Circular Supply Chain Coalition

The Circular Supply Chain Coalition (CSCC) aims to reduce material extraction by creating equitable, local recovery systems linked to global supply chains. In an initial project funded by FedEx, with guidance from Pyxera Global (serving as Secretariat) and Metabolic, we identified an opportunity and a market need to enhance the capacity and connections of social enterprises working toward a circular economy. These enterprises primarily work to recover materials that would otherwise end up in landfills. Many of these social enterprises operate on a hyperlocal level and lack the reach and resources to scale their efforts. Meanwhile, large corporations are increasingly interested in using recycled materials in their products (i.e., lithium from used batteries in electric vehicle batteries). In a fully implemented CSCC project, small businesses in one city that process e-waste will be networked together in a cooperative model. They will sell recovered materials to a large clean energy technology manufacturer through a forward procurement financial mechanism called a Circular Services Agreement. The CSCC will coordinate and implement that new supply chain. Our first demonstration site will be in Atlanta, Phoenix, or Cleveland and we are currently seeking funding for our work in one of those three cities. If we secure funding for scoping in August 2024 and for the full program, we are on track to implement the first demonstration site in Fall 2024. We expect it to be a two-year program, after which we will replicate and scale it in other locations. What makes the CSCC unique? - Methodology based on pilot-tested and real-world conditions - Developing and deploying a fully coordinated new value chain - Explicit coordination of the public, private, and social sector - Focus on critical mineral recovery to drive the clean energy transition - On-shoring critical mineral supply chains