A “Buy Canadian” attitude that supports the country’s economy goes hand in hand with sustainability, the Circular Innovation Council says as part of its annual Circular Economy Month Campaign.
As the ongoing trade dispute between Canada and the U.S. has spurred an emphasis on domestic production and building resiliency in Canada’s economy, the council is highlighting how circular principles can support the economy and the environment.
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It’s a phrase you might have heard about, but might not know what it’s fully about: the circular economy. That is where the Circular Innovation Council coms in: to advance ideas and educate the public. Maggie Bain, a project manager with the Circular Innovation Council, joined Global News Morning Edmonton to talk about what they do and a pilot project underway in Edmonton.
More from Global News
Across Alberta, small businesses like cafés, restaurants, and grocery stores face real challenges when it comes to managing food waste.
In this week’s episode of What On EARTH Can We Do?, Maggie Bain from the Circular Innovation Council shares how a local pilot project in Strathcona County and Town of Westlock is helping these businesses find practical, affordable ways to keep food out of the landfill — and what this means for the fight against food waste.
🎧 Listen to ‘Can Small Businesses Solve Alberta’s Food Waste Problem?’ wherever you get your podcasts
October is Circular Economy Month, and October 22nd spotlights waste reduction for electronics — the perfect time to discover how circular principles can unlock new value for your organization.
Join us for a dynamic LinkedIn Live conversation with Stephanie McLarty (Quantum Lifecycle Partners) and Caitlin Perry (Circular Innovation Council)!
We’ll dive into:
🎧 Watch the replay of Closing the Loop: How Businesses Can Create Impact on LinkedIn.
Circular Innovation Council is seeking nominations for our Board of Directors, to be ratified at our AGM on December 11, 2025.
If you’re passionate about advancing Canada’s transition to a circular economy, this is your opportunity to lead change. Lend your expertise to help design and support innovative programs that turn circular concepts into real-world action.
You’ll join a team of forward-thinking leaders driving sustainable solutions nationwide – and experience that’s as impactful as it is rewarding.
As the 2025 Circular Economy Month campaign comes to a close, we want to thank everyone in our network that got involved — whether it was supporting the campaign through sponsorship, participating in the Dear Canada video series, organizing an event, or joining the conversation on social media. The campaign is an annual celebration to encourage action and celebrate our circular success (big and small!) and we are excited to share highlights from this year’s campaign. Stay tuned in November for the full wrap-up.
In case you missed it: check out the kick-off video and follow along the hashtag #CircularEconomyMonth on your favourite social media platform to find informative and inspiring content from the campaign!
November 24, 11:00 AM EST
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies around the world are evolving beyond recycling to enable reusable packaging systems. At the same time, producers facing rising EPR costs are increasingly motivated to integrate reuse, whether within their supply chains, transportation and logistics, or consumer packaging models.
In Canada, as provincial EPR programs continue to roll out, federal single-use reduction policies are taking shape, and municipal governments are embedding reuse into their Circular Economy Roadmaps and Waste Diversion Plans. This creates a pivotal opportunity to scale reuse systems and make them both cost-effective and accessible.
Join Circular Innovation Council and international experts from CITEO (France), Fost Plus (Belgium), and the Circular Action Alliance (U.S.) for an in-depth discussion on how EPR systems can drive the governance, investment, and shared infrastructure needed to advance reusable packaging, and what lessons Canada can draw from global leaders in circular packaging policy.
This discussion will:
• Explore how EPR frameworks are driving investment in reuse systems globally, and how similar models could be applied in Canada
• Identify policy, infrastructure, and financial barriers, and the opportunities, for scaling reuse
• Examine governance and financing models for Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) implementing shared-pool reuse systems
• Highlight key policy and infrastructure gaps that must be addressed to make reuse viable and cost-effective
• Facilitate policy dialogue among Canadian regulators, producers, PROs, and value chain stakeholders to identify practical pathways for integrating reuse into compliance frameworks
The Circular Innovation Council (CIC) is pleased to announce a new partnership with Public Services and Procurement Canada’s GCSurplus, the Government of Canada’s centre of expertise for asset divestment. This collaboration will strengthen the environmental performance and transparency of federal asset reuse and recycling activities.
