COIL Climate and Circularity Solutions Hub applies circular economy (CE) principles to provide expertise, research and strategies to help businesses and organizations develop actions to reduce carbon emissions and address climate change.  Circularity is a primary strategy in Canada’s Climate Action Plan that has bold targets to reduce emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 and achieve “net-zero” emissions by 2050.  The plan highlights that the path to a resilient future requires adoption of clean technologies and resource-efficient approaches that are also foundational to a circular economy.  Leveraging COIL’s existing networks, infrastructure and expertise, the Hub develops and communicates innovative strategies that reduce waste, create new value-streams, and applies new climate-smart and circular processes throughout businesses and across supply chains.  It supports new learning opportunities such as the Circular Leadership Program, in partnership with the Ivey Business School Centre for Building sustainable Value, that provides awareness and understanding of circular approaches that also maximize emission reductions.

Canada, and the businesses that operate within it, will not meet net-zero targets without a transition to the circular economy.  Circularity is an essential part of any climate strategy.  With that said, the circular economy will not transition from the current linear model if circularity is not accepted as climate action.  COIL launched the Climate and Circularity Solutions Hub to strengthen the link between the circular economy and climate, and created a CE education program targeted at organizational leaders that help them identify an existing issue and develop a climate-smart circular solution to address it.  CE education programs are needed to create the understanding that circularity, while it has environmental and social benefits, is an economic approach for organizations that will increase efficiency and productivity, improve resiliency, and decrease waste – all items that affect operating costs.  With the growing interest in both sustainability and the circular economy from business and industry, this education is very much needed and in demand.