Circular economy toolkit for small business (The)

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CONTENTS Introduction 1

What Is the Circular Economy? 5

Your People 13

Your Networks 19

Your Stuff 27

Energy & Water Management 31

Ingredient Sourcing 38

Food Recovery & Organic Waste Diversion 47

Packaging 54

Nutrient Management 60

Communicate & Iterate 65

Appendix 68

Works Cited 69

More Circular Economy Resources 70

Local Circular Economy Business Practices 72

All Worksheets 75

WELCOME TO THE TOOLKIT

If you care about regenerating natural

ecosystems, treating your people well, and

making a lasting contribution to your local

community, but aren’t quite sure how to do

these things, this toolkit was made for you!

Plant Chicago believes

that using the

framework of a local

circular economy can

help you accomplish

these noble aims

alongside your

financial goals.

The Local Circular

Economy Toolkit

for Small Business

is meant to help all of you industrious,

collaborative, creative and knowledgeable

business owners understand and implement

local circular economy practices.

The areas covered in this toolkit are high-

impact areas for food businesses to focus on

INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Local Circular Economy

Toolkit for Small Business: Food Focus

when cultivating a local circular economy.

In each section, the toolkit will guide you

through benchmarking and goal-setting

exercises, which are presented as one-page

worksheets in each section. There are also

plenty of opportunities to

learn about each topic in

depth if you’d like to do

so before diving into the

worksheets. Each section

of the toolkit also has a

list of resources that will

help you get started on

an action plan to achieve

your circular economy

goals.

If you’re not familiar with the circular economy

concept already, we recommend starting from

the very beginning of the toolkit.

If you’re already a circular economy enthusiast

and want to dive in and start applying

the principles to your own operation, we

A local circular economy is a collaborative economic practice sustained by the local circulation of resources, including energy, materials, nutrients, knowledge and money.

1CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

recommend completing the activities in the

Your People and Your Networks sections.

After doing so, you can choose the sections

of Your Stuff that are most relevant and

interesting to you and your business

operations (see guidance on page 30 for

details). Whatever you decide to do, please

fill out the local circular economy intake

survey (bit.ly/ce-intake-survey) before

getting started.

We hope you leave this toolkit experience with

a specific, measurable circular economy goal

and a strong action plan to help you achieve

it. We also include some advice on what to do

once you’ve achieved your first local circular

economy success.

WHY BUILD A TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES? It is easy to dismiss the small business sector

as only a minor player in the huge problems we

face as a result of our current linear economic

system. The majority of existing case studies,

conferences and membership-based circular

economy (CE) initiatives focus on supporting

large multinational corporations as they work

to become more circular.

However, data suggests that there is a massive

opportunity for small businesses to have a

large collective impact on the environment

and in their own communities. According

to the U.S. Small Business Administration,

small businesses make up over 99% of

all businesses operating in the United

States, with 88% of employer firms in this

category employing less than 20 people.1 2

Small businesses produced nearly half of the

country’s private, nonfarm GDP in 2008.3

Currently, the role of small businesses is

overlooked in current circular economy

conversations and programs. As we’ll discuss

in this toolkit, cultivating local circular

economies is an effective way for small

2 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

businesses to work together to solve some

of the greatest challenges of our era.

Not only do small businesses have the desire

to be part of the circular

economy movement, but

many small business

owners and employees

already possess the

characteristics necessary

to make the movement

a reality in today’s world.

Small business owners

tend to be entrepreneurial,

flexible, future-oriented,

creative, innovative and

well-connected to the needs and desires of

their own local communities.

Furthermore, the operations of very small

businesses tend to happen at a smaller

geographic scale which is conducive to lower

environmental impacts and the creation

of a strong local circular economy. Though

small businesses want to participate in the

circular economy movement and already

possess relevant skills and characteristics,

unfortunately many of them are not actively

involved yet. If you own or have ever worked for

a small business, the reason why is probably

obvious: small businesses are busy working.

While multinational companies have the

ability to hire consultants,

scientists and marketing

teams, small companies

are lucky to be turning

a profit and paying their

employees a living wage.

This is especially true for

small companies in the

food industry, where profit

margins are razor thin.

With all of this in mind,

Plant Chicago created

the Local Circular Economy Toolkit for

Small Business.

We see this toolkit as a first step in a

small business owner’s journey to explore

circular economy concepts, assess their

operations for circularity, set circular goals

and implement practices that will help

them cultivate a local circular economy,

all while improving and streamlining their

business operations.

Cultivating local circular economies is an effective way for small businesses to work together to solve some of the greatest challenges of our era.

3CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

FOCUS ON THE FOOD SYSTEM

This version of the toolkit is meant for small

businesses who operate in the food system.

This includes farms, food producers, food

retailers, cafes, restaurants, food rescue

organizations, food scrap haulers and compost

operations. This version of the toolkit also

focuses on resources, policies, challenges

and opportunities that are specific to the

Chicagoland (Illinois) region.

Although many of the tools and concepts in

the toolkit could be helpful to a wide variety

of small businesses, we recommend that

businesses in other industries and locations

reach out to their own local and/or industry-

specific networks for more targeted guidance.

4 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

WHAT IS THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

Already familiar with the circular economy concept? Feel free to skip ahead

to "How to use this toolkit" on page 11 to get started.

THE LINEAR ECONOMY

Today’s global economy is a linear system

of production, consumption and waste

that degrades natural ecosystems and

has many negative impacts on humans

and communities.

One end of this system continues to extract

finite resources from the earth as if they will

never run out. The other end of this system

disposes of these same valuable materials in

landfills, where they serve no economic

purpose and have negative consequences on

human and planetary health.

Paradoxically, financial capital is valued above

all else, but businesses and consumers waste

money every day by sending valuable materials

to landfills instead of reusing, repairing,

recovering or recycling them.

This linear system, and its largely unintended

side effects, are huge contributors to both the

ongoing global climate crisis and many human

health hazards. Rapid climate change is

increasing the frequency of natural disasters,

creating climate refugees across the globe

and decreasing the amount of fresh water and

arable land to grow the crops necessary for

human survival.4 Furthermore, many of our

remaining natural resources, like water and

soil, are polluted with toxic materials due to

linear economic activities.

Human activity within the linear economy

is currently depleting the earth’s natural

resources at a rate that leaves them unable to

regenerate naturally. Already, this has led to a

rise in the costs of energy, water, food and raw

commodities around the world. Unless we shift

to a new economic model, these problems will

continue to get worse in the coming years.

RESOURCES

PRODUCTION

WASTE

USE/ CONSUMPTION

5CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The circular economy has been posed by NGOs,

businesses, researchers and government

entities alike as a potential solution to the

drastic problems outlined on the last page.

Although there is no single agreed-upon

[A circular economy] entails gradually

decoupling economic activity from the

consumption of finite resources and

designing waste out of the system.

Underpinned by a transition to renewable

energy sources, the circular model builds

economic, natural, and social capital.

It is based on three principles:

• Design out waste and pollution
• Keep products and materials in use
• Regenerate natural systems

definition of a circular economy — a 2017 study

by Kirchherr et al. analyzed 114 definitions of

the term5 — the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a

thought leader in the global circular economy

movement, defines it as:6

6 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Many large companies around the world

are already taking the circular economy

concept seriously as part of their long-term

strategies. According to a 2019 report from

financial services company ING, 62% of US

firms planned to adopt a circular economy

framework as part of their business strategy

and 16% already had.7

At the facility scale, a circular economy can be

described as conventional waste streams from

one process being re-purposed as inputs for

another, creating a circular, closed-loop model

HIERARCHY OF ACTIONS

1. Rethink & Reduce

As a producer, ask yourself:

Is this product the best way

to meet the demand? Could we

use fewer or different resources

in its production?

2. Redesign

Consider reuse, repair and

recycling options in advance

3. Reuse

Use products multiple times.

4. Repair & Remanufacture

After initial use, maintain and

repair products, or use them to

create new products.

5. Recycle

Process and reuse materials.

6. Recover

Create energy from materials.

Disposal should be avoided.

RESOURCES

PRODUCTION

WASTE

6. RECOVER

1. RETHINK & REDUCE 2. REDESIGN

3. REUSE

5. RECYCLE

4. REPAIR & REMANUFACTURE

USE/ CONSUMPTION

Adapted from PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. themasites.pbl.nl/circular-economy/

7CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

but they may also be able to do so through

the use of reused, recycled or remanufactured

materials instead of newly extracted ones.

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

Resource efficiency entails using fewer

resources, such as materials, nutrients, energy

and water, to create the same or greater value.

A 2017 report by the International Resource

Panel projects that natural resource use

will increase by 119% by 2050, and proposes

resource efficiency as a key to reducing

overall natural resource use and avoiding

catastrophic environmental impacts. The

same report also notes the economic

opportunity of resource efficiency, stating

"resource efficiency and ambitious climate

policies and initiatives could deliver annual

economic benefits of more than US$2 trillion

globally in 2050."9

Many circular economy related infrastructure

upgrades, like energy efficiency or green

energy installations, can also help save money

in the long run. Even small efficiency upgrades

can create cost savings.

A best practice in sustainability-focused

business is to put these cost savings aside to

use for more capital-intensive upgrades, like

installing green energy infrastructure such as

solar panels or geothermal systems.

WHY SHOULD BUSINESSES CARE ABOUT THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

In addition to the environmental and social

benefits of a circular economy system, there

are also financial gains to be had. These gains

come in the form of both cost savings and

additional revenue opportunities presented

by circular economy practices.

Cost Savings

Cost savings in a circular

economy come

from three main areas:

reduced consumption of raw materials,

resource efficiency and waste reduction.

REDUCED CONSUMPTION

Commodity prices are on the rise, due

in part to the growing scarcity of many

natural resources, as well as volatility in

worldwide markets.8 In a circular economy,

businesses will need to reduce their reliance

on inputs made from new materials and their

dependence upon the continued extraction of

natural resources.

Not only will businesses reduce costs from

an overall decrease in resource consumption,

8 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

£ Extending the life of manufactured

products, with revenue coming from a

company repairing or remanufacturing

products for end users.

£ Circular supply chains in which suppliers

and purchasers continually cycle

nutrients and/or materials through the

supply chain.

£ Recovery and recycling, with revenue

produced through selling byproducts to

other companies for reuse, recycling or

remanufacturing (in addition to waste

reduction and cost savings).

WASTE REDUCTION

Costs can also be reduced in a circular

economy because of a reduction in the amount

of physical waste businesses produce. One

key principle of the circular economy is to

design out waste. When a company produces

less waste, savings may be achieved through

reduced disposal fees.

Revenue

Opportunities

In addition to cost savings,

circular economy practices

can bring financial gains

to businesses through new revenue

opportunities. According to a report by

Accenture10, "the circular economy could

generate $4.5 trillion of additional economic

output by 2030 through new circular business

models and revenue generating opportunities."

This report lists five main areas of revenue

opportunity within a circular economy:

£ Maximizing the use of (and revenue

from) underutilized assets through

sharing platforms such as Airbnb, Lyft,

£ Product-as-service model where a

company retains ownership of an item,

like a phone, and makes revenue from

providing services around the item.

Want to learn more? Check out the Circular

Economy Resources list in the Appendix.

9CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The success of any local circular economy

is driven by values of equity, transparency,

diversity and inclusion. In a local circular

economy, a business should:

£ Regenerate local ecosystems

£ Address the needs and aspirations

of local stakeholders

£ Increase local human knowledge

and capacity around circular

economy practices

Small businesses are already at a huge

advantage in the local circular economy

movement, since local stakeholders are much

easier to involve at the scale at which most

small businesses operate.

Plus, small businesses benefit from creating a

robust local circular economy, since it can help

engage local partner businesses, suppliers

and customers, who are then more likely to

support small businesses in their community.

WHAT IS THE LOCAL CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

Many circular economy definitions and

guides focus solely on how materials and

energy management can regenerate natural

ecosystems. Although macro resources are

important to the circular economy movement,

we’re often leaving out how people and human

communities could or should be involved in,

and affected by, this new economy.

Instead, Plant Chicago defines a local circular

A local circular economy is a

collaborative economic practice

sustained by the local circulation

of resources, including energy,

materials, nutrients, knowledge

NUTRIENTSMATERIALS

MONEYKNOWLEDGE

LOCAL CONTEXT

10 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The first step of the toolkit process is to fill out

this survey to help you start thinking circular.

After you have the results of the intro survey,

you’ll need to prioritize and decide what you’d

like to focus on during the first steps of your

local circular economy journey. In the next

section, we’ll give a quick overview of key

practices within a local circular economy in

three categories: Your People, Your Networks

HOW TO USE THIS TOOLKIT

Now that you’ve learned a little bit about

the circular economy movement and

the importance of cultivating the local

circular economy, it’s time to get to work on

implementing circular economy practices

at your business.

