Title
Ellen MacArthur Foundation Membership Renewal (Ordinance S-44960)
Description
This report requests City Council authorization to renew the City's membership in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Circular Economy 100 (CE100 USA) for $25,000 per year for a three-year term beginning Fiscal Year 2018-19. Expenditures over the life of the agreement are expected not to exceed $75,000.
Report
Summary
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), a non-profit organization, was established in 2010 and launched the CE100 and the CE100 USA programs in 2013 and 2016, respectively. CE100 membership is an innovation platform for 100 corporations, academic institutions, emerging innovators and governments, including circular economy pioneers in key industry sectors with a wide geographic spread. The Foundation works with its global partners (including Cisco, Google, H&M, Intesa Sanpaolo, Nike, Philips, Renault and Unilever) to develop circular business initiatives and address challenges to implementing them. The City of Phoenix was the first municipality in the United States invited to join the CE100 group in Fiscal Year 2015-16. EMF’s mission and membership aligns with the City’s Reimagine Phoenix Initiative to increase the City’s waste diversion to 40 percent by the year 2020, and the long-term vision of zero waste by 2050.
Membership in the CE100 connects the City to international companies and investors such as the Closed Loop Fund (CLF), which offers zero-interest loans to municipalities to build infrastructure to implement emerging technologies in the recycling industry. Staff is currently in discussions with CLF regarding the potential to finance procurement of new technology at the North Gateway Transfer Station Materials Recovery Facility to improve capture of plastics numbers 1 (PETE), 2 (HDPE) and 5 (PP) as well as improve the sorting of paper. The upgrades to technology would allow Phoenix to more effectively capture and divert recycled plastics, as well as help foster a more sustainable domestic and circular economy.
On Sept. 9, 2015, City Council authorized the City’s membership in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation CE100, and during the City's membership with the Foundation City officials have made numerous presentations to national and international audiences about the progress of Reimagine Phoenix, the Resource Innovation Campus (RIC), and the City’s partnership with Arizona State University (ASU) on the Resource Innovation and Solutions Network (RISN). These presentations have led to meetings with Ellen MacArthur Foundation partners to explore potential partnership on upcoming Reimagine Phoenix projects. In March 2018, the Foundation hosted its bi-annual CE100 Acceleration Workshop in Phoenix which attracted more than 100 attendees from national and international corporations, academia, innovators and other governments to the City, showcasing the City's advancements on the circular economy. Attendees also had the opportunity to tour the Resource Innovation Campus, the City's circular economy hub.
Several additional highlights over the City's initial three-year membership in the CE100 include:
- Collaboration with the Foundation has provided an opportunity to showcase Phoenix’s circular economy success stories. For example, in 2018 the City's partnership with ASU was cited as a case study in the World Economic Forum white paper "Circular Economy in Cities: Evolving the Model for a Sustainable Urban Future." The City's unique partnership with Palm Silage to divert palm fronds from the landfill will be featured as a Circular Economy case study on the EMF webpage.
- The City participated in several of the Foundation's systemic initiatives including its collaborative research with Google on "The Circular Economy and the Promise of Glass in Concrete," and the New Plastics Economy and Circular Fibers initiatives.
- The CE100 provided a platform for the City and Arizona State University to showcase the RISN collaboration on circular economy innovation on numerous occasions to both national and international audiences. This model of city-academia collaboration is now being replicated by other CE100 members and the broader Ellen MacArthur Foundation network.
- The Foundation’s material and assets have been used to inform the work of the RISN Incubator, launched in the fall of 2017. For example, the Foundation's Circular Economy Design Guide serves as a basis for the RISN Incubator Design Challenge on circular economy innovation.
- The City of Phoenix was one of 12 global pioneering cities chosen to participate in the EMF Circular Cities Network, a year-long initiative to exchange insights, experience and best practices among urban policymakers on the transition towards a circular economy.
- On Feb. 24, 2016, Dame Ellen MacArthur and representatives from the Foundation toured the RIC and the RISN in partnership with Arizona State University.
- On Nov. 30, 2017, the City was announced as a finalist for the 2018 Circulars Award for Circular Economy Public Sector. The Circulars is an initiative of the World Economic Forum and the Forum of Young Global Leaders.
- On Dec. 5, 2017, Phoenix was one of ten cities honored at the C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards ceremony as the US Cities4ZeroWaste award winner for the Reimagine Phoenix Initiative.
Moving forward, the City will continue to engage with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and fellow CE100 members on the City's Reimagine Phoenix Initiative and circular economy goals in areas including plastics, textiles, food systems and the role of cities in the circular economy.
Financial Impact
The estimated expenditure for Phoenix’s membership in the CE100 USA is $25,000 per year with an annual adjustment in an amount equal to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Expenditures over the life of the agreement is expected not to exceed $75,000.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee recommended approval of this item on June 19, 2018 by a vote of 4-0.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Public Works Department.