivecritical enablers to help guide
our program development, andwe've also placed a focus on how
the circular economy can helpus tackle some of canada's
biggest challenges, fromaffordability to housing, to
climate change or productivityissues.
(24:21):
So that has helped, I think, tobring a new and sort of
expanded focus to 2025.
And we have 130 speakers fromacross Canada and some
international thought leaderscoming already confirmed, 40
different sessions, like Imentioned, with workshops and
plenaries and breakouts, andjust really excited to be doing
it with our Quebec partners.
(24:42):
So much innovation and coolthings happening in that
ecosystem, so we'll beshowcasing a lot of what's
happening across the Quebecspace.
But we're also partnering withthe Canna Plastics Pact, who
will be hosting their partnersummit within our broader event,
so bringing their hundred andso organizations together.
And also Fashion Takes Action,who are going to be hosting a
(25:05):
textiles and apparel track.
Takes action, who are going tobe hosting a textiles and
apparel track, so focused on thelatest in in what's happening
on circularity and fashion andtextiles, and you know groups
like HM and the gap and othersthat will be participating in
that.
And then Joanne touched on it.
But we're doing some half daysite tours as well.
On the third day, so April 17th, which is going to you know
(25:25):
different themes one onconstruction, one on agri-food,
one on textiles, corporateleadership, one going to IKEA
and resource recovery, going tosee GFL's new material recovery
facility.
And to Laval We'll get abehind-the-scenes look at Cirque
du Soleil and their costumedepartment as part of the
textiles tour so lots of coolstuff happening.
(25:48):
And their costume department aspart of the textiles tour so
lots of cool stuff happening, Ithink also a construction
material reuse center amongseveral of the stops.
So each tour has, I think, twostops.
But just excited to, you know,expand kind of not just the
scope and the size of theaudience and the delegates, but
still try and keep that outcomefocused by driving towards, you
know, impact and showcasing realexamples of what's happening in
(26:10):
the Quebec ecosystem.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Wow, joanne, did you want to add something?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
on to that, no, when we start rattling all the agenda
off.
I do appreciate what we'vecreated.
I'm pretty proud and excitedabout it.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Well no kidding.
I've heard you use the termrich agenda and cool stuff, so
this is a perfect time to moveinto our how-to section, where I
get to ask you how-to questions, and the first one is really
how to make the most of a richagenda with cool stuff, how to
make the most out of thisconference, paul, what would you
(26:51):
say to that?
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Well, I mean, I say plan things in advance to get
the most out of it.
So go online and check out theagenda and plan out your
calendar.
If you're planning to come, interms of all the different
sessions and workshops andreceptions, and if you're not
able to take in all the ones youwant, bring a friend or a
colleague from your organization.
We have a great event appcalled Swapcard that we'll be
(27:15):
launching very soon.
That allows people to plan outtheir calendars but also to
reach out and scheduleone-on-one meetings with some of
the 950 delegates that will bethere, so you can really use
that as a matchmaking tool forpeople you'd like to connect
with.
Check out the site tours that Iwas mentioning on the third day
.
Those will be going live in thenext couple of weeks where you
(27:36):
can register for those anddefinitely reach out to myself
or Joanne if you have questions.
We're doing a ton of curatedactivities for partners and for
delegates, so we really want theevent to bring value for all of
our participants and happy tosupport where we can.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
I remember that the 2023 summit was the first time
that I'd ever used a conferenceapp quite like that, like it was
so useful in finding out wherethings were and connecting, and
so, yeah, I'm sure like leveragethe app for all of its
opportunities.
Okay, next one, joanne, over toyou.
One of the challenges withconferences is that it's so
(28:19):
exciting during the actualconference.
You make a lot of greatconnections, have great
conversations, but then you goback to your homes and your
offices and sometimes it'sreally hard to keep those
connections and thoseconversations alive.
Do you have any suggestions onhow we do that?
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Yeah, it's all of what you said is very, very true
.
You know, I think, in additionto all the practical ways to
optimize your time at the summit, we really want our delegates
to recognize that they're comingto something that is
frontiering, that they're partof something new, they're part
of change, they have a role toplay and we don't sit around for
(29:00):
two and a half days and talkabout what we can't do.
We sit around and participatevery actively on what can be
done and what should be done.
So we want our delegates toreally come with that attitude
and to look at this rich agendathat we've created and saying
these two things or these threethings, I really care about
these things, or this reallyresonates with me, or this is
right in line with what I wantto get done at work or my
(29:22):
organization, and so, you know,consider.
I would say the advice I wouldgive is consider the summit a
place to start working on thosethings you care about, but only
a start.