The following sections are a combination

of assessments to help you understand

where your business currently stands on

CE practices and resources and tools to

help you implement, improve, measure and

communicate your CE practices.

You may already be using circular economy

practices in your operation!

Fill out the local circular economy intake survey.

You'll find out some specific areas to focus on

and your responses will help us identify more

resources that businesses can use in the future.

bit.ly/ce-intake-survey

11CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

FOR EACH SECTION:

Learn Assess Set Goals Communicate

Measure

Take Action

Iterate

EMPLOYEES POWER THE ECONOMY

Economic and environmental sustainability

are key aspects of any circular economy, but

individual human "sustainability" is often

overlooked by the movement. Fair labor

practices are rarely mentioned in circular

economy contexts today.

In a local circular economy, a business should

focus on training and retaining employees to

maximize value for their business, but also to

increase local human knowledge and capacity

around circular economy practices.

EMPLOYEE RETENTION

Employee retention is a critical challenge for

small businesses. High employee turnover

leads to higher costs over time, as turnover

necessitates constant hiring and retraining.

Small businesses don’t have the time and

monetary resources required to constantly

hire and train new employees, and thus

should focus on improving factors that

support employee retention at their

companies. Retaining employees also

means retaining the important knowledge

and experience they’ve acquired while

working at your business.

Key factors for employee retention include:

£ Paying fair wages.

£ Offering benefits like healthcare,

retirement plans and paid time off.

£ Offering training and professional

development opportunities.

£ Providing opportunities for

advancement and leadership within

£ Involving employees in decision-making.

£ Using open and effective communication.

YOUR PEOPLE Best Practices for Businesses

in the Circular Economy

Photo by

Leah Kuhn

LEARN

13CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

OPENNESS TO CIRCULAR CHANGES

When working to align your business with

a local circular economy system, creating a

workplace culture that values the circular

economy and sustainability is key. This can

be done partially by offering circular economy

training and professional development

opportunities for employees.

The transition to circular practices can mean

changes to many day-to-day operational

practices (e.g., instituting a new system to

separate organic waste for compost when

there was only one bin for all "waste" items

before). Since many of these initiatives will

be carried out by employees, it’s important

to train and help staff members understand

why these practices are being implemented.

This step is

critical to

ensure that

your new

changes are

successful

within your

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

The first step to addressing your employees’

needs is to understand them better. Creating

an empathy map for each key stakeholder

can help you uncover each group’s wants,

needs, values and opinions. Understanding

your stakeholders is necessary for successful

collaboration and behavior change, which

are both integral to cultivating the circular

economy within your company culture.

Fill out the Empathy Map worksheet on the

next page to get started.

£ First, explore your employees’ needs,

then branch out to other stakeholders.

(For example, consider different types of

customers, vendors and/or partners.)

£ Fill out the worksheet by yourself or with

a small group. Think about why the

person is interacting with you, and what

they see, hear, think, feel, say and do.

Jot down words and phrases from their

£ If you have two or more leaders in your

business, it may be helpful for each

person to fill out a worksheet about

the same stakeholder, then compare

notes. You might identify new insights

about your employees, customers or

Creating a workplace culture that values the circular economy and sustainability is key.

14 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ASSESS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

E M PAT H Y M A P What does someone else experience when they interact with your business? Use this worksheet to understand your customers, employees and other stakeholders better by noticing what they see, hear, say and do. Write down your hypotheses in each area.

WHAT DO THEY SEE?

WHAT DO THEY DO?

WHAT DO THEY SAY?

WHAT DO THEY HEAR?

WHO are you empathizing with? WHAT is their goal?

Customer type, employee, stakeholder, etc. What do they want to achieve when they interact with your business?

SET GOALS

PEOPLE GOALS

See the list of key factors for employee

retention on page 13 and consider

implementing some of these measures in

Additional suggestions:

£ Hold a training on circular economy

concepts for your employees.

£ Create an empathy map for key

stakeholders, including employees

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

goals related to people.

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for

encouraging your people to embrace

circular economy activities, you can take

action and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to track

your progress. In a few months, you

might see big changes!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: PEOPLE

£ The MIT Living Wage Calculator allows

you to calculate a living wage based on

your geographic location and a few other

£ Zero Waste Chicago offers staff trainings

on a variety of circular economy practices.

zerowastechicago.com/business

£ IDEO and Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s

Circular Design Guide offers

suggestions, including worksheets

and full workshop agendas, for getting

a group into a circular economy and

design thinking mindset.

circulardesignguide.com

16 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

YOUR NETWORKS

• Geographic Range
• Symbiotic Groups
• Circular Goal Setting

LEARN

BUILDING COALITIONS AND CONNECTIONS

A local circular economy is by definition

a collaborative practice, which can only be

achieved by forming effective partnerships

and networks at the local level.

As a small business owner, you probably

already work with a variety of local partners,

including customers and suppliers. These

partnerships are likely based on acquiring

capabilities, products or other assets you

require from local actors. In a local circular

economy, you may need to expand your

partnerships to include additional people

The ability to consider the implications

of actions beyond a business’s direct

sphere of influence is necessary for CE-

based decision-making.

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

Interested in understanding and strengthening

your network to cultivate a local circular

economy in your community? On the next

three pages, you’ll find worksheets that will

help you think about who is in your network

and how far it ranges.

£ First, use the Geographic Range

worksheet to think about your reach in

the world.

£ Then, fill out the Your Stakeholders

worksheet to delve into your partners

in the community.

£ Finally, use the Symbiotic Groups

worksheet to identify any symbiotic

organizations you might want to work

with in the future, and what activities

you might engage in with them.

YOUR NETWORKS Building a Healthy, Collaborative Practice

to Make the Circular Economy Real

19CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

GEOGRAPHIC RANGE ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSG E O G R A PH I C

R A N G E Where your business activities take place, and the people, places and things those activities affect, define your boundaries. These impacts can be economic, environmental and/or social. How local or global are your boundaries?

DISTANCE: For each of the following rows, circle two choices. First, circle the shortest distance each one travels to or from your business. Second, circle the longest distance one travels.

How far do our...

Employees travel to get to work?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Ingredients/inputs travel to get to our business (including

ingredients & packaging)?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Products travel to reach a customer?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Waste travel to be processed, reused, recycled or disposed of?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Products travel to be processed, reused, recycled, or disposed of after they’re used?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

EXAMPLE How far do our employees travel to get to work?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

YOUR STAKEHOLDERS ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

YO U R S TA K E H O LD E R S Your business likely interacts with a wide range of organizations, groups and people. We consider these your stakeholders: people or groups who are affected by your activities or whose activities affect your business. It is important to think about them during this process, because they are also affected by changes to your business.

We’ve listed some groups to start, but you should fill in any missing stakeholders.

1. Cross out ("X") any types of people who are irrelevant or don’t play a role. 2. Circle the stakeholders who are being helped or served by your business. 3. Star the stakeholders who you consider local.

Customers Employees Business Partners

Supplier Supplier Landlord/ Tenant

Neighborhood Organization

Chamber of Commerce

Alderman Investors

SYMBIOTIC GROUPS ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

LOCAL BUSINESS, ORGANIZATION, COMMUNITY GROUP, ETC.

HOW DO YOU CURRENTLY INTERACT?

HOW COULD YOU INTERACT OR BENEFIT FROM EACH OTHER IN THE FUTURE?

S YM B I O T I C G R O U P S Some networks you’re a part of are harder to identify than your current stakeholders. Especially when it comes to your local community, nearby groups can affect each other in subtle ways (and might all be affected by the same people, decisions or pressures). For example, a new business starting in your neighborhood could bring more lunch customers, increase competition or even change the smells in the air!

List some businesses and organizations that coexist with you in your local area. They can include schools, nonprofits, community centers or others. If you need more ideas, check out the listings from your Neighborhood Council or Chamber of Commerce.

SET GOALS

NETWORK GOALS

As you explore Your Stuff and Your People,

you will likely find many ways to involve

your stakeholders and local groups in your

In addition, here are a few action step

suggestions that can help you start building

£ Do some research on the stakeholders

and symbiotic groups that you identified

on the Symbiotic Groups and Your

Stakeholders worksheets to identify a

few immediate opportunities to work

together on a project.

£ Attend a local neighborhood council or

chamber of commerce meeting.

£ Create a definition of "local" for your

business. Use the results of your

Geographic Range worksheet to inform

this decision and think about how this

might influence your sourcing, hiring or

distribution goals.

£ Conduct a focus group with local

stakeholders and/or symbiotic groups

to find out how your business activities

affect them and how they might like to be

involved moving forward.

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

goal(s) related to your networks.

23CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for building

an active network that can help you achieve

your circular economy goals (and share

resources or waste streams), you can take

action and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to track

your progress. In a few months, you

might see big changes!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: NETWORKS

Your local Chamber of Commerce,

Neighborhood Council, or other business-

focused groups can be great resources for

connecting with other businesses.

The City of Chicago, for example, maintains a

few different lists of applicable organizations

on their website:

£ Small Business Development Centers

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/sbc/small_

business_developmentcenters.html

£ Additional Business Support Services

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/sbc/other_

business_supportagencies.html

£ Map of Neighborhood Business

Development Centers

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/sbc/

neighborhoodbusinessdevcenters.html

£ Information on Special Service Areas

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/sbc/

special_service_areasssa.html

£ Many neighborhoods also have

community groups (not specific to

businesses, but typically open to all

community organizations, businesses

and residents). These groups are a great

way to connect with and hear from local

residents and organizations.

£ Many local academic institutions have

classes or clubs that connect students

with local companies to conduct research,

design programming and more. Consider

reaching out to your local colleges and

universities to seek assistance with the

recommended Action Steps above.

24 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

YOUR STUFF - General Circular Best Practices

• Energy & Water Management
• Ingredient Sourcing
• Food Recovery & Organic Waste Diversion
• Nutrient Management

YOUR STUFF Circular Economy Best Practices

for the Food Industry

GENERAL CIRCULAR BEST PRACTICES

Businesses in the food system have many

unique challenges and opportunities when it

comes to cultivating local circular economies.

In the following sections, we will explain

why each focus area is important for food

businesses, guide you through the process of

setting goals, and make an action plan to be

more circular in each aspect of Your Stuff.

To get started, feel free to choose the topics

that are most relevant and exciting to you,

or use the priorities given for major food

business categories on page 30 for

In general, for any business that makes a

product, materials and energy are two of

the most important factors to consider when

looking to operate within a local circular

economy. The following list of practices is a

good starting point to guide your operations

toward a circular economy.

Material

Inputs

£ Should be minimized to limit the

amount of material and energy

extraction required to create the input.

£ Should be made from reused or

recycled materials to limit the amount

of raw material used.

£ Should travel as little as possible to

and from your business, to minimize

greenhouse gases from transportation

(and reduces shipping costs).

£ Should be made from materials that can

be recycled, reused, remanufactured or

composted locally. This helps ensure that

your product and/or its packaging will not

end up in a landfill after it is used.

£ Should be made/grown using circular

economy practices, many of which are

covered by third party certifications

(e.g., sustainability, ethics). The best

way to learn about your suppliers'

practices is to talk with them directly.

Photo by

Leah Kuhn

LEARN

27CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Business Space

and Facilities

£ Should be as small as possible to meet

your needs. This will help reduce energy

consumption and allow you to scale only

£ Should be shared with a complementary

business/organization if the space

is bigger than your business’s current

needs. This could also create additional

revenue via rent from a subtenant.

£ Should be located as near as possible to

your customers, and to the resources

and infrastructure needed to run

your business. This can help minimize

transportation costs and lower overall

greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy and

Water Inputs

£ Should be minimized to reduce

consumption of natural resources.

This includes both finite resources like

coal and natural gas and resources that

are "infinite" but scarce in many parts

of the world, such as water. Energy and

water efficiency should be a top priority

for any business.

£ Should come from clean/renewable

sources so that the energy a business

uses after implementing energy

efficiency measures does not deplete

finite natural resources.

28 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Mechanical

Equipment

£ Should be as efficient as possible to

save on energy costs and reduce

consumption of energy and water.

£ Should be repaired when broken instead

of buying new equipment. This preserves

the valuable energy and materials

embodied in the piece of equipment

instead of sending it to a landfill.

Material Byproducts

and Waste

£ Should be reduced, reused, repurposed,

recycled or composted to avoid sending

these materials and their associated

monetary value to the landfill, where they

serve no purpose in the economy or in the

£ Reducing the amount of byproducts

is a top priority when possible. When

byproducts are unavoidable, reusing and

repurposing are preferred ways of dealing

with them, since they tend to be less

resource-intensive.

