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Critical Mass: Inside the Coalition Building America’s Circular Supply Chain

written by Deborah Dull, on site at GreenBiz 2026

 

It started over drinks, 80s music, and a shared frustration that has probably launched more good organizations than any strategic planning process ever has.

The Circular Supply Chain Coalition, or CSCC, came out of a realization that a lot of the right work was already happening, in reverse logistics, in remanufacturing, in local procurement, in community-based value chains, but nobody had connected it. The people doing the work were not in the same room. The companies with the materials were not talking to the processors who could recover them. The states with enabling policies were not linked to the investors looking for exactly those environments.

So the coalition became, as its founders describe it, a collector of collectors.

The focus right now is on three priority waste streams: batteries, semiconductors, and e-waste. These were not chosen randomly. They have two elements in common. They carry geopolitical consequence, meaning the supply chains behind them are controlled by other countries and that is a known vulnerability. And they have business cases that a CFO can actually evaluate. That second part matters more than people in the sustainability world usually admit.

The hub and spoke model is up and running across North America, with pilots also going in Europe, India, and Singapore. But the energy right now is concentrated on the US, and specifically on the enabling environment that states can build.

Phoenix is one of the proof points. The city has been doing this work for 15 years, which is remarkable on its own. What makes it genuinely interesting is the structure. The city owns the collection, the transfer stations, the recycling facilities, the compost facility, and the landfill. That vertical integration gives Phoenix something most cities do not have, which is data and the ability to offer feedstock to businesses that want to test whether their model actually works. They are also building a circular economy business park so that businesses can co-locate directly with the facilities and have direct access to materials. That is not an environmental initiative. That is an economic development strategy.

New Mexico is a different kind of proof point. The state has a $67 billion sovereign wealth fund. It is running a budget surplus. It is directing investment toward clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and quantum computing, and circular economy infrastructure fits directly into that thesis. The framing there is not sustainability. It is workforce development, economic diversification, and regulatory certainty as a competitive advantage for companies deciding where to locate.

Both states are also border states with active working relationships with Mexico, which opens up free trade zone possibilities and cross-border material flows that most people in this conversation are not yet thinking about.

The coalition is also building an advocacy arm and has just announced a partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which gives its members access to a much broader network of research and peer organizations.

The conversation has shifted. A year ago this work was framed around ESG. Today it is framed around supply chain security, operational excellence, and competitive advantage. That is not a retreat from the mission. That is how you get things built.

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