So you meet the people that youknow are your comrades that
want to work on this issue, thatare working on this issue.
Don't be shy If you find anexpert that's further along in
(29:45):
their thinking.
Connect with them, stayconnected with them and I would
say, last but not least, it's aregroup for Paul and I.
We're going to keepimplementing the actions of that
action plan.
We drafted it for 10 years fora reason, so we're not going to
stop after two.
So get involved in our twoorganizations, support the work
(30:15):
that we're doing, come to uswith new ideas or challenges
that you may be having that youcan't overcome, and leverage the
networks that we've been ableto assemble over the decades,
years and decades that we'vebeen working.
So it's a starting point, it'snot a finish point.
So we really welcome everybodyto think about it like that and
to really leverage what we'veput together.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
I love that.
It's a starting point, it's notthe finish point.
That's a great perspective andI would be remiss if I didn't
ask the question how to find outmore about the summit and to
register Paul.
How do we do that?
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Yeah, just go online to circulareconomysummitca to
find all the details about theagenda and the site, tours and
our speakers and moreinformation on registration etc.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Perfect.
We'll also link it in the shownotes as well.
I've so much enjoyed thisconversation, and a couple of
things I've really taken awayare, joanne, something you said
around building systems asneighborhoods I mean that really
resonated with me and alsothinking about what you can do
(31:18):
rather than what you can't do.
Focusing on the possibility,and the circular economy is all
about possibility and what wecreate it to be.
What would you leave thelisteners with in terms of one
last piece of advice, whetherit's about the summit or just in
general about the circulareconomy, joanne, I'll start with
you what's your piece of advice?
Speaker 2 (31:39):
It's really trying times right now.
There's a lot of uncertainty Imean, everyone keeps using the
word unprecedented.
I think that's about right.
Every day you wake up to a newsurprise, and you may feel a
little overwhelmed I certainlydo at times and wondering how do
I navigate in what I do for aliving or as a person?
You know?
I think what we want is foreveryone to come to the summit,
(32:01):
maybe not thinking about eitherrole in their job or their role
as a government policymaker, butrecognizing that, as
individuals, we're all part ofthe system and we're all part of
the circular economy.
So, as individuals, we have anincredibly important role to
play.
A role may be different betweenus, but that all of us have a
contribution to make and maybe Iwould even say in these times,
(32:25):
an obligation to make it.
So I know it can be veryoverwhelming, but we're moving
into a space of can do, shoulddo, will do, and so we really
want to unlock the innovations.
Everyone's got an idea of howto solve a problem.
Bring those ideas to us.
So I would say, take a hold ofmaybe the uncertainty that's in
(32:46):
front of us today, of maybe theuncertainty that's in front of
us today and think about whenyou come to the summit, that you
can place that down for acouple of days and think about
you know the next frontier andhow you're going to be part of
that.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Love that Be a contribution for moving forward.
Yeah, love that, Paul.
What about you?
Speaker 3 (33:02):
I would just say, reflecting back on what Joe said
at the beginning of thisconversation, that the circular
economy is not about just waste.
You know, it's so much morethan that.
It's about redesigning oursupply chains and tackling some
of our biggest environmental andeconomic and social issues at
the same time and you know, aswe were saying, seeing some of
(33:22):
these threats around tariffs andthe sentiment around buy local,
the circular economy, in mymind, really has a lot to offer
and I think advancing a circulareconomy in Canada is about
collaboration and tackling ourbarriers together.
So that's where the summitprovides that platform really to
inspire, provide new ideas.
It's designed to bring newtools and resources to the table
(33:45):
that people can bring back totheir organizations or within
their day-to-day jobs, as wellas new contacts and
relationships to help advancetheir own strategic priorities.
So lots to thoughts to come outof that and we'd like to say
you know, be there or be square.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
So be there or be square.
I love it.
Well, you can be part of somuch more by being there, and I
also will say it's so great tobe with people, to be face to
face with people once in a while.
You get so much done to Thankyou so much.
Thank you so much for your timeand your wisdom and for
(34:21):
creating this space, creatingthe platform for us all to come
together.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Thanks for the opportunity.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Thank you Such a pleasure Thanks for the
opportunity.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
I really appreciate it.
Thank you, such a pleasure.
Thanks so much, stephanie.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
And remember, if you're looking for a partner to
help you repair, reuse andrecycle your electronics, we'd
love to chat Head on over toquantumlifecyclecom and contact
us.
This is a Quantum Lifecyclepodcast and the producer is
Sanjay Trivedi.
Thank you for being a CircularFuture Champion in your company
and beyond.
Logging off.
Can a circular economy be more than just
resource efficiency, more thanits clean tech image, and help
solve some of society's pressingissues?