£ For organic waste, composting is the

preferred solution.

£ Recycling is usually preferable over

sending materials to a landfill, but is

energy- and resource-intensive, and

should be a last resort for physical

outputs in a circular economy, just before

sending materials to a landfill.

29CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

FOOD-SPECIFIC FOCUS AREAS

When it comes to Your Stuff, there are

too many targets for a small business to

tackle all at once. In addition to the general

guidelines we outlined previously, we

recommend focusing on aspects of Your Stuff

specific to your business type. Many of these

categorized priorities are based on extensive

research done by the Sustainability Accounting

Standards Board.

FOR CAFÉS, RESTAURANTS

AND FOOD RETAILERS

£ Ingredient Sourcing

£ Energy & Water Management

£ Food Recovery & Organic Waste

Diversion

FOR FARMS

£ Water Management (All farms should see

water efficiency & water reuse sections. Indoor

farms should also see energy management.)

£ Nutrient Management

£ Food Recovery & Organic Waste

Diversion

FOR FOOD MANUFACTURERS OR

CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS

£ Ingredient Sourcing

£ Energy & Water Management

£ Packaging

FOR FOOD RECOVERY, WASTE

HAULERS OR COMPOSTERS

£ Energy & Water Management

£ Nutrient Management

HOW TO USE THE "YOUR STUFF" TOPICS

Each topic section includes an introduction,

some advice and interactive exercises on

assessing your current state, a walk-through

of the goal-setting process with examples

and action step recommendations, and a list

of resources you might find helpful to achieve

After completing your chosen topic section(s),

you will have a new goal and a step-by-step

action plan, complete with a resource list,

to begin cultivating a local circular economy

through your business activities.

If there is a Your Stuff section that

you’d really like to work on, but it's

not listed under your sector below,

feel free to go for it!

30 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

YOUR STUFF

ENERGY & WATER MANAGEMENT

LEARN

PUT ENERGY INTO MINIMIZING ITS USE

Energy is the top contributor to climate

change worldwide. According to the United

Nations, the food sector accounts for 30%

of the world’s energy consumption and 22%

of total greenhouse gas emissions. The food

sector is also a major consumer of water.

This makes energy and water management a

key priority for any food business that wants

to participate in the circular economy.

Energy and water can be complicated to

track and set specific goals around within a

business context. Luckily, energy and water

management are two of the most well-studied

areas of environmental sustainability. There

are plenty of best practice lists already out

there for everyone, from homeowners to

Energy Efficiency First

To quote the Illinois utility consumer advocate

group Citizens Utility Board (CUB), "the

cheapest kilowatt-hour is the one you never

use." Although renewable energy is an exciting

prospect, energy efficiency is always the best

way to reduce energy costs and environmental

impact. Businesses should maximize their

energy efficiency before diving into the world

of renewable energy.

Energy efficiency is always the best way to reduce energy costs and environmental impact.

31CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ENERGY INCENTIVES

Luckily, Illinois utility companies, like ComEd

in the Chicago area, offer many incentives

for homeowners and businesses to complete

energy efficiency upgrades. The ComEd Energy

Efficiency Program offers small businesses

free energy efficiency audits and a list of

contractors who can offer full installation

services for any work recommended after the

audit, with up to 75% off total energy efficiency

project costs. An energy audit is a great way to

identify opportunities for energy efficiency and

cost savings within your space.

There are also financial incentives available

for businesses in Illinois to purchase energy

efficient lighting and equipment, and to help

building owners insulate and air-seal their

building envelopes to maximize efficiency of

their heating and cooling systems.

Green Power

Once you’ve maximized your energy

efficiency, installing your own renewable

energy generation system, participating in

a community solar program, or purchasing

renewable energy from your utility company

is the next step in your circular energy

journey. The EPA defines green power

as "electricity supplied from a subset of

renewable resources that provide the

highest environmental benefit."11

Some examples of green power sources

include solar, wind, geothermal, biogas,

biomass (specific plant & waste materials),

and low-impact hydroelectric.

INSTALL YOUR OWN RENEWABLE SYSTEM

The best approach to sourcing green power

is to install a renewable energy system at your

facility. This could be solar panels, a

wind turbine, a geothermal system, or an

anaerobic digester coupled with a power

system. There are many financial incentives,

such as rebates and tax credits at the

state and federal level for renewable energy

installations. At the moment, these incentives

are heavily focused on solar energy.

COMMUNITY SOLAR

Another option for sourcing green power is

community solar. This is a new program in

Illinois that allows individuals and businesses

who are unable to install their own solar

panels to sign up to help pay for a solar panel

installation at a nearby building. Individuals

or businesses who pay into the system then

receive ongoing bill credits for the solar energy

their investment helps generate.12

GREEN POWER PLANS

If you are not able to install your own green

power system or participate in a community

solar program, another option is to sign up for

a "green power" plan.

32 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Illinois has a deregulated electricity supply

market, meaning that businesses can choose

an electricity supplier other than ComEd,

the regulated supplier for the state. While

some of the unregulated alternative suppliers

offer "green" electricity plans, none of them

are currently more affordable than ComEd’s

energy supply. As of January 2020, the CUB

recommends sticking with ComEd as an

electricity supplier.

Some good news is that ComEd and other

Illinois utilities are required by state law

to source at least 25% of their power from

renewable energy sources by 2025, so some of

your electricity may already be coming from

renewable sources.13

Water Efficiency & Reuse

Similar to energy management, efficiency is

the best practice for water management in a

circular economy. If you want to go above and

beyond efficiency, your business could look

into reusing water within your operations,

or sending your clean water to a co-located

business when applicable.

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

Ideally, your business’s energy and water

bills will list both a dollar amount as well as

the amount of each resource your business

consumed during the billing period. Looking at

these reports is a great start to understanding

your current usage and potential for reduction.

Another relatively easy thing to measure is

what percent of your energy comes from

renewable sources (wind, solar, geothermal).

You could also go a step further and use the

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, a free online

tool to help people analyze their energy and

water bills, and track usage over time. This tool

also allows you to track any energy or water

efficiency upgrades you make to see if they’re

paying off in financial savings over time.

33CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS

ENERGY & WATER GOALS

Depending on which energy and/or water-

related circular economy practices you want

to focus on, you may want to use one of the

following goals as a starting point:

£ % reduction in energy and/or water costs

by [DATE]

£ % lighting is energy efficient by [DATE]

£ % of our energy will come from clean/

renewable sources by [DATE]

£ Increase % or $ investment by [AMOUNT]

every [TIME PERIOD]

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet

in this section to create an energy or water

management goal.

Remember that it’s okay to start small with your

energy and water goals! Many energy efficiency

projects are affordable and can add up to significant

cost savings. Your cost savings can then be

reinvested into more capital-intensive upgrades, like

installing green energy systems.

Action Step

Recommendations

Depending on the goal(s) you set, you may

want to choose from the following action steps

to achieve your goals. Or, come up with your

UNDERSTAND YOUR USAGE

£ Get a free energy audit through a

local program. Most of the items/

recommendations below will be covered

in a comprehensive energy audit, like

those offered for free by ComEd in the

LIGHTING

£ Purchase energy-efficient lighting when

bulbs or fixtures need to be replaced.

£ Employ bi-level switching.

£ Install dimmers on lights.

£ Install daylight sensors.

£ Swap light-up signs (like Exit and

Open/Closed signs) to LED-lighted signs.

£ Turn off lights when not in use.

£ Install occupancy sensors.

HEATING AND COOLING

£ Air-seal & insulate your building envelope

(or work with your building owner to do

£ Install a programmable thermostat.

£ Change HVAC air filter regularly.

£ Tune up HVAC equipment annually.

£ Seal all heating & cooling ducts.

34 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

EQUIPMENT

£ Perform regular maintenance/tune-

ups on equipment to keep it running

£ Reduce idle time by shutting down/

turning off equipment when not in use.

£ Repair equipment as soon as possible

£ Regularly calibrate any equipment that

relies on temperature control via a built-

in thermostat, such as refrigerators,

dishwashers and hot water heaters.

£ Keep cooling coils in refrigeration

£ Purchase energy-efficient appliances

when you need to replace an appliance.

For example, choose ENERGY STAR certified

£ Check the temperature settings of your

cooling equipment. If the temperature

is set cooler than needed, you could be

wasting energy. According to ENERGY

STAR, the most commonly recommended

settings are between -14° and -8° Fahrenheit for freezers and between

35° and 38° Fahrenheit for refrigerators.

£ Keep fridge and freezer doors closed as

much as possible and make sure door

seals close tightly.

GREEN POWER

£ Install a renewable energy system.

£ Purchase renewable energy.

WATER

£ Repair leaky faucets and fixtures.

£ Install faucet aerators.

£ Convert existing toilets to dual-flush or

£ When a need arises to purchase new

equipment, replace appliances, fixtures

and attachments with WaterSense,

ENERGY STAR, or other high-efficiency

£ Install greywater catchment system.

Be sure to check your local laws first!

Consider the lifecycle cost of

equipment, instead of just the

purchase price. Sometimes, more

efficient equipment is pricier to

purchase, but pays off in the long

run through significant savings

on your energy bills.

35CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for your

energy and water management, you can take

action and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to

track your progress.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: ENERGY & WATER

£ ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager

energystar.gov/buildings/facility-owners-

and-managers/existing-buildings/use-

£ ENERGY STAR Action Workbook for

Small Business

energystar.gov/buildings/tools-and-

resources/energy_star_action_workbook_

£ Database of State Incentives for

Renewables & Efficiency (search

incentives by state or ZIP code):

£ Center for Resource Solutions' Green-e

certification program: green-e.org

£ EPA resources on understanding

& procuring green energy: epa.gov/

greenpower/switch-green-power

£ EPA resources for water efficiency in

restaurants: epa.gov/watersense/best-

management-practices

£ UL’s free and searchable SPOT database

allows companies to find credible

sustainability information for a wide

variety of products. Searchable products

include everything from insulation

materials to toilet paper, from lightbulbs

to flooring, and more. spot.ul.com/

Local Resources

£ ComEd Energy Efficiency Program

for Small Business is a free energy

assessment and financial incentives for

energy efficiency work, including specific

guides for restaurants and grocery stores.

Pages/BusinessTypes.aspx

£ Citizens Utility Board allows you to

check current electricity pricing and find

resources to interpret your electricity

bill and calculate potential savings.

citizensutilityboard.org/electric/

£ Citizens Utility Board also has resources

citizensutilityboard.org/clean-energy/

£ City of Chicago list of water resources.

chicago.gov/city/en/progs/env/water.html

36 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

YOUR STUFF

INGREDIENT SOURCING

LEARN

LOCALIZING YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN

Food production and food service businesses

use a wide variety of ingredients and inputs

to make their products, often relying on a

global supply chain for their needs. The ability

for this globalized system to deliver is highly

dependent on the long-term availability of

agricultural products at a certain price point.

This ability is already being affected by

climate change, water shortages, land

management and other resource scarcity

issues. Creating a supply chain that works to

combat these issues is a key practice in the

There are several key aspects for small

businesses to consider when creating a more

local, circular supply chain. But first, you

should define what "local" means to you.

What is local? Each business must decide what "local" means for them. The USDA says that a locally or regionally produced agricultural product travels less than 400 miles from its origin, or comes from within the same state.14 The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification uses a 500- mile radius as a starting point for sourcing local building materials.15

Photo by Leah Kuhn

38 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Ingredient Supply Chain

Best Practices

£ As with most circular economy practices,

reduction is the first step. Order only

what’s needed and closely manage your

inventory to prevent waste.

£ Source locally to minimize costs

and greenhouse gas emissions from

£ Support fellow small businesses to

build a local circular economy and create

a closer relationship with suppliers.

This improves resilience and allows food

businesses to start conversations about

circular economy practices with their

suppliers more easily.

£ Source reused or recycled materials

to avoid environmental impacts

associated with extracting or producing

brand new materials.

£ Source agricultural products grown using

regenerative practices.

£ Work with suppliers to minimize

incoming packaging.

URBAN INFLUENCE

Food businesses in cities like Chicago are

well-positioned to influence how food is grown,

produced and packaged, as 80% of food will

be consumed in cities by 2050.16

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

In a circular economy, food should be

grown, produced and packaged in ways

that regenerate natural ecosystems. In

agriculture, this means using growing

practices that build healthy soil, improve

water retention, reduce nutrient runoff and

cultivate a high level of biodiversity. In addition

to purchasing ingredients directly from

farms that are implementing these practices,

businesses can also support regenerative

agriculture and prevent food waste by using

CONSUMER DEMAND FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Customer demand is another reason to

implement circular ingredient sourcing. More

and more people are starting to look for food

that is produced locally, sustainably and

ethically. Businesses can meet this rising

demand by implementing the practices listed

above and making their sourcing information

available to their customers.

39CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

The first step in creating a more circular

supply chain in your business is to

understand more about your most-used

There are three important aspects to consider

in a circular supply chain:

£ Geography

Where does the ingredient come from?

£ Material composition

What is the ingredient made of?

£ Production practices

How was the ingredient made or grown?

On the next two pages, you'll find useful

worksheets that will help you take a closer look

at your ingredients.

£ First, fill out the Product Input worksheet

to find out more about the circularity of

your supply chain as a whole.

£ For your three most-used ingredients,

copy and fill out the Input Deep-Dive

worksheet to understand more about how

each one is sourced and packaged.

£ Also, refer back to the Geographic Range

worksheet on page 20 to see an

overview of how far your inputs currently

travel to reach you.

40 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

PRODUCT INPUTS ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

PR O D U C T I N P U T S What goes into your products has a big impact on your circular practices. Understanding your inputs/ingredients today can help you find room to improve.

ESTIMATE: Overall, what percentage of your inputs (or ingredients) are...

INGREDIENT LIST: Can you find areas to improve in your current set of inputs/ingredients?

What are your most used ingredients? List them here.

Do you have any "big ticket" or "special order" ingredients? List them here.

Any input/ingredient can be counted multiple times, so the total can be more than 100%

% recaptured?

sourced from material that would otherwise be waste

% produced locally?

within a specific geographic range that you consider local (e.g., 50 or 500 miles)

% produced using CE practices?

sustainable and ethical toward people, animals and resources; these are often indicated by third party certifications

come from your own business?

% come from another business or source?

% Of your recaptured ingredients/inputs, how many...

Who are your current partners/sources? List them here.

INPUT DEEP-DIVE ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSI N P U T

D E E P - D I V E Take a closer look at your three most-used inputs/ingredients. For each ingredient, complete the following:

INGREDIENT: Where do you purchase this input/ingredient? (Circle one)

From a vendor or distributor

Where does the product ship from?

Directly from the source

Where is the producer located?

Who is the original producer?

What type of packaging does it come in?

If the packaging has multiple components, list all components.

Circular economy practices include sustainable and ethical methods regarding people, animals and resources. Third-party certifications are often relevant, but the best way to learn this is to talk to your suppliers.

What do you know about how this input/ingredient was produced?

SET GOALS

INGREDIENT SOURCING GOALS

Depending on which sourcing-related circular

economy practices you want to focus on, you

may want to use one of the following goals as a

starting point. Or feel free to make your own!

£ % of product made from locally grown/

produced ingredients

£ % of product made from locally purchased

ingredients

£ % of product made from ingredients

certified to a third-party environmental

£ % of product made from ingredients

certified to a third-party social standard

£ % of product made from recaptured

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

ingredient sourcing goal(s).

Action Step

Recommendations

Depending on the goal(s) you set, you may

want to choose from the following action steps

to achieve your goals:

£ Team up with fellow small businesses to

collectively purchase circular inputs. If

minimum order size is a barrier for your

business to purchase a more circular

ingredient, consider splitting an order

with a nearby business who uses the

same ingredient in their products.

£ Write a purchasing policy that prioritizes

circular criteria, such as purchasing

locally produced ingredients, purchasing

from locally based suppliers, purchasing

products made from reused materials,

purchasing products that come with

minimal packaging, etc.

£ Work with a local farm to source

£ Plan ingredient ordering around historic

sales data and informed predictions

about future sales to prevent over-

43CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

£ Conduct a local sourcing pilot project to

see if locally grown or produced inputs is

feasible for your operations. Fill out the

Local Sourcing Pilot Project worksheet

in this section to get started.

£ Design your menu or food product with

food waste reduction in mind.

£ Challenge yourself to design a menu or

food product with as few ingredients as

possible that still meets your business

goals. Simplicity saves time and can help

reduce waste and save money.

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for your

ingredient sourcing, you can take action

and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to

track your progress.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: INGREDIENT SOURCING

£ UL’s free Prospector search engine is

meant to help companies find materials

and ingredients for product development.

Some sustainability information is

included on products, with more

sustainability related indicators to be

added soon: ulprospector.com/en/na

£ LocalHarvest is a resource to find local

farms based on your location.

localharvest.org/chicago-il

£ Use the information you gathered

when you filled out the worksheets in

Your Networks to think about potential

sourcing partnerships with other

44 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

CIRCULAR SOURCING PILOT

TAKE ACTION

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Set a goal to try this source as a pilot!

One of your goals might be to try a locally grown, locally distributed, or locally recaptured substitution

in a test run over a certain period of time and see how it goes. Make sure to track any cost savings, additional

costs, added revenue, or other impacts of the trial!

C I R C U L A R S O U R C I N G P I LO T If your top three products are not currently from local producers or vendors, do some research on locally grown or produced options. It may be helpful to refer to the Product Inputs worksheet you filled out earlier.

LOCAL ALTERNATIVES: Can you find an ingredient/input that is...

Re-check your options (and your networks) soon.

• A recapturing story: An ice cream maker has a coffee roaster in her local network. When the coffee roaster has unsold, roasted beans that are past peak freshness, the ice cream maker offers to buy them at a discount to make coffee ice cream. The ice cream maker gets a locally sourced (and discounted!) ingredient, and the coffee roaster gets value from the sale instead of discarding the product.

How does this source compare to your current source, based on the following factors?

Describe the ingredient/input source.

Cost: Convenience:

Quality: Circular economy practices:

Available from a local supplier or distributor?

Already used by a local business in your network?

Can you recapture*

Photo by Leah Kuhn

LEARN

CURB AND REDIRECT ORGANIC WASTE

According to a 2018 ReFED report, "the U.S.

restaurant sector generates 11.4 million tons

of food waste annually, the full cost of which

is more than $25 billion."17 The majority of this

food waste is sent to landfills, where it releases

methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the

environment and serves no useful purpose.

In a circular economy, edible food is instead

recovered and distributed to those who need

food, and non-edible food (i.e., food scraps)

is composted or used in a biogas/biomass

energy generation system.

Luckily for small businesses, there is an

immense economic opportunity in curbing

food waste that also brings potential

environmental and social benefits.

A 2017 report by Champions 12.3 found

that for every dollar invested in food

waste reduction, restaurants can realize

approximately $8 in savings.18

The EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy (shown

on the next page) "prioritizes actions

organizations can take to prevent and divert

wasted food."19 Recovery strategies at the

top of the hierarchy create the most social,

economic and environmental benefits.

A few strategies (e.g., ordering only what you

need, sourcing "imperfect" product from

farms) for food waste prevention are covered

in the Ingredient Sourcing section, starting

on page 44. This section focuses on post-

processing and post-consumer waste.

The EPA's chart prioritizes feeding hungry

people first, followed by animals, then

industrial uses and composting. Landfills

YOUR STUFF

FOOD RECOVERY & ORGANIC WASTE DIVERSION

47CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

and/or incineration are relegated to a

last resort if no other use can be found.

Keep these guidelines in mind as you set

your circular goals and take action.

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

The first step in reducing food waste is to

understand how much and what types of

waste your business generates today.

You should know when and where the waste

is happening. Is it in the kitchen, on the

processing line, or in the dining room?

A great way to get this information is by

conducting a waste audit.

Roll up your sleeves and get ready to dig

through some trash! The Waste Audit

worksheets on the next two pages will help

guide you through the process.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency (2019).

48 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

WASTE AUDIT PROCESS ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

To successfully complete a waste audit, an item-by-item sorting and weighting approach is recommended. The process is summarized in the following series of steps:

1 Think about your current waste management practices & timing.

2 Estimate the types of waste material you generate and create preliminary categories.

3 Determine time period for your audit based on your specific operational practices (for example: 1 day, 1 week or 1 month). Over this time, you should be able to get a good sampling of the waste regularly created by your business.

4 Collect waste over the amount of time you determined in Step 3.

5 For each sample, lay waste out on tarp and sort by material type and category. Take photographs throughout the waste audit.

6 Weigh waste and record data (e.g., material type, category, weight, collection location, sorting date) on a Waste Audit Data Sheet.

7 Analyze data and make recommendations. For example, if there is a high organic waste content, set a goal to work with local composters to collect the material.

WA STE AU DIT PRO CE SS

How long should our waste audit last?

How often is trash collected? How often is recycling collected?

Notes on the types of material you discard, collect and/or recycle (e.g., paper, organic/food, metal, plastic, glass)?

Paper

Plastic

Metals

Organic waste

Glass

Other

WASTE AUDIT DATA SHEET

ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Lay waste out on tarp and sort by material type and category. Weigh waste and record data (material type, category, weight, collection location, sorting date) here.

Collection location: Date: Sheet number:

Estimate what percentage of the waste for each material type can be diverted in the following ways. Your percentages don’t need to add up to 100%

CATEGORY MATERIAL TYPE TOTAL WEIGHT REDUCE DONATE/

EXCHANGE RECYCLE COMPOST

Paper

Mixed Paper % % % %

Cardboard % % % %

Newspaper % % % %

Plastic

Plastic Bottles #1 (PETE) or #2 (HDPE) % % % %

# 3, 4, 5, 7 % % % %

Polystyrene # 6 % % % %

Plastic Film % % % %

Other Plastics % % % %

Organic

Food Waste % % % %

Yard Waste % % % %

Glass Glass Bottles and Jars % % % %

Metal

Aluminum Cans % % % %

Other Metal % % % %

Misc. Fiber, Metals, Residual, etc.

Misc. Items*, Textiles, Electronics % % % %

Other Waste* % % % %

• Describe any misc. items or "other waste" found:

WA STE AU DIT DATA SHE E T

SET GOALS

FOOD RECOVERY & WASTE DIVERSION GOALS

Depending on which food recovery and

organic waste reduction-related circular

economy practices (listed above) you want

to focus on, you may want to use one of the

following goals as a starting point. Or, feel free

to make your own!

£ % reduction in waste sent to landfill

£ % or pounds of edible food donated to

local organization(s)

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

food recovery and waste reduction goal(s).

Action Step

Recommendations

Depending on the goal(s) you set, you may

want to choose from the following action steps

to achieve your goals. Or, feel free to come up

with your own action steps!

£ Set up a system to measure waste

consistently and accurately.

£ Use waste data to inform ordering

decisions and avoid over-ordering .

£ Experiment with making new products

from trimmings and other kitchen or

production scraps (e.g., vegetable stock

from veggie scraps).

£ Offer "seconds" for employees to take

home. This prevents food waste and

potential food theft, and also doesn't

require partnering with an outside

organization or transporting food outside

of your place of business.

£ Partner with a local organization who

distributes food to the community and

donate edible items.

£ Sign up for a local food scrap

£ Sign up for a local used cooking oil

£ Provide smaller servings of a menu

item (like fries that come with a burger)

and offering the option for a refill if the

customer would like more. As ReFED’s

Restaurant Food Waste Action Guide

suggests20, this strategy leads diners to

leave less uneaten food on the plate.

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for your

food recovery and organic waste diversion,

you can take action and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to

track your progress.

51CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: FOOD RECOVERY & WASTE DIVERSION

FOOD RECOVERY

£ The Greater Chicago Food

Depository accepts donations from

companies across the food industry.

chicagosfoodbank.org/food-industry-

donations

£ Feeding America is a nationwide network

of food pantries: feedingamerica.org

£ The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food

Donation Act protects food donors from

criminal and civil liability if they are

donating to a non-profit organization.

feedingamerica.org/about-us/partners/

become-a-product-partner/food-partners

£ Food Recovery Network is a national

nonprofit that supports students to fight

food waste on campus and beyond.

foodrecoverynetwork.org

ORGANIC WASTE DIVERSION

£ ReFED has many food-waste prevention

resources, including its "Top 27 Solutions

to Food Waste," each of which is based on

a detailed economy analysis: refed.com

£ Zero Waste Chicago offers a variety of

services for small businesses, including

waste assessments, zero waste training

and sourcing sustainable packaging.

zerowastechicago.com/business

£ Illinois Wasted Food Solutions

Task Force: sevengenerationsahead.org/

illinois-wasted-food-action-alliance

£ Illinois Food Scrap Coalition has a

range of resources and information on

composting in Illinois: illinoiscomposts.

org/resource-directory

CHICAGO-AREA FOOD SCRAP AND

COOKING OIL PICKUP SERVICES

£ Illinois Food Scrap Coalition has a

comprehensive list of organic waste

haulers and composters in the state:

illinoiscomposts.org/haulers-processors

£ Collective Resource: residential and

commercial organic materials pickup.

collectiveresource.us

£ Healthy Soil Compost: residential and

commercial organic materials pickup.

healthysoilcompost.com

£ The Urban Canopy: residential and

commercial organic materials pickup.

