Business Acceleration Workshops

Hosted by the Circular Economy Leadership Coalition

What: Business acceleration workshops on a circular economy for plastics, with a focus on non-durable plastics

Who: Senior business sustainability and operation leads from retailers, brand owners, suppliers, vendors and distributors

When & Where: Toronto (March 7) or Vancouver (March 13)

Why: To better understand the pathways to transform how we make, use and dispose of plastics, to ensure this valuable resource remains in the economy and out of the environment. The output from this workshop will inform efforts to develop a Canada Plastics Pact and a national circular economy roadmap.

On behalf of the Circular Economy Leadership Coalition we invite you to join us to explore the potential for new business solutions in support of a circular plastics economy in Canada. With only 12% of plastics being recycled in Canada, we are facing an innovation challenge – how to transform how we make, use and dispose of plastics, to ensure this valuable resource remains in the economy and out of the environment.

Global efforts to address plastic waste are developing rapidly with countries, companies, NGOs, and communities embracing bold commitments and targets. Leading examples include: the G7 Ocean Plastics Charter and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. The Canadian Council for Ministers of the Environment has also developed a Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste. Citizens and consumers are concerned with plastic waste, and are pushing governments and businesses alike to reexamine and transform their policies and practices. Many companies are responding with ambitious targets, and innovative and high-profile initiatives that will move their business towards becoming more circular.

Is your business committed to action under these global commitments, or are you responding with your own corporate commitments over the coming years? Accelerating the transition to a circular plastics economy in Canada cannot be done by any one business or sector alone. In the UK, WRAP Global have been successful in establishing the UK Plastics Pact – setting ambition and uniting businesses under a commonly agreed set of targets. The business acceleration workshops will explore the potential for a Plastics Pact for Canada - a pre-competitive and collaborative platform for innovation, dialogue and action that would set the leadership agenda and roadmap for non-durable plastics in Canada. The workshops will start to unite businesses under a common vision and set of targets, helping them to deliver on commitments to reduce plastic waste and maximize value across their operations and supply chains.

Who Should Attend?

The workshops are for your senior business sustainability and operation leads, as well as counterparts from within your network of suppliers

Expected Benefits of Participation

• New or strengthened relationships with other leading Canadian businesses and organizations
• Clarity on pathways for collective action
• New resources and support for your circular plastics journey
• The opportunity to help shape the leadership agenda for Canada on its path to a circular plastics economy through the development of the Canada Plastics Pact

Session participants will...

• explore the future of circular plastics in Canada based on forthcoming research by the Smart Prosperity Institute;
• hear and discuss in-person presentations from WRAP Global and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation on global best practices and innovations (from the UK Plastics Pact and EMF New Plastics Economy Global Commitment) and suggest what from these experiences is relevant for our Canadian circular plastics journey;
• analyze points of convergence and divergence of existing plastics commitments;
• identify areas for early wins, innovation and collaboration as well as barriers to be addressed; and
• suggest what a leadership agenda for a circular plastics economy in Canada could look like.