Welcome to the circular futureyour access to thought leaders
and innovations to help you be abusiness sustainability
champion, even if it's not yourcore job.
(00:29):
I'm your host, stephanieMcLarty, head of Sustainability
at Quantum Lifecycle Partners,your trusted partner in
electronics circularity.
We have many burning challenges, quite literally, that we are
facing these days.
Besides climate change, thereare crises in housing and
(00:50):
affordability and food security,just to name a few.
Can a circular economy help?
What could its future look likeand how do we make it all
happen?
With me are two industryjuggernauts to help answer these
big questions.
Joanne St Goddard is ExecutiveDirector at Circular Innovation
(01:12):
Councila leading nationalenvironmental nonprofit charity.
Joanne has 25 years ofexperience in public policy,
design, strategy and leadership,and she's dedicated to
accelerating Canada's transitiontoward a circular economy.
Welcome to the podcast, joanne.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Thanks so much, Stephanie.
Glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
And we have Paul Shorthouse, Managing Director of
Circular Economy LeadershipCanada, a network of leaders
from all industries and sectorsfocused on the transition to a
circular economy in Canada.
Paul is one of Canada's leadingexperts in the emerging
circular economy.
Welcome to the podcast, Paul.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Thanks, nice to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
And I will say that both of them are organizing the
Canadian Circular Economy Summit, which we will talk about a bit
later.
But first let's bring ourlisteners up to speed on who you
are and your backgrounds and,frankly, the things that we may
not know about.
So, joanne, I'll start with you.
What would be two things thatthe world wouldn't necessarily
(02:18):
know about the CircularInnovation Council?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So, for those that may have not had the pleasure of
doing business with or meetingyet, we've actually been around,
even though the name of theorganization is quite new.
We've been around as anorganization, as the Recycling
Council of Ontario, for aboutfour and a half decades and in
that role we were actuallyresponsible for bringing the
(02:43):
public and the private sectortogether to negotiate our
biggest recycling programactually in the globe certainly
in the country called the BlueBox Program.
So I think, in terms of ourlegacy, that's how people knew
the Recycling Council of Ontarioand for that we were actually
blessed with the United NationsEnvironmental Protection Agency
(03:05):
Award back in the day.
So that background is actuallyhow and why we became the
Circular Innovation Council inJune of 2020.
At that time we reallyrecognized that there was an
important opportunity to takeall of our technical,
operational and policy know-howand expertise over those four
(03:26):
decades and really join thisexpanding global community of
other organizations around theworld that were recognizing the
potential and the need for acircular economy.
So we made that leap in June of2020 and truly haven't really
looked back.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
That is amazing, and we'll talk more about that later
.
Okay and Paul, what would betwo things that the world
wouldn't necessarily know about?
Circular Economy LeadershipCanada.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Yeah, well, maybe the fact that we're a solution
space under the umbrella of ourbroader parent not-for-profit
charity known as Generate Canada, which used to be called the
Natural Step Canada, and we'reone of five solution spaces
under Generate Canada, includingthe Canada Plastics Pact, the
Nature Investment Hub, theCanadian Alliance for Net Zero,
(04:16):
agri-food and the Energy FuturesLab.
But CELC was launched in 2018at the G7 Ocean Summit.
Formerly we were known as theCircular Economy Lab in Ontario,
which got created in 2016 andevolved into the Circular
Economy Leadership Coalition,which was founded by eight
(04:38):
partners five multinationalsthat are focused on Canada,
including Unilever, ikea, canadaLoblaw, canadian Tire and
Walmart, and also three NGO orpolicy think tanks the Smart
Prosperity Institute, theNational Zero Waste Council and
the Institute for SustainableDevelopment, and since that time
(04:58):
, we've grown to a network ofabout 70 partner organizations
and really focused on advancingthe opportunities for bringing a
circular economy to Canada.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
So both of your organizations have really gone
through an evolution over theyears, and even for Quantum, I
mean, we used to see ourselvesas electronics recyclers and now
we very much see ourselves aspartners in sustainable
electronics lifecycle management.
Partners in sustainableelectronics lifecycle management
(05:28):
.
Joanne, can you reflect back tothe kinds of conversations that
we were having before aroundthe space and where we're at now
, where we're going, thesetrends that you're seeing in the
evolution of the circulareconomy?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Yeah, it's so exciting to see and I guess one
of the benefits of being aroundlong enough is that you can
actually back cast and thinkabout, you know, the beginnings
of these conversations whichreally, as you mentioned,
focused on end of lifemanagement, resource efficiency,
resource recovery, recyclingand those are such key pillars
of the circular economy.
