The Circular Pathway
Bring nature’s balance into your economy.
Decouple economic activity from the use of natural resources and move economic activity from a one-way flow of materials extraction-to-disposal to a circular flow of material reuse.
Circularity's Key Role
Because a large portion of greenhouse gas emissions for many communities come from goods and services that are consumed—rather than from direct activity in the community itself—the circular economy plays an important role for climate-neutral communities.
Our Approach to Circularity
Assess
Understand Your Economy
We support local governments with supply chain emissions accounting, which provides a starting point for this work. Local governments can also help plan for circularity in the community. ICLEI can support a consumption-based GHG inventory, which accounts for household and business food choices, travel habits, and more.
Act
Implement Sustainable Procurement
Cities such as Boulder, CO, are developing circular economy strategies. Sustainable public procurement is one entry point for local governments to show circular economy leadership. ICLEI offers the Procura+ Management Cycle model as a framework of action.
Accelerate
Collaborate and Lead the Movement
ICLEI’s Global Lead Cities Network for Sustainable Public Procurement includes Cities of Denver and Pittsburgh and is comprised of cities that have established clear and measurable procurement targets. The Green Circular Cities Coalition, convened by ICLEI’s East Asia Secretariat, presents an opportunity for leading cities across the world to become global leaders in urban circular economy transition.
ICLEI USA Circular Projects
Innovative Forest Carbon and Consumption-Based GHG Inventory
Philipstown’s Sink, Store, Reduce, Offset GHG inventory was developed in partnership between resident-action group The Climate Smart Communities Task Force of Philipstown, local community empowerment nonprofit the
More Projects
- The Circular Turku project conducted by ICLEI and Turku, Finland, is developing a regional roadmap for circularity through collaboration with a wide variety of stakeholders.
- The Circle City Scan Tool, currently being piloted with ten global cities, helps identify material flows through cities and intervention points to shift economies towards circularity.
ICLEI USA Circular Cohorts
Cohorts are guided group technical assistance programs that guide communities to results. Learn More.
Regional Climate Collaborative Cohort (RC3)
No Longer Offering This Cohort This 12-month curated guide of ICLEI’s five pathways: low emission, resilient, circular, nature-based, and equitable is an introduction to holistic
Supply Chain GHG Emissions Inventory Cohort
Efforts focused on the elimination of domestic fossil fuel uses are critical, but do not fully address the climate crisis if consumption patterns remain unchanged.
Sustainable Development Goals Cohort
The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that local and subnational governments are key stakeholders to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To
ICLEI USA Circular Resources
Sink, Store, Reduce, Offset: Lessons on Consumption-Based and Forest-Carbon GHG Inventories from Philipstown, NY
Philipstown: A Climate Smart Community will tell you about their Motivation to Act, Statewide initiatives and the NY Climate Act, along with how zoning supports
Pressing Forward: 5 Pathways of Sustainability, International Collaboration, and the SDGs
During the health crisis created by the novel coronavirus, local sustainability and resilience staff are experiencing a significant upheaval in their programming, budgets, and daily
Pressing Forward: Circular Economy
During the health crisis created by the novel coronavirus, local sustainability and resilience staff are experiencing a significant upheaval in their programming, budgets, and daily
More Resources
- The Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement collects resources and information about sustainable procurement targets set by leading global cities, focusing on procurement of construction (factsheet), food, energy and transportation (factsheet).
- The Procura+ Manual offers practical advice for how to integrate sustainability into procurement, including the Procura+ Management Cycle model.
- Subscribe to the “In the Loop” newsletter.