£ WasteNot Compost: residential and

commercial organic materials pickup.

wastenotcompost.com/

£ Loyola Institute of Environmental

Sustainability Cooking Oil Collection:

used cooking oil pickup and drop-off

services. luc.edu/sustainability/initiatives/

£ Mahoney Environmental: used cooking

oil pickup and recycling service.

52 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

LEARN

SEND YOUR WASTEFUL PACKAGING PACKING

Unlike many other industries, packaging

can be necessary in the food industry for

important safety and consumer health

reasons. In today’s world, most of the

packaging used across industries is made

Unfortunately, according to a report by the

Ellen MacArthur Foundation, "most plastic

packaging is used only once; 95% of the value

of plastic packaging material, worth US $80-

120 billion annually, is lost to the economy."21

Some of this plastic goes to landfills, but much

of it ends up in the polluting the environment,

including important bodies of water.

Some good news is that there are a growing

number of options to purchase compostable

packaging, recyclable packaging, packaging

made from recycled materials, and reusable

packaging. As a business owner, you’ll have to

decide what works for your business.

THE "COMPOSTABLE" TRAP

Part of making this decision is considering

local recycling and composting programs and

infrastructure. Even if you do send a customer

home with compostable packaging, will they

be able to compost it or will they end up

sending it to a landfill anyway?

For instance, the City of Chicago does not

offer municipal composting alongside landfill

and recycling services. This, coupled with

YOUR STUFF

PACKAGING

Photo by Leah Kuhn

54 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

the fact that the majority of "compostable"

packaging can only be properly composted in

an industrial system, means that most people

in Chicago do not have an accessible way to

compost this packaging.

However, surrounding municipalities, including

Evanston, IL and Oak Park, IL, do offer

municipal composting options for residents.

PACKAGING REGULATIONS

It’s also important to keep in mind that your

municipality may have specific regulations

In Chicago, retail stores are affected by the

city’s Checkout Bag Tax, which applies to all

plastic and paper bags given to customers

at the point of checkout.22 In early 2020, an

ordinance that would severely limit the use of

single-use plastic items by restaurants was

introduced in Chicago’s city council.

Your local health department may also have

regulations or guidance regarding reusing

containers and allowing customers to bring

their own containers. Be sure to check your

local regulations before launching a new

packaging initiative.

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

The first step in understanding your business's

potential to use more circular packaging is to

understand what your current packaging is

made of.

£ Complete the Packaging Life Cycle

worksheet on the next page for each of

your most-used pieces of packaging.

£ Once you have described the materials

and post-consumer options available for

your current packaging, opportunities to

find better options may become obvious.

55CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

PACKAGING LIFE CYCLE ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSPAC K AG I N G

L I F E CYC LE This worksheet focuses on the packaging you use to sell, distribute, and/or transport your product(s). (To learn more about incoming/supplier-generated packaging, revisit the packaging section of the Product Inputs worksheet. )

Focus on your three most-used pieces of packaging. For each, answer the following:

What is the piece of packaging made of? If there are multiple components, list them all.

How can it be reused by the customer (e.g., reusing a glass jar for storage)?

Could it be useful to me if it were returned to me by customers? If so, what extra steps would need to happen to reuse it after a return (washing, repairing, etc.)?

NOTE: While compostable packaging exists, many compostable packaging items must be sent to an industrial composting facility in order to be properly composted. The City of Chicago does not currently offer compost pickup services, so businesses would need to sign up for a private compost service. A list of companies in the Chicago area are listed in the toolkit under Additional Resources: Food Recovery & Waste Diversion.

NOTE: Materials typically accepted by Chicago-area recycling haulers include the following:

• #1-5 & #7 plastic bottles and containers (does not include plastic bags or foam products)
• Clean and dry paper or cardboard
• Cartons (milk and juice, etc.)
• Glass jars and bottles
• Aluminum, steel and tin cans
• Foil and pie tins

Is the piece of packaging all one type of material (e.g., a plastic bag or a cardboard box) or a combination of multiple materials (e.g., a cardboard box lined in wax or a glass jar with a metal lid)? Circle one.

What percentage of this piece of packaging is made from recycled materials?

Multiple types of material

One type of material

PACKAGING TYPE:

After use, can this piece of packaging be...

Reused? Recycled? Composted?

What product(s) is the packaging used for? What function does it serve?

SET GOALS

PACKAGING GOALS

Depending on which packaging-related circular

economy practices you want to focus on, you

may want to use one of the following goals as a

starting point. Or, feel free to make your own!

£ % reduction in overall packaging

£ switch from mixed materials to 100%

recyclable or compostable materials

£ % of packaging made from recycled

content

£ % of packaging able to be recycled

by consumers

£ % of packaging able to be composted

by consumers

£ % packaging able to be returned to my

business for reuse or proper composting

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

Action Step

Recommendations

Depending on the goal(s) you set, you may

want to choose from the following action steps

to achieve your goals. Or, feel free to come up

with your own action steps!

£ Reduce packaging if possible. Ask yourself:

Is there a way to reduce packaging? Is there

excess/unnecessary packaging? Could I meet

my packaging needs with less materials?

£ Reuse packaging materials.

£ Redesign packaging to be more

aligned with CE principles. These can

include reclaimed/recycled materials,

alternative materials (such as bio-based

or renewable materials), recyclable, or

compostable materials.

£ Reach out to your current supplier to see

whether they offer the packaging you

might need if you decide to redesign your

packaging to fit one of the above criteria.

£ If any of the above options are available,

do a trial run and see how it goes.

£ If your order is too small to get a

packaging supplier to try something

Remember, the City of Chicago does

not offer municipal composting

services. Since most compostable

packaging won’t break down in

backyard compost systems, this

could be a difficult goal to meet.

Reducing the overall amount of

packaging is always the best option

in a circular economy.

57CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

new, consider teaming up with other

small businesses in your area or industry

to make a bulk order.

£ Educate your customers on the proper

treatment of recyclable or compostable

packaging through in-person reminders,

online communications and labels on

packaging. Recycling or compostable

packaging thrown in the garbage has

negative environmental impacts.

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of packaging

goals, you can take action and make

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to

track your progress.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: PACKAGING

£ In their report "Reuse: Rethinking

Packaging," the Ellen MacArthur

Foundation reported on several

potential models of returnable/reusable

packaging, with corresponding case

studies from real businesses.

ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/

£ Recycle By City has a helpful guide

for household recycling in Chicago:

recyclebycity.com/chicago/guide

Note that your commercial provider may

have different practices/requirements.

CHICAGO-BASED COMPANIES THAT

MAKE COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING

The products offered by these companies

are not compostable in a typical home/

backyard composting setup. They must be

sent to an industrial composting facility to be

composted. Residents and businesses would

need to sign up with a private organic waste

hauler if they want to properly compost these

A list of private haulers can be found in the Food

Recovery & Organic Waste Diversion resources

section on page 52.

£ Onyx Company: onyxcompany.com

£ Elevate Packaging: elevatepackaging.com

58 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

Photo by Scott O'Malley

LEARN

BUILD LOCAL HEALTH FROM THE GROUND UP

In a local circular economy, farms should

manage nutrients in order to regenerate

natural ecosystems through improving soil

health and minimizing nutrient runoff to

waterways. Not only does proper nutrient

management benefit local ecosystems,

but it also benefits crop health and overall

While all food businesses must manage

nutrients in a way, this section is geared

toward nutrient management for farms.

Other types of food businesses should

refer to the Ingredient Sourcing and Food

Recovery & Organic Waste Diversion

sections for information on managing

incoming nutrients — in the form of raw

ingredients — and outgoing nutrients — in

the form of your products and byproducts.

Adding too few nutrients to the soil (or water,

in the case of hydroponic and aquaponic

growing) can be detrimental to plants, but

adding too many or adding the right amount

at the wrong time can cause runoff, leading

to environmental issues like dead zones in

important bodies of water.

A key practice in "circular" nutrient

management for soil-based farms is the

use of compost, preferably from a local

source, as opposed to nutrients from

synthetic fertilizer products.

YOUR STUFF

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

60 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Growing Systems

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA),

which includes indoor hydroponic and

aquaponic growing, is a relatively new industry.

There is currently very little information about

best practices in nutrient management for

water-based indoor growing systems. We

include a few resources at the end of this

section, and we hope that more research will

be done in the near future.

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

One way to understand which nutrients, and

in what quantity, your soil might need is to

get your soil tested. If you can pinpoint certain

nutrients that are needed in your unique soil

profile, you will be less likely to over-apply

nutrients on your land.

SET GOALS

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT GOALS

Depending on the state of your soil and local

ecosystem, you should identify one or more

goals to pursue to ensure they are as strong

as possible in the future.

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

nutrient management goal(s).

Action Step

Recommendations

Depending on the goal(s) you set, you may

want to choose from the following action steps

to achieve your goals. Or, feel free to come up

with your own action steps!

ORGANIC FARMING STRATEGIES

£ Plant cover crops.

£ Use compost, along with other

soil-building strategies in place of

chemical fertilizers.

£ In a hydroponic system, use a nutrient

solution made from organic matter

such as worm compost tea instead of a

synthetic nutrient solution.

£ Explore possibilities to treat and recycle

water used in your hydroponic system.

CULTIVATE SOIL BIODIVERSITY

£ Use diversified crop plantings.

£ Integrate fungi into soil to

encourage mycorrhizae (symbiotic/

beneficial relationships between fungi

and plants that can help with water

and nutrient uptake).

£ Integrate livestock to aerate and

61CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for your

nutrition management, you can take

action and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to

track your progress.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

£ The University of Illinois Extension

maintains a list of soil testing labs in

Illinois. web.extension.illinois.edu/soiltest

£ Learn more about soil health via the

Sustainable Agriculture Research &

Education program (SARE). sare.org/

Learning-Center/What-is-Soil-Health

£ Advocates for Urban Agriculture offers

technical assistance for Chicago-area

urban farms and a comprehensive

resource guide for Chicago-area

auachicago.org/technical-assistance

auachicago.org/resources

£ The Chicago chapter of the Bionutrient

Food Association offers events and

resources geared toward soil health and

sustainable nutrient management.

bionutrient.org/site/chapters/US/chicago-il

£ The University of Arizona's Controlled

Environment Agriculture (CEA) Center

has a wide variety of CEA research and

resources: ceac.arizona.edu

£ An ongoing multi-state project through

the National Institute for Food

and Agriculture is researching how

technology can assist with water and

nutrient management in CEA systems.

Part of the research project looks at how

new applications of technology can help

CEA operations avoid nutrient run-off

and over-use of water resources.

nimss.org/projects/view/mrp/outline/18481

£ The Hydroponics Planet has a few

helpful DIY guides for making organic

nutrient solutions and reusing/recycling

water in a hydroponic system.

thehydroponicsplanet.com/diy-hydroponic-

nutrients-6-cheaper-homemade-recipes

thehydroponicsplanet.com/how-to-recycle-

hydroponic-water-a-beginners-guide

£ The USDA has a wide variety of resources

related to nutrient management, soil

erosion, and organic growing techniques

usda.gov/topics/forestry/agroforestry

£ The USDA also provides technical

assistance for urban farms on topics

related to nutrient management.

nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/

national/landuse/urbanagriculture

62 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

CONGRATULATIONS ON SETTING YOUR LOCAL CIRCULAR GOALS!

By now you should have at least one goal with

an accompanying action plan to implement

a local circular economy practice within your

business operations.

If you're not sure what your action plan

is, look back at your Circular Goal Setting

worksheet(s). The prompts on each sheet

should help you determine what your action

plan is and who should be involved in

carrying out the plan.

Now that you know where you’re headed

(and why!), it is important to communicate

this information with Your People and

Look back at what you discovered in those

two sections to help you think about who you

will need to communicate with, what those

people/groups care about, and how best to

communicate with these audiences.

For example, you may want to:

£ Host a training session for employees on

separating organic waste streams.

£ Launch a social media campaign to

let customers know about your new

returnable packaging system.