But now that I do back cast,it's really apparent to me, or
(05:58):
it's becoming more apparent,that that was just a little nub
that's grown into this biggerconversation, but it was so
important and really, you know,avant-garde of its time.
But now we're recognizing thatthat was really focusing on a
very small part of theproduction and the consumption
cycle an important part but itwas about dealing with something
(06:19):
at end of life and really kindof having limited options to do
that life and really kind ofhaving limited options to do
that.
The circular economy moves usaway from sort of externalities
or market failures into shiftingmarkets, shifting economies,
redesigning them to be able tothink about eliminating waste,
not by recycling it butpreventing it, and creating
(06:42):
business models, products,systems, thinking about
end-of-life management,recycling from the beginning and
rearranging the market andconsumers to support a market
that actually prevents it fromthe onset.
So I see folks using theirknowledge and their history on
recycling, but starting to thinkmore broadly about, as I
(07:06):
mentioned, product and consumingin a way that is regenerative
is in lockstep with thelimitations of our natural
resources, thinking aboutprotecting them, thinking about
the biodiversity that liveswithin them.
And I would say the mostexciting change that really Paul
and I are moving into is awayfrom environmental policy and
(07:28):
programs and thinking abouteconomic policy and programs,
and that really allows you tothink about financial model,
business models, taxonomy,really thinking about the heart
and soul of what is an economicredesign.
But the history is importantand it's really guiding our
future.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
So, paul, why do you think we need a circular economy
?
Joanne's just brought us intothe conversation around.
It's more than just wasteprevention, it's around even the
economic possibilities.
Why do we need a circulareconomy and what can it do?
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Yeah, I mean the circular economy really looks at
how we get the most out of ourbusinesses and our resources and
our value chains and thecollaboration models that come
from that, and it really sparksinnovation in terms of how we
think differently about how wedo business and how we operate
(08:26):
within our communities and theopportunities for things like
food security or addressingeconomic crises in different
ways.
So it's a job generator.
It's an opportunity to be moreresilient, both across our
supply chains and, with theconversations today focused so
much on things like tariffs andbuy local.
(08:48):
Circa Economy really brings alot of opportunity to bring some
of those business opportunitiesand investment opportunities
into our communities and thinkabout how we create new
partnerships with the localplayers that are part of the
value chain.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Joanne, what do you think?
What are some of the challengesthat we're facing?
Paul's brought up about tariffs, which were not really even
part of our vocabulary reallysix months ago and are now, you
know, front and center andsomething that the business
community is really concernedabout.
What are some of the ways thatthe circular economy can support
our societal challenges that wemay not think about?
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Yeah, you know, I learn more every day and there's
some things I take for grantedand I don't think about it in
the context of the circulareconomy and then yet I discover
another opportunity to reallyapply it and its principles and
practices and how it could be asolver for that.
Some of those examples reallylie in the practical things that
you think about today, which is, you know, affordability trying
(09:47):
to get insurance now in a worldthat is has, you know, climate
catastrophes and reallyexpensive insurance policies now
that have to, that are reallypaying for that and underpinning
it.
This is an everyday productthat we buy, we need for our
cars, our homes, cars, our homes.
We don't think about howclimate change and how a linear
(10:08):
economy has caused that nowreally fundamentally
unaffordable product and how acircular economy can address
that.
The housing crisis you knowthese days of living in houses
that are 4,000, 5,000, 6,000square feet, that have all of
this unoptimized space.
Do we need homes of that size?
How should we be building them?
How do we think aboutcommunities as ecosystems and
(10:32):
are we right sizing the way thatwe live within, you know, kind
of the housing that really suitsthe boundaries that we have to
live within today, consumerismis just.
You know, we really arerethinking the way that we buy
products, who we buy them from,how long do they last?
Can I repair it?
Can I get access toinstructions, tools?
(10:55):
Do I have a new relationshipwith the company that I buy from
in the sense that I want themto help me fix it when it breaks
down?
In the sense that I want themto help me fix it when it breaks
down?
So I think we're reallyreconfiguring the way that we
think about consumerism and howa circular economy can sort of
address some of theseaffordability and, obviously,
(11:19):
the environmental benefits thatcome with products that live
longer and that allow us to usethem longer as well.
So I think there's touch pointsalmost every day that I could
think about where the circulareconomy can apply to make our
lives more fulsome.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Absolutely.
One of the things that I reallylove about the circular economy
is that it makes so much sensein theory and there's so much
opportunity to make it happen inpractice, like big or small,
within our organizations, interms of how we think about our
resources and down to thepersonal level, in terms of
(11:55):
using buy nothing groups orrefilleries for our cleaning
products and more.
It's like really rooted inaction as well, and I know that
in terms of action, you have theCircular Economy Summit.