Under the agreement, CIC will develop a quantification tool to identify, measure, and report in real time the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoided and other environmental benefits estimated through the national GCSurplus platform, including internal reuse (GCTransfer), external reuse (GCSurplus), donations (GC), and recycling.
Circular Innovation Council is a national leader in advancing the economic, social and environmental value of Reuse as a circular business model, with existing multi-stakeholder projects Reuse Ottawa and Share, Reuse, Repair Hub. This project will clearly demonstrate the climate benefits of local reuse achieved by avoiding the purchase of new products.
This initiative aligns with federal Greening Government commitments and will provide providing practical tools and transparency in tracking climate outcomes of reuse across departments. Together, GCSurplus and CIC are advancing a circular economy approach that promotes reuse, reduces waste, and delivers measurable climate results.
Circular Innovation Council was sponsored to attend this year’s @Circular and Fair ICT (CFIT) Pact annual meetings at the UN Operations headquarters in Copenhagen in September. Treasury Board Secretariat’s Greening Government Centre also attended as they work to advance their draft Sustainable IT Standard for the Government of Canada. IT equipment is the Government of Canada’s 4th largest source of emissions, and over 80% of ICT’s carbon impact is in the production phase, not the use phase.
Attended by 11 countries representing 26 public procuring & coordinating organizations, progress was made on harmonizing circular procurement ambitions through ‘CFIT Recommendations’ to send clear signals to the market on the shift towards durable, repairable, carbon-conscious, ethical and recyclable information and communications technology (ICT) equipment.
By leveraging CFIT’s Buy Less, Buy Better, Use Better, Use Longer framework, Greening Government Centre has identified millions of dollars of savings over the equipment’s lifecycle, alongside significant GHG emissions reductions.
Circular Innovation Council will soon be bringing CFIT recommendations, case studies as well as mini-guides to public sector buyers through our Procure4Circular ICT community of practice.
Recent mini-guides have been published on:
CFIT is also expanding its work and will leverage leading governments’ and subject matter experts to develop circular and fair approaches to procuring digital infrastructure, essential as AI becomes a rapidly growing source of emissions for governments and businesses globally.
Circular Innovation Council’s Waste Auditor Training Program equips professionals with the tools and knowledge to measure, manage, and minimize waste using our nationally recognized Standard Waste Audit Method.
Participants gain hands-on experience in:
Whether you’re looking to build your skills or strengthen your organization’s sustainability strategy, this program offers the foundation you need to make measurable impact.
Ready to turn data into action?
Contact us today to learn more and join the growing network of certified Waste Auditors.
See what our recent graduates have to say below!
We want to say a big thank you to our new member that joined us in September 2025. Thank you for becoming a part of our fast growing membership here at Circular Innovation Council!
Purolator is a leading integrated freight, package and logistics provider, delivering packages to, from and within Canada. With our Canadian reach and U.S. expertise, we’ve continuously raised the bar for supply chain solutions for 65 years. Priorities in circular economy include increasing waste diversion and recycling, improving sustainable packaging, finding reusable substitutes for single-use products, EPR compliance.
Conference on Organics Recycling; Ottawa, Ontario
November 4-6
2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30); Belém, Brazil
November 10-21
Remembrance Day
November 11
Scaling Up Bio 2025: Accelerating Deep Decarbonization; Ottawa, Ontario
November 12-14
Innovation and the Business Case for Waste Prevention; Vancouver, British Columbia
November 27
We respectfully acknowledge that we live, work and play on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations and we humbly extend my respect to Indigenous individuals, communities and Elders, past and present, as the traditional custodians of this land.
Circular Innovation Council is a registered charity.
Charity Registration Number: 119112118 RR 0001