£ Set up phone calls with your suppliers to

let them know about your new circular

COMMUNICATE & ITERATE Tracking, Adjusting, Communicating and

Iterating on Your Circular Economy Goals

Photo by

Leah Kuhn

65CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

MONITOR YOUR PROGRESS

It’s also important to make sure you track data

regularly to monitor your progress and know

when you’ve met the goal you set. Make sure

you’re including financial data in your tracking

system! This will help you determine whether

implementing certain local circular economy

practices helps you reduce costs, increase

revenue, or otherwise affects your bottom line.

There may also be intangible benefits to

implementing these new initiatives, such

as increased employee welfare, community

engagement and more meaningful customer

interactions. Work with Your People and Your

Networks to come up with a tracking schedule

and system that works for your business and

any project partners.

ADJUSTING YOUR PLAN

If you didn’t meet your goal in the time frame

you anticipated, that’s okay! Go back and

look at your goal setting worksheet to see if

you need to adjust your action plan or utilize

different or additional resources to help you

accomplish your goals.

Don’t forget to communicate your goal,

including any challenges you've experienced,

to Your People and Your Networks. You never

know who might be able to offer resources

CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS

Once you’ve achieved your original goal (and

celebrated this huge accomplishment!), it's

time to communicate your success. Achieving

a circular economy goal is an exciting

opportunity to share your circular economy

success stories with employees, customers,

partners and other members of your network.

Communicating your progress can also be

helpful to other businesses in Your Network

who might also be on their own circular

economy journey.

STAYING AWAY FROM "GREENWASHING"

If you’re communicating your successes via

marketing channels, such as social media

platforms or product labels, it’s important

to communicate accurate information with

consumers without "greenwashing" your

business or your products.

One way to do this is to avoid using general

terms like "green" or "eco-friendly" to describe

your products. If general claims are made,

they should be qualified with clear and

specific information about how the product

benefits the environment. The US Federal Trade

Commission offers more specific guidance on

this topic through their Green Guides.

66 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Lastly, once you’ve achieved your original

goal, you’ll want to update it or set a new one.

This could mean improving a system you’ve

already been working on or focusing on a new

circular economy opportunity. For example, if

you achieved a goal of diverting 50% of your

waste from the landfill through recycling

and composting, you’ll need to decide if it’s

feasible to try for a higher diversion rate or

move onto a different area, like ingredient

sourcing, instead.

67CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

• Additional Circular Economy Resources
• Local Circular Economy Business Practices
• All Worksheets

9 United Nations Environment Programme.

Resource Efficiency: Potential and Economic Implications. resourcepanel.org/sites/default/ files/documents/document/media/resource_ efficiency_report_march_2017_web_res.pdf

10 Accenture. Newsroom: The Circular Economy Could Unlock $4.5 Trillion of Economic Growth, Finds New Book by Accenture. newsroom.accenture. com/news/the-circular-economy-could-unlock- 4-5-trillion-of-economic-growth-finds-new-book- by-accenture.htm

YOUR STUFF

11 United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Guide to Purchasing Green Power. epa.gov/ sites/production/files/2016-01/documents/ purchasing_guide_for_web.pdf

12 Citizens Utility Board. Community Solar in Illinois. citizensutilityboard.org/community- solar-illinois

13 Citizens Utility Board. Electric Competition: A Guide For ComEd Customers. citizensutilityboard. org/electriccompetitioncomed

14 Martinez, Steve et al. United States Department

of Agriculture. Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues. ers.usda.gov/webdocs/ publications/46393/7054_err97_1_.pdf

15 U.S. Green Building Council. LEED BD+C,

Regional materials. usgbc.org/credits/new- construction-schools/v2009/mrc5

16 Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Cities and Circular Economy for Food.

ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/ cities-and-circular-economy-for-food

INTRODUCTION

1 U.S. Small Business Administration Office of

Advocacy. Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business. cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/wp- content/uploads/2019/09/24153946/Frequently- Asked-Questions-Small-Business-2019-1.pdf

2 United States Census Bureau. 2015 Firm and Estab Release Tables. census.gov/programs-surveys/ bds/data/data-tables/2015-firm-and-estab- release-tables.html

3 Kobe, Kathryn, for U.S. Small Business

Administration Office of Advocacy. Small Business GDP: Update 2002-2010. cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/ wp-content/uploads/2019/05/10163006/Small- Business-GDP-Update-2002-2010-Full-Report.pdf

4 United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals.

un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable- consumption-production

5 Kirchherr, Julian & Reike, Denise & Hekkert, M.P..

(2017). Conceptualizing the Circular Economy: An

Analysis of 114 Definitions. SSRN Electronic Journal.

127. 10.2139/ssrn.3037579

6 Ellen MacArthur Foundation. What is a circular economy? ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/ circular-economy/concept

7 ING. Opportunity and disruption: How circular thinking could change US business models.

ingwb.com/media/2692501/ing_us-circular- economy-survey-05-02-2019.pdf

8 World Economic Forum, Ellen MacArthur

Foundation and McKinsey & Company. Towards the Circular Economy: Accelerating the Scale-up Across Global Supply Chains. www3.weforum. org/docs/WEF_ENV_TowardsCircularEconomy_ Report_2014.pdf

WORKS CITED

Photo by

Leah Kuhn

69CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

17 ReFED. Restaurant Food Waste Action Guide, 3.

refed.com/downloads/Restaurant_Guide_ Web.pdf

18 Champions 12.3. The Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste.

champions123.org/the-business-case-for- reducing-food-loss-and-waste/

19 United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Food Recovery Hierarchy. epa.gov/sustainable- management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy

20 ReFED. Action Guide, 35.

21 Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics. ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/ the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the- future-of-plastics

22 City of Chicago. Checkout Bag Tax - UPDATED.

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/fin/provdrs/ tax_division/news/2016/december/ NewCheckoutBagTax.html

CIRCULAR ECONOMY CONCEPT

Learn more about the general concept and the

worldwide Circular Economy movement.

£ The Ellen MacArthur Foundation offers

a wide variety of CE resources, including

podcasts, reports, videos, infographics

and more. ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

£ Start with the Circular Economy

Concept explainer video for a quick

intro to the CE concept.

youtube.com/watch?v=zCRKvDyyHmI

£ IDEO and Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s

Circular Design Guide is meant to

help designers (and others!) get into

a circular mindset with downloadable

worksheets and tools.

circulardesignguide.com

£ Circular Economy Knowledge Map

from Het Groene Brein.

kenniskaarten.hetgroenebrein.nl/en/

kenniskaart/circular-economy

MORE CIRCULAR ECONOMY RESOURCES

70 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

£ The US Chamber of Commerce

Foundation offers a variety of resources

on CE for businesses in the US, including

reports, case studies, webinars, and an

online Circular Economy Toolbox.

uschamberfoundation.org/sustainability-

and-circular-economy/resources-and-

programming

£ The UN Sustainable Development Goals

are not explicitly tied to the CE movement,

but are a great framework for thinking

about the importance of sustainability

topics in our global ecosystem.

sustainabledevelopment.un.org

CIRCULAR ECONOMY METRICS

Learn about more ways to measure the

"circularity" of your business.

£ Circulytics from the Ellen

MacArthur Foundation.

ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/resources/

apply/circulytics-measuring-circularity

£ The UL 3600 Standard measures

and certifies products, facilities

and companies according to specific

circular indicators.

ul.com/resources/circularity-facts-program

CHICAGO-AREA SECONDHAND

RESOURCES

Rent or purchase second-hand products

locally with these organizations.

£ Chicago Tool Library

chicagotoollibrary.org

£ The Waste Shed

£ Rebuilding Exchange

rebuildingexchange.org

£ ReUse Depot

£ Habitat for Humanity ReStores

chicagolandhabitat.org/site/

PageServer?pagename=where_we_build

£ Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse

evanstonrebuildingwarehouse.org

£ Restaurant auctions & estate sales

£ Online platforms that allow people and

organizations to sell or trade used items

include Craigslist (chicago.craigslist.org),

OfferUp (offerup.com/explore/sc/il/chicago),

and Rheaply (rheaply.com)

71CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

TO REGENERATE LOCAL

£ Purchase inputs that can be

locally regenerated (e.g., reused,

recycled, composted).

£ Purchase inputs that are made with

local materials.

£ Purchase inputs that are produced locally.

£ Source renewable energy.

£ Contract local services to divert non-

product outputs from the landfill (through

repair, reuse, recycling, composting, etc.).

£ Extend the life of available resources

£ Reincorporate waste products into

production or end product.

In a local circular economy, a business should:

• Regenerate local ecosystems
• Address the needs and aspirations of local stakeholders
• Increase local human knowledge and capacity around circular economy practices

LOCAL CIRCULAR ECONOMY BUSINESS PRACTICES

This list of best practices was

generated collaboratively in 2019

by Plant Chicago and a group of

advisors with experience in business,

academics, community outreach

and circular economy practices.

72 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

£ Return nutrients to the correct ecosystem.

£ Properly dispose of toxic materials.

£ Maximize energy efficiency.

£ Support biodiverse ecosystems through

sourcing ingredients that are not grown

in monoculture.

£ Build products that are made to last.

£ Design out waste.

£ Create a culture that values reuse.

£ Locate operations close to the resources

and infrastructure that will be used.

£ Accurately measure inputs and outputs

on a regular basis.

£ Identify indicators of success based

on the conditions of the local ecosystem,

instead of financial gains alone.

£ Quantify and communicate non-

financial transactions (e.g., sharing

equipment, reusing/repurposing another

business’s old equipment).

TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS

AND ASPIRATIONS OF LOCAL

£ Actively involve local agents in

defining all benefits the business

can bring to the local economy.

£ Actively form partnerships with

local stakeholders based on

complementary capabilities.

£ Strengthen existing relationships

between local agents.

£ Work with local stakeholders to

shape and sign a community benefits

£ Open-source data using the appropriate

medium & language to reach local

£ Hire & train local talent.

£ Pay a living wage.

£ Hold or attend regular meetings with local

£ Actively involve employees at all levels in

decision-making processes.

£ Allow individual employees to take

ownership over special projects that

could further CE practices.

£ Share resources and information with

other local businesses.

£ Share resources and information with

local agents/stakeholders.

£ Identify indicators of success based on

the needs and aspirations of local agents,

instead of financial gains alone.

£ Cultivate and quantify non-financial

transactions (e.g., sharing equipment).

£ Work with diverse stakeholders.

£ Promote fellow local businesses.

73CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

£ Involve customers and other local agents

in decision making process and/or

business operations.

£ Reinvest profits locally (e.g., through

supporting local artisans, suppliers and/

or educational programs).

£ Promote non-financial successes to

£ Actively solicit regular feedback from

local stakeholders (and incorporate it,

as appropriate).

TO INCREASE LOCAL HUMAN

KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY AROUND

CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRACTICES:

£ Hire & train local talent.

£ Create a workplace culture that values

£ Educate customers about CE practices

(e.g., build excitement about use/reused

products and/or educate on proper ways

to reuse/repurpose/divert materials in a

product after consumption).

£ Actively involve employees at all levels

in decision-making processes.

£ Train employees at all levels on

CE practices (e.g., waste audits,

MEFA studies, equipment repair,

£ Share accurate data on inputs and

outputs with employees, customers and

potential collaborators.

£ Open-source "how-tos" to replicate their

success with implementing a CE practice.

£ Share information with other businesses.

£ Connect employees with professional

development activities related to CE.

74 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ALL WORKSHEETS Each of the worksheets found throughout the

Local Circular Economy Toolkit are copied here

£ Empathy Map

£ Geographic Range

£ Your Stakeholders

£ Symbiotic Groups

£ Product Inputs

£ Input Deep-Dive

£ Circular Sourcing Pilot

£ Waste Audit Process

£ Waste Audit Data Sheet

£ Waste Audit Data Sheet: Blank

£ Circular Goal Setting x3

75CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

EMPATHY MAP ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSE M PAT H Y M A P

What does someone else experience when they interact with your business? Use this worksheet to understand your customers, employees and other stakeholders better by noticing what they see, hear, say and do. Write down your hypotheses in each area.

WHAT DO THEY SEE?

WHAT DO THEY DO?

WHAT DO THEY SAY?

WHAT DO THEY HEAR?

WHO are you empathizing with? WHAT is their goal?

Customer type, employee, stakeholder, etc. What do they want to achieve when they interact with your business?

GEOGRAPHIC RANGE ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

G E O G R A PH I C R A N G E Where your business activities take place, and the people, places and things those activities affect, define your boundaries. These impacts can be economic, environmental and/or social. How local or global are your boundaries?

DISTANCE: For each of the following rows, circle two choices. First, circle the shortest distance each one travels to or from your business. Second, circle the longest distance one travels.

How far do our...