The last one was two years ago.
I was fortunate to be there.
(12:15):
The next one is coming up inApril.
But I think, first of all,what's really interesting about
the summit is the fact that youtwo have collaborated together
to make this summit happen.
So, paul, why did you choose tocollaborate to make the summit
happen in the first place?
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah, a key success factor really for the circular
economy is collaboration, andcollaboration across value
chains and breaking down silosand finding new opportunities to
create synergies.
So we are two of the leadingnational organizations or
networks that are focused onadvancing a circular economy in
(12:55):
Canada and bringing togetherdiverse stakeholders and
partners through our variousprojects and work streams and
focus areas on topics likeagri-food and construction and
finance and reuse and repair andpolicy and procurement.
These are all areas that,between our two organizations,
we're looking to focus on andtackle and while the
(13:16):
opportunities for a circulareconomy in Canada are big, we
figured the impact we could haveby coming together and
collaborating in terms ofhosting and co-hosting the
Circular Economy Summit would begreater than if we each went it
alone, and there's certainlylots of work to do so.
By bringing our respectivepartners and work streams
together under the CanadianCircular Economy Summit, it
allowed us to identify sort ofthe needs and the gaps for
(13:40):
advancing a circular economy inCanada and it led to the release
of a comprehensive circulareconomy action plan for Canada,
which we released in 2023 afterour first summit, and it was
really developed through theinput from our partners and our
stakeholders at the summit, butalso from all the work we've
been doing over the last fewyears.
And this action plan isstructured around sort of five
(14:00):
critical enablers to thecircular economy information,
collaboration, as I mentioned,policy innovation and investment
and it focuses on 30 short-termactions which give our
organization sort of focus, andso we've been working together
on a few of these and leading onothers, but also identifying
within the action plan areaswhere others need to step up and
(14:22):
lead some of these activitiesand opportunities.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, I really like how the action plan is laid out,
because it's got the 10-yearhorizon, like the long-term
vision, but then it's got thetwo-year action plan.
It's rooted in that action thatwe speak of.
Paul, could you speak to maybea couple of those 30 actions
that you've made significantprogress on since the last
(14:46):
summit?
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Sure, yeah, and there's a lot and maybe Joe can
also add a few from herperspective.
But we've been, as I mentioned,collaborating on a few with
Circa Innovation Council andthen leading on a few ourselves.
So just a couple of examplesWe've been working with the
finance sector in Canada, sowith leading banks, investors
and the insurance community tobetter understand the
(15:10):
opportunity for mobilizingcapital to support circular
economy businesses and investingin projects and infrastructure
and understanding what are someof the barriers that are
preventing capital from flowinginto those areas.
So we've been undertakingresearch with the finance sector
community.
We have a circular finance workstream and developed a guidance
(15:32):
document that's for the banksand other investors to better
understand how to move financeinto this sector.
So that's, as I mentioned, oneof the critical enablers around
finance.
Another space we've beenworking with governments at all
levels, so through our policyincubator, bringing the federal,
provincial, local governmentstogether to better understand
(15:53):
how to measure and standardizeapproaches for measurement
around circular economy.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Amazing.
And, joanne, what would be acouple of the projects that
you're really excited about orproud of?
Speaker 2 (16:26):
chosen two areas where we've brought, you know,
in the spirit of collaboration,one of our key pillars.
We've brought maybe eithercompetitors in an industry that
otherwise wouldn't work togetheron solving problems, or maybe a
public-private partnership likemine's, together to try to
address a barrier.
We did that, trying to addresssingle-use plastics, with a new
(16:46):
reuse collaborative model thatwe introduced in Ottawa in the
fall.
And this is where actually thegrocer industry, who had
otherwise are fierce competitors, would come together to see hey
, where could we actually sharea container and a system in a
place-based way and actuallycirculate it amongst us
replacing single-use plastics,have it sanitized and moved and
(17:09):
then actually refilled.
And after six months ofcollaborating with them they
agreed on places in-store wherethey could share reuse
containers and then offer thoseup to the neighboring
restaurants.
So now we're creating acircular system where there
would have been a linear one andbringing maybe unlikely
bedfellows together.
So those pilots are reallyimportant to us.
(17:31):
We've done another one, sort ofstill shaping it at a community
level, where we are trying tobuild organics collection and
edible food collection systemstogether for restaurants.
Any kind of food serviceindustry you can think of that
would otherwise just be puttingtheir organics in the disposal
because it's too expensive tohave an organics collection or
(17:53):
they don't know where to sendedible food, and we built
systems with them asneighborhoods to be able to
gather this up, build economiesof scale, building service
models that are cheaper thanactually disposal.
