U.S. Circular City Snapshots: Firsthand Accounts of the Circular City Transition

Session Description

As Circular Economy principles begin to gain traction across policy ecosystems in the United States, circular economy best practices are beginning to emerge. This session will provide urban perspectives on opportunities & barriers in the transition to circular cities with a particular focus on how regional CE strategies connect to tangible social & economic outcomes.

Session Panelists:

• Ashima Sukhdev, Climate Mitigation & Circular Economy Policy Advisor, City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities
• Divya Sridhar, Cleveland Neighbor Progress Program Manager and Lead for Inclusive Circular Cleveland 
• Emily Yates, Smart Cities Director, Philadelphia, and former Deputy Director for Envision Charlotte
• Pardis Saffari, Director of Economic Development, City of Cambridge, Massachusett
• Andrew McCue, Circular Economy Consultant, Metabolic

Moderator: Jennifer Hill Carrigan, former Executive Director, Circular Triangle (Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill) & Inclusive Circular Economy Program Manager, PYXERA Global

Key Participant Learning Outcomes

• Gain perspective on how cities are engaging on circularity in different regional contexts
• Get a keen understanding of the opportunities and barriers that exist for cities to fully embrace the circular transition
• Capture key insights on how cities are leveraging circularity to engage and unite other policy areas such as racial equity and economic development
• Provide real-time examples of best practices that cities are employing to move circularity forward on the mayor’s agenda