Employees travel to get to work?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Ingredients/inputs travel to get to our business (including

ingredients & packaging)?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Products travel to reach a customer?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Waste travel to be processed, reused, recycled or disposed of?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Products travel to be processed, reused, recycled, or disposed of after they’re used?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

EXAMPLE How far do our employees travel to get to work?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

YOUR STAKEHOLDERS ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSYO U R

S TA K E H O LD E R S Your business likely interacts with a wide range of organizations, groups and people. We consider these your stakeholders: people or groups who are affected by your activities or whose activities affect your business. It is important to think about them during this process, because they are also affected by changes to your business.

We’ve listed some groups to start, but you should fill in any missing stakeholders.

1. Cross out ("X") any types of people who are irrelevant or don’t play a role. 2. Circle the stakeholders who are being helped or served by your business. 3. Star the stakeholders who you consider local.

Customers Employees Business Partners

Supplier Supplier Landlord/ Tenant

Neighborhood Organization

Chamber of Commerce

Alderman Investors

SYMBIOTIC GROUPS ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

LOCAL BUSINESS, ORGANIZATION, COMMUNITY GROUP, ETC.

HOW DO YOU CURRENTLY INTERACT?

HOW COULD YOU INTERACT OR BENEFIT FROM EACH OTHER IN THE FUTURE?

S YM B I O T I C G R O U P S Some networks you’re a part of are harder to identify than your current stakeholders. Especially when it comes to your local community, nearby groups can affect each other in subtle ways (and might all be affected by the same people, decisions or pressures). For example, a new business starting in your neighborhood could bring more lunch customers, increase competition or even change the smells in the air!

List some businesses and organizations that coexist with you in your local area. They can include schools, nonprofits, community centers or others. If you need more ideas, check out the listings from your Neighborhood Council or Chamber of Commerce.

PRODUCT INPUTS ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSPR O D U C T

I N P U T S What goes into your products has a big impact on your circular practices. Understanding your inputs/ingredients today can help you find room to improve.

ESTIMATE: Overall, what percentage of your inputs (or ingredients) are...

INGREDIENT LIST: Can you find areas to improve in your current set of inputs/ingredients?

What are your most used ingredients? List them here.

Do you have any "big ticket" or "special order" ingredients? List them here.

Any input/ingredient can be counted multiple times, so the total can be more than 100%

% recaptured?

sourced from material that would otherwise be waste

% produced locally?

within a specific geographic range that you consider local (e.g., 50 or 500 miles)

% produced using CE practices?

sustainable and ethical toward people, animals and resources; these are often indicated by third party certifications

come from your own business?

% come from another business or source?

% Of your recaptured ingredients/inputs, how many...

Who are your current partners/sources? List them here.

INPUT DEEP-DIVE ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

I N P U T D E E P - D I V E Take a closer look at your three most-used inputs/ingredients. For each ingredient, complete the following:

INGREDIENT: Where do you purchase this input/ingredient? (Circle one)

From a vendor or distributor

Where does the product ship from?

Directly from the source

Where is the producer located?

Who is the original producer?

What type of packaging does it come in?

If the packaging has multiple components, list all components.

Circular economy practices include sustainable and ethical methods regarding people, animals and resources. Third-party certifications are often relevant, but the best way to learn this is to talk to your suppliers.

What do you know about how this input/ingredient was produced?

CIRCULAR SOURCING PILOT

ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Set a goal to try this source as a pilot!

One of your goals might be to try a locally grown, locally distributed, or locally recaptured substitution

in a test run over a certain period of time and see how it goes. Make sure to track any cost savings, additional

costs, added revenue, or other impacts of the trial!

C I R C U L A R S O U R C I N G P I LO T If your top three products are not currently from local producers or vendors, do some research on locally grown or produced options. It may be helpful to refer to the Product Inputs worksheet you filled out earlier.

LOCAL ALTERNATIVES: Can you find an ingredient/input that is...

Re-check your options (and your networks) soon.

• A recapturing story: An ice cream maker has a coffee roaster in her local network. When the coffee roaster has unsold, roasted beans that are past peak freshness, the ice cream maker offers to buy them at a discount to make coffee ice cream. The ice cream maker gets a locally sourced (and discounted!) ingredient, and the coffee roaster gets value from the sale instead of discarding the product.

How does this source compare to your current source, based on the following factors?

Describe the ingredient/input source.

Cost: Convenience:

Quality: Circular economy practices:

Available from a local supplier or distributor?

Already used by a local business in your network?

Can you recapture*

WASTE AUDIT PROCESS ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

To successfully complete a waste audit, an item-by-item sorting and weighting approach is recommended. The process is summarized in the following series of steps:

1 Think about your current waste management practices & timing.

2 Estimate the types of waste material you generate and create preliminary categories.

3 Determine time period for your audit based on your specific operational practices (for example: 1 day, 1 week or 1 month). Over this time, you should be able to get a good sampling of the waste regularly created by your business.

4 Collect waste over the amount of time you determined in Step 3.

5 For each sample, lay waste out on tarp and sort by material type and category. Take photographs throughout the waste audit.

6 Weigh waste and record data (e.g., material type, category, weight, collection location, sorting date) on a Waste Audit Data Sheet.

7 Analyze data and make recommendations. For example, if there is a high organic waste content, set a goal to work with local composters to collect the material.

WA STE AU DIT PRO CE SS

How long should our waste audit last?

How often is trash collected? How often is recycling collected?

Notes on the types of material you discard, collect and/or recycle (e.g., paper, organic/food, metal, plastic, glass)?

Paper

Plastic

Metals

Organic waste

Glass

Other

WASTE AUDIT DATA SHEET

ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Lay waste out on tarp and sort by material type and category. Weigh waste and record data (material type, category, weight, collection location, sorting date) here.

Collection location: Date: Sheet number:

Estimate what percentage of the waste for each material type can be diverted in the following ways. Your percentages don’t need to add up to 100%

CATEGORY MATERIAL TYPE TOTAL WEIGHT REDUCE DONATE/

EXCHANGE RECYCLE COMPOST

Paper

Mixed Paper % % % %

Cardboard % % % %

Newspaper % % % %

Plastic

Plastic Bottles #1 (PETE) or #2 (HDPE) % % % %

# 3, 4, 5, 7 % % % %

Polystyrene # 6 % % % %

Plastic Film % % % %

Other Plastics % % % %

Organic

Food Waste % % % %

Yard Waste % % % %

Glass Glass Bottles and Jars % % % %

Metal

Aluminum Cans % % % %

Other Metal % % % %

Misc. Fiber, Metals, Residual, etc.

Misc. Items*, Textiles, Electronics % % % %

Other Waste* % % % %

• Describe any misc. items or "other waste" found:

WA STE AU DIT DATA SHE E T

WASTE AUDIT DATA SHEET: BLANK

ASSESS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

WA STE AU DIT DATA SHE E T: B L AN K Lay waste out on tarp and sort by material type and category. Weigh waste and record data (material type, category, weight, collection location, sorting date) here.

Collection location: Date: Sheet number:

Estimate what percentage of the waste for each material type can be diverted in the following ways. Your percentages don’t need to add up to 100%

CATEGORY MATERIAL TYPE TOTAL WEIGHT REDUCE DONATE/

EXCHANGE RECYCLE COMPOST

• Describe any misc. items or "other waste" found:

CIRCULAR GOAL SETTING ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSC I R C U L A R

G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

ASSESS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSC I R C U L A R

G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

Over the past year, I had the pleasure of leading Plant Chicago’s Circular Economy for Small Business

toolkit project. Like any project in a local circular economy, this toolkit would not have been possible

without the help of Our People and Our Networks! Plant Chicago’s toolkit working group met almost every

month for about one year to help shape the vision, content, look, and feel of the toolkit. Below is a list of

our working group members:

Special thanks to Plant Chicago interns Margaret Knap and Serena Suh, who interviewed and

gathered feedback from the 10 small businesses who tested the first version of our toolkit worksheets.

Margaret and Serena also did research, contributed content and gave valuable feedback on the toolkit.

Rosanna Lloyd of Just Ice, Inc. and Debbie Wood of No Denial Foods were the first two business owners

who agreed to test the toolkit. A huge thanks to them for putting in the time and giving insightful

feedback that helped make the toolkit something that small food business could (and hopefully will!)

use. Thanks also to the rest of the business testers, who asked to remain anonymous. Plant Chicago staff

members Kassie Hinrichsen and Stef Funk spent time editing and proofreading the text, and toolkit

working group member Cassie Slimmer took the content and vision created by the working group

and turned it into the beautiful document — if we do say so ourselves — you see here, using wonderful

photos from Leah Kuhn and Scott O'Malley.

This toolkit was made possible in part through the support of the Robert and Toni Bader Foundation.

Please contact Plant Chicago at info@plantchicago.org with questions, comments or requests for

more information regarding the toolkit.

With gratitude,

LIZ LYON Small Business and Circular Economy Manager at Plant Chicago

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Dr. Weslynne Ashton, PhD Associate Professor of Environmental Management and Sustainability at IIT Stuart School of Business

Phil Fry Plant Chicago Board of Directors

Alexis Greco BallotReady

Margaret Knap Environmental Studies graduate student at University of Illinois- Springfield & Plant Chicago Toolkit Project intern

Dr. Nancy Landrum, PhD Professor of Sustainability Management at Loyola University Chicago

Tara Larrue Plant Chicago Auxiliary Board

Dr. John Mulrow, PhD University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Andre Nogueira, PhD Associate Researcher and Instructor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Shantanu Pai Assistant Researcher at University of Illinois

Jonathan Pereira Executive Director at Plant Chicago

Catherine Sheehy Global Lead of Sustainability Partnerships, Environment & Sustainability at UL

Cassie Slimmer Experience Designer

Tommy Straus Plant Chicago Auxiliary Board & Compost Club Administrator at The Urban Canopy

Serena Suh Research & Project Development intern at Plant Chicago

Eric Weber Circular Economy Project Specialist at Plant Chicago

89CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Plant Chicago is a registered 501(c)3 organization

For more information and downloadable content, visit:

plantchicago.org/toolkit

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/

licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons,

PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

CONTENTS Introduction 1

What Is the Circular Economy? 5

Your People 13

Your Networks 19

Your Stuff 27

Energy & Water Management 31

Ingredient Sourcing 38

Food Recovery & Organic Waste Diversion 47

Packaging 54

Nutrient Management 60

Communicate & Iterate 65

Appendix 68

Works Cited 69

More Circular Economy Resources 70

Local Circular Economy Business Practices 72

All Worksheets 75

WELCOME TO THE TOOLKIT

If you care about regenerating natural

ecosystems, treating your people well, and

making a lasting contribution to your local

community, but aren’t quite sure how to do

these things, this toolkit was made for you!

Plant Chicago believes

that using the

framework of a local

circular economy can

help you accomplish

these noble aims

alongside your

financial goals.

The Local Circular

Economy Toolkit

for Small Business

is meant to help all of you industrious,

collaborative, creative and knowledgeable

business owners understand and implement

local circular economy practices.

The areas covered in this toolkit are high-

impact areas for food businesses to focus on

INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Local Circular Economy

Toolkit for Small Business: Food Focus

when cultivating a local circular economy.

In each section, the toolkit will guide you

through benchmarking and goal-setting

exercises, which are presented as one-page

worksheets in each section. There are also

plenty of opportunities to

learn about each topic in

depth if you’d like to do

so before diving into the

worksheets. Each section

of the toolkit also has a

list of resources that will

help you get started on

an action plan to achieve

your circular economy

goals.

If you’re not familiar with the circular economy

concept already, we recommend starting from

the very beginning of the toolkit.

If you’re already a circular economy enthusiast

and want to dive in and start applying

the principles to your own operation, we

A local circular economy is a collaborative economic practice sustained by the local circulation of resources, including energy, materials, nutrients, knowledge and money.

1CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

recommend completing the activities in the

Your People and Your Networks sections.

After doing so, you can choose the sections

of Your Stuff that are most relevant and

interesting to you and your business

operations (see guidance on page 30 for

details). Whatever you decide to do, please

fill out the local circular economy intake

survey (bit.ly/ce-intake-survey) before

getting started.

We hope you leave this toolkit experience with

a specific, measurable circular economy goal

and a strong action plan to help you achieve

it. We also include some advice on what to do

once you’ve achieved your first local circular

economy success.

WHY BUILD A TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES? It is easy to dismiss the small business sector

as only a minor player in the huge problems we

face as a result of our current linear economic

system. The majority of existing case studies,

conferences and membership-based circular

economy (CE) initiatives focus on supporting

large multinational corporations as they work

to become more circular.