So a couple of end-of-lifeoptions there in our pilots
which help us prove out concepts, get our.
(18:14):
You know, we can roll up oursleeves and think through and
actually experience all of thosebarriers and then think through
how to problem solve with ourcollaborators to get over them,
and those have just given usincredible learnings.
And the other things that we'redoing is thinking about whole
sectors.
So how does Canadian small tomedium-sized businesses?
They make up 45% of our GDP.
(18:36):
They also create 50% of ourwaste and 50% of our carbon
emissions, but they're small andthey don't have a lot of
capacity to even understand whata circular economy is or maybe
think through how they canparticipate in it.
And so we're building SME hubs,which are going to be full of
resources for small tomedium-sized enterprises to
better understand the economicopportunities of a circular
(18:59):
economy and how they canparticipate as well.
So those resources are reallyimportant and I would say one
final participate as well.
So those resources are reallyimportant.
And I would say one final, areally important piece of work
for our organization inparticular Paul mentioned it is
procurement.
So governments own 16% of thecountry's GDP.
Never more important now, aswe're thinking about tariffs,
(19:20):
this bi-Canadian sentiment thatwe are now, you know, really
thinking about.
You know, and really buildingresiliency in our economies
around the threat of tariffs,but recognizing that, in fact,
that procurement power thatgovernments have to tap into and
to accelerate a circulareconomy, to prefer Canadian-made
low-carbon, low-waste goods asa kickstarter, as our abilities
(19:43):
to really move us in thatdirection quickly and meet their
environmental and economic andsocial goals all at the same
time.
So we've been working in thespace of public procurement for
some time now and I'm happy tosay that we've really made a lot
of inroads in years and in factit takes a lot of good space in
our summit agenda.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Well, that's a great segue into this year's summit.
Clearly, you have been busysince the last summit in 2023.
And I want you to know, I gotgoosebumps three times hearing
about the progress that you'vemade in these areas, which are
really meaningful to people'slives and to businesses, and
(20:24):
there's so much win-winopportunities.
So let's dive into this year'ssummit and I should note,
quantum is a sponsor of thisyear's summit.
Joanne, what is this year'ssummit all about?
Walk us through key items inthe agenda and really what we
can expect.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, we're really getting excited.
We started with the summit in2023 in Toronto and really came
together to say, hey, let's seeif people agree that there's
such a.
You know that this is a reallyimportant time for us to double
down on our beliefs in thecircular economy and its
abilities.
And the response 400 peopleawaiting list of delegations,
(21:03):
incredibly rich and very denseagenda where we covered all
kinds of topics came out of thatwith the really practical
action plan that we are so proudof, and so we came back
together and said let's do itagain, and 2025 in Montreal
seemed like the place to go.
There were so many amazingthings happening in Quebec, an
incredible showcasing ofCanadian innovation and really
(21:24):
community abilities that arehappening in Quebec, so no
better place to hold it thanMontreal.
And we're doubling down.
We're literally opening upanother 450 seats, so we're
hoping for a cast of 900 to comeand we're almost there 80% sold
out today and an incredibleresponse by both the public and
(21:45):
the private sector to support us.
And again, another two and ahalf days, a little bit longer,
so we're giving people a littlebit more in our agenda in terms
of time and availability, addingon some tours which we didn't
have in 2023.
But again, for those that arecoming and those that haven't
(22:05):
yet registered, you're going tosee a are going to bring all of
their rich experiences andimpart their knowledge in us.
(22:33):
And then I think the mostimportant part for me is just to
take stock of the Canadianinnovations that have happened
between 2023 and 2025.
It's incredible how much isgoing on across the country and
sometimes we forget.
We keep pushing and pushing,but we forget to just take stock
of how far we've come, andthat's also equally energizing.
So we're going to do a littlebit of that and celebrating at
(22:55):
the 2025 summit as well.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
I totally agree.
When we're in it and doing it,it's important to pause and
reflect and celebrate on all theprogress that's been made, and
we don't often do that enough.
Paul, what are you most excitedabout for this agenda and,
specifically, how it's going tobe different than last time?
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Yeah, we were really focused on designing an event
that's interactive and outcomefocused.
So we don't just want to havetalking heads on stage, we
really want to have the audienceand the stakeholders and the
delegates all interacting witheach other, and so we're trying
to create an agenda that allowsfor a lot of that.
So bringing our broad networkof stakeholders from across
(23:38):
Canada together to showcaseleadership and inspire through
action and showcase bestpractices and the innovation
that's happening across Canada.
So we've designed, you know,workshops and networking
opportunities and lounge spacesand a range of different
interactive business to businesstype activities, business to
(23:59):
government and government togovernment.
