From June 5-7, 2023 GreenBiz Group held their annual Circularity conference in Seattle, WA. Not only was Upstream excited to showcase The Reusies live, in person for the first time at this year’s Circularity—we were also happy to have the opportunity to speak at the conference and attend this leading convening of professionals building the circular economy.

Upstream’s Reuse Communities Policy & Engagement Officer Macy Zander and Chart Reuse Customer Success Manager Cerise Bridges attended various keynotes, breakouts, and panels over the 3 day conference and gained some key insights into the state of the circular economy and the future of reuse. Here’s what they noticed.

The time for action is now

We know all too well that the climate crisis is only mounting, so when you gather a large group of thinkers and doers who care about the environment, the sense of urgency around this key issue is palpable. As Erin Simon, VP of Plastic Waste & Business at the World Wildlife Fund, put it plainly during her keynote panel, Navigating the Negotiations: An Update on the Global Plastics Treaty: “We really don’t have a lot of time to waste.” To move from intention to action, we are not doing enough: the time is now.

All of the speakers on the Gen Z’s Role in Shaping the Circular Economy panel expressed that perhaps Gen Z feels this urgency more than any, as they will have to live the longest with the impacts of climate change and will need to find and implement solutions to adapt. As our environment and bodies continue to be impacted by the waste of a throw-away economy, the actions we need to take are clear:

• Move from pilots for reuse and other innovative solutions to full, large-scale implementation;

• invest in local and regional circular economies;

• and pass legislation for reuse.

Implementing reuse is challenging, but it is not impossible. And contrary to a popular narrative often touted by industries that benefit from the take-make-waste economy, consumers really are ready to do the right thing.

Innovation must include those most affected by throw-away systems

Many panelists and participants commented that, with all this visioning of a more sustainable economy, environmental justice is not a central enough focus. One reason could be because there are not nearly enough people from frontline communities at the table. Despite the fact that weak environmental policies, plastic production and pollution affect low-income and Black and Brown communities disproportionately—the environmental movement remains predominantly white. The demographics are slowly changing, but there is still work to do.

Throughout panel discussions and on the main stage, there was acknowledgement that the movement needs to be more inclusive, but it’s not clear if many people know how to make that happen. Jo and Joy Banner, founders of The Descendants Project, offered a few ideas on how people—and pollution-causing companies in particular—can begin to affect change:

• Companies need to acknowledge their impacts on communities and work on being allies, which includes…

• … listening to and supporting those communities—without preconceived notions of solutions or coming in with top-down changes ready for implementation—and…

• …slowing down and building trust.

The Banner sisters also encourage people from marginalized communities to run for local office to ensure their voices are heard and that they are empowered to impel action.

The Circular economy is all-encompassing

The concept of Circularity extends to all sectors, and the array of innovation present at the conference proved it. Here at Upstream, we’re all-in on reuse with a focus on food service and consumer packaged goods (or CPG). But all industries can adapt to a circular model.

Nothing demonstrated this more clearly than Accelerate, the fast pitch competition between circular innovators. Roughly all 1500 conference attendees heard from companies disrupting industries as diverse as electronics manufacturing, beauty, home construction, and packaging insulation.

Circularity brought together leaders and practitioners across industries and value chains—from professionals in corporate strategy, sustainability product design, sourcing, manufacturing, distribution, finance, to entrepreneurs, nonprofits and trade associations, investors, public agencies and policy experts. This variety further proves the momentum and diversity of opportunities within the circular economy, for everyone from unknown startups to well established global brands.

Seattle is showing that reuse is possible

It is hardly a coincidence that Circularity was held in the city taking some of the most notable action around reuse in the food and beverage space. The City of Seattle and the Reuse Seattle coalition made a number of appearances at panels throughout the conference, with the latter being crowned The Reusies winner for “Community Action of the Year” in the Building Reuse category.

The private-public partnership nature of the coalition has allowed for immense progress in the closed-loop space of event venues, while also setting the stage for reuse in open systems. A lucky few of us were even able to witness some of Seattle’s innovative reuse first hand: from a local cafe offering Reusables.com for take-away orders, to the Starbucks headquarters where reusables have completely displaced disposables on campus, to the r.Cup wash hub, which is the key to implementing large-scale reuse at events.

Bottom line: be ready.

One theme that recurred across several panels was this: Change is happening at lighting speed. The message coming to us loud and clear was “Get involved now, or be ready to act—because this movement needs all hands on deck.”

An encouraging note to end on and one that “circles back” well to point number one: the time for a new reuse economy is now, and the thought leaders at Circularity are leaping into action. Let’s join them.