As Joanne mentioned, we'reusing the framework of the
action plan, so the fivecritical enablers to help guide
our program development, andwe've also placed a focus on how
the circular economy can helpus tackle some of canada's
biggest challenges, fromaffordability to housing, to
climate change or productivityissues.
(24:21):
So that has helped, I think, tobring a new and sort of
expanded focus to 2025.
And we have 130 speakers fromacross Canada and some
international thought leaderscoming already confirmed, 40
different sessions, like Imentioned, with workshops and
plenaries and breakouts, andjust really excited to be doing
it with our Quebec partners.
(24:42):
So much innovation and coolthings happening in that
ecosystem, so we'll beshowcasing a lot of what's
happening across the Quebecspace.
But we're also partnering withthe Canna Plastics Pact, who
will be hosting their partnersummit within our broader event,
so bringing their hundred andso organizations together.
And also Fashion Takes Action,who are going to be hosting a
(25:05):
textiles and apparel track.
Takes action, who are going tobe hosting a textiles and
apparel track, so focused on thelatest in in what's happening
on circularity and fashion andtextiles, and you know groups
like HM and the gap and othersthat will be participating in
that.
And then Joanne touched on it.
But we're doing some half daysite tours as well.
On the third day, so April 17th, which is going to you know
(25:25):
different themes one onconstruction, one on agri-food,
one on textiles, corporateleadership, one going to IKEA
and resource recovery, going tosee GFL's new material recovery
facility.
And to Laval We'll get abehind-the-scenes look at Cirque
du Soleil and their costumedepartment as part of the
textiles tour so lots of coolstuff happening.
(25:48):
And their costume department aspart of the textiles tour so
lots of cool stuff happening, Ithink also a construction
material reuse center amongseveral of the stops.
So each tour has, I think, twostops.
But just excited to, you know,expand kind of not just the
scope and the size of theaudience and the delegates, but
still try and keep that outcomefocused by driving towards, you
know, impact and showcasing realexamples of what's happening in
(26:10):
the Quebec ecosystem.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Wow, joanne, did you want to add something?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
on to that, no, when we start rattling all the agenda
off.
I do appreciate what we'vecreated.
I'm pretty proud and excitedabout it.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Well no kidding.
I've heard you use the termrich agenda and cool stuff, so
this is a perfect time to moveinto our how-to section, where I
get to ask you how-to questions, and the first one is really
how to make the most of a richagenda with cool stuff, how to
make the most out of thisconference, paul, what would you
(26:51):
say to that?
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Well, I mean, I say plan things in advance to get
the most out of it.
So go online and check out theagenda and plan out your
calendar.
If you're planning to come, interms of all the different
sessions and workshops andreceptions, and if you're not
able to take in all the ones youwant, bring a friend or a
colleague from your organization.
We have a great event appcalled Swapcard that we'll be
(27:15):
launching very soon.
That allows people to plan outtheir calendars but also to
reach out and scheduleone-on-one meetings with some of
the 950 delegates that will bethere, so you can really use
that as a matchmaking tool forpeople you'd like to connect
with.
Check out the site tours that Iwas mentioning on the third day
.
Those will be going live in thenext couple of weeks where you
(27:36):
can register for those anddefinitely reach out to myself
or Joanne if you have questions.
We're doing a ton of curatedactivities for partners and for
delegates, so we really want theevent to bring value for all of
our participants and happy tosupport where we can.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
I remember that the 2023 summit was the first time
that I'd ever used a conferenceapp quite like that, like it was
so useful in finding out wherethings were and connecting, and
so, yeah, I'm sure like leveragethe app for all of its
opportunities.
Okay, next one, joanne, over toyou.
One of the challenges withconferences is that it's so
(28:19):
exciting during the actualconference.
You make a lot of greatconnections, have great
conversations, but then you goback to your homes and your
offices and sometimes it'sreally hard to keep those
connections and thoseconversations alive.
Do you have any suggestions onhow we do that?
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Yeah, it's all of what you said is very, very true
.
You know, I think, in additionto all the practical ways to
optimize your time at the summit, we really want our delegates
to recognize that they're comingto something that is
frontiering, that they're partof something new, they're part
of change, they have a role toplay and we don't sit around for
(29:00):
two and a half days and talkabout what we can't do.
We sit around and participatevery actively on what can be
done and what should be done.
So we want our delegates toreally come with that attitude
and to look at this rich agendathat we've created and saying
these two things or these threethings, I really care about
these things, or this reallyresonates with me, or this is
right in line with what I wantto get done at work or my
(29:22):
organization, and so, you know,consider.
I would say the advice I wouldgive is consider the summit a
place to start working on thosethings you care about, but only
a start.
So you meet the people that youknow are your comrades that
want to work on this issue, thatare working on this issue.
Don't be shy If you find anexpert that's further along in
(29:45):
their thinking.
Connect with them, stayconnected with them and I would
say, last but not least, it's aregroup for Paul and I.
We're going to keepimplementing the actions of that
action plan.
We drafted it for 10 years fora reason, so we're not going to
stop after two.
So get involved in our twoorganizations, support the work
(30:15):
that we're doing, come to uswith new ideas or challenges
that you may be having that youcan't overcome, and leverage the
networks that we've been ableto assemble over the decades,
years and decades that we'vebeen working.
So it's a starting point, it'snot a finish point.
So we really welcome everybodyto think about it like that and
to really leverage what we'veput together.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
I love that.
It's a starting point, it's notthe finish point.
That's a great perspective andI would be remiss if I didn't
ask the question how to find outmore about the summit and to
register Paul.
How do we do that?
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Yeah, just go online to circulareconomysummitca to
find all the details about theagenda and the site, tours and
our speakers and moreinformation on registration etc.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Perfect.
We'll also link it in the shownotes as well.
I've so much enjoyed thisconversation, and a couple of
things I've really taken awayare, joanne, something you said
around building systems asneighborhoods I mean that really
resonated with me and alsothinking about what you can do
(31:18):
rather than what you can't do.
Focusing on the possibility,and the circular economy is all
about possibility and what wecreate it to be.
What would you leave thelisteners with in terms of one
last piece of advice, whetherit's about the summit or just in
general about the circulareconomy, joanne, I'll start with
you what's your piece of advice?
Speaker 2 (31:39):
It's really trying times right now.
There's a lot of uncertainty Imean, everyone keeps using the
word unprecedented.
I think that's about right.
Every day you wake up to a newsurprise, and you may feel a
little overwhelmed I certainlydo at times and wondering how do
I navigate in what I do for aliving or as a person?
You know?
I think what we want is foreveryone to come to the summit,
(32:01):
maybe not thinking about eitherrole in their job or their role
as a government policymaker, butrecognizing that, as
individuals, we're all part ofthe system and we're all part of
the circular economy.
So, as individuals, we have anincredibly important role to
play.
A role may be different betweenus, but that all of us have a
contribution to make and maybe Iwould even say in these times,
(32:25):
an obligation to make it.
So I know it can be veryoverwhelming, but we're moving
into a space of can do, shoulddo, will do, and so we really
want to unlock the innovations.
Everyone's got an idea of howto solve a problem.
Bring those ideas to us.
So I would say, take a hold ofmaybe the uncertainty that's in
(32:46):
front of us today, of maybe theuncertainty that's in front of
us today and think about whenyou come to the summit, that you
can place that down for acouple of days and think about
you know the next frontier andhow you're going to be part of
that.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Love that Be a contribution for moving forward.
Yeah, love that, Paul.
What about you?
Speaker 3 (33:02):
I would just say, reflecting back on what Joe said
at the beginning of thisconversation, that the circular
economy is not about just waste.
You know, it's so much morethan that.
It's about redesigning oursupply chains and tackling some
of our biggest environmental andeconomic and social issues at
the same time and you know, aswe were saying, seeing some of
(33:22):
these threats around tariffs andthe sentiment around buy local,
the circular economy, in mymind, really has a lot to offer
and I think advancing a circulareconomy in Canada is about
collaboration and tackling ourbarriers together.
So that's where the summitprovides that platform really to
inspire, provide new ideas.
It's designed to bring newtools and resources to the table
(33:45):
that people can bring back totheir organizations or within
their day-to-day jobs, as wellas new contacts and
relationships to help advancetheir own strategic priorities.
So lots to thoughts to come outof that and we'd like to say
you know, be there or be square.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
So be there or be square.
I love it.
Well, you can be part of somuch more by being there, and I
also will say it's so great tobe with people, to be face to
face with people once in a while.
You get so much done to Thankyou so much.
Thank you so much for your timeand your wisdom and for
(34:21):
creating this space, creatingthe platform for us all to come
together.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Thanks for the opportunity.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Thank you Such a pleasure Thanks for the
opportunity.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
I really appreciate it.
Thank you, such a pleasure.
Thanks so much, stephanie.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
And remember, if you're looking for a partner to
help you repair, reuse andrecycle your electronics, we'd
love to chat Head on over toquantumlifecyclecom and contact
us.
This is a Quantum Lifecyclepodcast and the producer is
Sanjay Trivedi.
Thank you for being a CircularFuture Champion in your company
and beyond.
Logging off.
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