However, data suggests that there is a massive

opportunity for small businesses to have a

large collective impact on the environment

and in their own communities. According

to the U.S. Small Business Administration,

small businesses make up over 99% of

all businesses operating in the United

States, with 88% of employer firms in this

category employing less than 20 people.1 2

Small businesses produced nearly half of the

country’s private, nonfarm GDP in 2008.3

Currently, the role of small businesses is

overlooked in current circular economy

conversations and programs. As we’ll discuss

in this toolkit, cultivating local circular

economies is an effective way for small

2 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

businesses to work together to solve some

of the greatest challenges of our era.

Not only do small businesses have the desire

to be part of the circular

economy movement, but

many small business

owners and employees

already possess the

characteristics necessary

to make the movement

a reality in today’s world.

Small business owners

tend to be entrepreneurial,

flexible, future-oriented,

creative, innovative and

well-connected to the needs and desires of

their own local communities.

Furthermore, the operations of very small

businesses tend to happen at a smaller

geographic scale which is conducive to lower

environmental impacts and the creation

of a strong local circular economy. Though

small businesses want to participate in the

circular economy movement and already

possess relevant skills and characteristics,

unfortunately many of them are not actively

involved yet. If you own or have ever worked for

a small business, the reason why is probably

obvious: small businesses are busy working.

While multinational companies have the

ability to hire consultants,

scientists and marketing

teams, small companies

are lucky to be turning

a profit and paying their

employees a living wage.

This is especially true for

small companies in the

food industry, where profit

margins are razor thin.

With all of this in mind,

Plant Chicago created

the Local Circular Economy Toolkit for

Small Business.

We see this toolkit as a first step in a

small business owner’s journey to explore

circular economy concepts, assess their

operations for circularity, set circular goals

and implement practices that will help

them cultivate a local circular economy,

all while improving and streamlining their

business operations.

Cultivating local circular economies is an effective way for small businesses to work together to solve some of the greatest challenges of our era.

3CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

FOCUS ON THE FOOD SYSTEM

This version of the toolkit is meant for small

businesses who operate in the food system.

This includes farms, food producers, food

retailers, cafes, restaurants, food rescue

organizations, food scrap haulers and compost

operations. This version of the toolkit also

focuses on resources, policies, challenges

and opportunities that are specific to the

Chicagoland (Illinois) region.

Although many of the tools and concepts in

the toolkit could be helpful to a wide variety

of small businesses, we recommend that

businesses in other industries and locations

reach out to their own local and/or industry-

specific networks for more targeted guidance.

4 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

WHAT IS THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

Already familiar with the circular economy concept? Feel free to skip ahead

to "How to use this toolkit" on page 11 to get started.

THE LINEAR ECONOMY

Today’s global economy is a linear system

of production, consumption and waste

that degrades natural ecosystems and

has many negative impacts on humans

and communities.

One end of this system continues to extract

finite resources from the earth as if they will

never run out. The other end of this system

disposes of these same valuable materials in

landfills, where they serve no economic

purpose and have negative consequences on

human and planetary health.

Paradoxically, financial capital is valued above

all else, but businesses and consumers waste

money every day by sending valuable materials

to landfills instead of reusing, repairing,

recovering or recycling them.

This linear system, and its largely unintended

side effects, are huge contributors to both the

ongoing global climate crisis and many human

health hazards. Rapid climate change is

increasing the frequency of natural disasters,

creating climate refugees across the globe

and decreasing the amount of fresh water and

arable land to grow the crops necessary for

human survival.4 Furthermore, many of our

remaining natural resources, like water and

soil, are polluted with toxic materials due to

linear economic activities.

Human activity within the linear economy

is currently depleting the earth’s natural

resources at a rate that leaves them unable to

regenerate naturally. Already, this has led to a

rise in the costs of energy, water, food and raw

commodities around the world. Unless we shift

to a new economic model, these problems will

continue to get worse in the coming years.

RESOURCES

PRODUCTION

WASTE

USE/ CONSUMPTION

5CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The circular economy has been posed by NGOs,

businesses, researchers and government

entities alike as a potential solution to the

drastic problems outlined on the last page.

Although there is no single agreed-upon

[A circular economy] entails gradually

decoupling economic activity from the

consumption of finite resources and

designing waste out of the system.

Underpinned by a transition to renewable

energy sources, the circular model builds

economic, natural, and social capital.

It is based on three principles:

• Design out waste and pollution
• Keep products and materials in use
• Regenerate natural systems

definition of a circular economy — a 2017 study

by Kirchherr et al. analyzed 114 definitions of

the term5 — the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a

thought leader in the global circular economy

movement, defines it as:6

6 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Many large companies around the world

are already taking the circular economy

concept seriously as part of their long-term

strategies. According to a 2019 report from

financial services company ING, 62% of US

firms planned to adopt a circular economy

framework as part of their business strategy

and 16% already had.7

At the facility scale, a circular economy can be

described as conventional waste streams from

one process being re-purposed as inputs for

another, creating a circular, closed-loop model

HIERARCHY OF ACTIONS

1. Rethink & Reduce

As a producer, ask yourself:

Is this product the best way

to meet the demand? Could we

use fewer or different resources

in its production?

2. Redesign

Consider reuse, repair and

recycling options in advance

3. Reuse

Use products multiple times.

4. Repair & Remanufacture

After initial use, maintain and

repair products, or use them to

create new products.

5. Recycle

Process and reuse materials.

6. Recover

Create energy from materials.

Disposal should be avoided.

RESOURCES

PRODUCTION

WASTE

6. RECOVER

1. RETHINK & REDUCE 2. REDESIGN

3. REUSE

5. RECYCLE

4. REPAIR & REMANUFACTURE

USE/ CONSUMPTION

Adapted from PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. themasites.pbl.nl/circular-economy/

7CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

but they may also be able to do so through

the use of reused, recycled or remanufactured

materials instead of newly extracted ones.

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

Resource efficiency entails using fewer

resources, such as materials, nutrients, energy

and water, to create the same or greater value.

A 2017 report by the International Resource

Panel projects that natural resource use

will increase by 119% by 2050, and proposes

resource efficiency as a key to reducing

overall natural resource use and avoiding

catastrophic environmental impacts. The

same report also notes the economic

opportunity of resource efficiency, stating

"resource efficiency and ambitious climate

policies and initiatives could deliver annual

economic benefits of more than US$2 trillion

globally in 2050."9

Many circular economy related infrastructure

upgrades, like energy efficiency or green

energy installations, can also help save money

in the long run. Even small efficiency upgrades

can create cost savings.

A best practice in sustainability-focused

business is to put these cost savings aside to

use for more capital-intensive upgrades, like

installing green energy infrastructure such as

solar panels or geothermal systems.

WHY SHOULD BUSINESSES CARE ABOUT THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

In addition to the environmental and social

benefits of a circular economy system, there

are also financial gains to be had. These gains

come in the form of both cost savings and

additional revenue opportunities presented

by circular economy practices.

Cost Savings

Cost savings in a circular

economy come

from three main areas:

reduced consumption of raw materials,

resource efficiency and waste reduction.

REDUCED CONSUMPTION

Commodity prices are on the rise, due

in part to the growing scarcity of many

natural resources, as well as volatility in

worldwide markets.8 In a circular economy,

businesses will need to reduce their reliance

on inputs made from new materials and their

dependence upon the continued extraction of

natural resources.

Not only will businesses reduce costs from

an overall decrease in resource consumption,

8 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

£ Extending the life of manufactured

products, with revenue coming from a

company repairing or remanufacturing

products for end users.

£ Circular supply chains in which suppliers

and purchasers continually cycle

nutrients and/or materials through the

supply chain.

£ Recovery and recycling, with revenue

produced through selling byproducts to

other companies for reuse, recycling or

remanufacturing (in addition to waste

reduction and cost savings).

WASTE REDUCTION

Costs can also be reduced in a circular

economy because of a reduction in the amount

of physical waste businesses produce. One

key principle of the circular economy is to

design out waste. When a company produces

less waste, savings may be achieved through

reduced disposal fees.

Revenue

Opportunities

In addition to cost savings,

circular economy practices

can bring financial gains

to businesses through new revenue

opportunities. According to a report by

Accenture10, "the circular economy could

generate $4.5 trillion of additional economic

output by 2030 through new circular business

models and revenue generating opportunities."

This report lists five main areas of revenue

opportunity within a circular economy:

£ Maximizing the use of (and revenue

from) underutilized assets through

sharing platforms such as Airbnb, Lyft,

£ Product-as-service model where a

company retains ownership of an item,

like a phone, and makes revenue from

providing services around the item.

Want to learn more? Check out the Circular

Economy Resources list in the Appendix.

9CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The success of any local circular economy

is driven by values of equity, transparency,

diversity and inclusion. In a local circular

economy, a business should:

£ Regenerate local ecosystems

£ Address the needs and aspirations

of local stakeholders

£ Increase local human knowledge

and capacity around circular

economy practices

Small businesses are already at a huge

advantage in the local circular economy

movement, since local stakeholders are much

easier to involve at the scale at which most

small businesses operate.

Plus, small businesses benefit from creating a

robust local circular economy, since it can help

engage local partner businesses, suppliers

and customers, who are then more likely to

support small businesses in their community.

WHAT IS THE LOCAL CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

Many circular economy definitions and

guides focus solely on how materials and

energy management can regenerate natural

ecosystems. Although macro resources are

important to the circular economy movement,

we’re often leaving out how people and human

communities could or should be involved in,

and affected by, this new economy.

Instead, Plant Chicago defines a local circular

A local circular economy is a

collaborative economic practice

sustained by the local circulation

of resources, including energy,

materials, nutrients, knowledge

NUTRIENTSMATERIALS

MONEYKNOWLEDGE

LOCAL CONTEXT

10 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The first step of the toolkit process is to fill out

this survey to help you start thinking circular.

After you have the results of the intro survey,

you’ll need to prioritize and decide what you’d

like to focus on during the first steps of your

local circular economy journey. In the next

section, we’ll give a quick overview of key

practices within a local circular economy in

three categories: Your People, Your Networks

HOW TO USE THIS TOOLKIT

Now that you’ve learned a little bit about

the circular economy movement and

the importance of cultivating the local

circular economy, it’s time to get to work on

implementing circular economy practices

at your business.

The following sections are a combination

of assessments to help you understand

where your business currently stands on

CE practices and resources and tools to

help you implement, improve, measure and

communicate your CE practices.

You may already be using circular economy

practices in your operation!

Fill out the local circular economy intake survey.

You'll find out some specific areas to focus on

and your responses will help us identify more

resources that businesses can use in the future.

bit.ly/ce-intake-survey

11CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

FOR EACH SECTION:

Learn Assess Set Goals Communicate

Measure

Take Action

Iterate

EMPLOYEES POWER THE ECONOMY

Economic and environmental sustainability

are key aspects of any circular economy, but

individual human "sustainability" is often

overlooked by the movement. Fair labor

practices are rarely mentioned in circular

economy contexts today.

In a local circular economy, a business should

focus on training and retaining employees to

maximize value for their business, but also to

increase local human knowledge and capacity

around circular economy practices.

EMPLOYEE RETENTION

Employee retention is a critical challenge for

small businesses. High employee turnover

leads to higher costs over time, as turnover

necessitates constant hiring and retraining.

Small businesses don’t have the time and

monetary resources required to constantly

hire and train new employees, and thus

should focus on improving factors that

support employee retention at their

companies. Retaining employees also

means retaining the important knowledge

and experience they’ve acquired while

working at your business.

Key factors for employee retention include:

£ Paying fair wages.

£ Offering benefits like healthcare,

retirement plans and paid time off.

£ Offering training and professional

development opportunities.

£ Providing opportunities for

advancement and leadership within

£ Involving employees in decision-making.

£ Using open and effective communication.

YOUR PEOPLE Best Practices for Businesses

in the Circular Economy

Photo by

Leah Kuhn

LEARN

13CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

OPENNESS TO CIRCULAR CHANGES

When working to align your business with

a local circular economy system, creating a

workplace culture that values the circular

economy and sustainability is key. This can

be done partially by offering circular economy

training and professional development

opportunities for employees.

The transition to circular practices can mean

changes to many day-to-day operational

practices (e.g., instituting a new system to

separate organic waste for compost when

there was only one bin for all "waste" items

before). Since many of these initiatives will

be carried out by employees, it’s important

to train and help staff members understand

why these practices are being implemented.

This step is

critical to

ensure that

your new

changes are

successful

within your

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

The first step to addressing your employees’

needs is to understand them better. Creating

an empathy map for each key stakeholder

can help you uncover each group’s wants,

needs, values and opinions. Understanding

your stakeholders is necessary for successful

collaboration and behavior change, which

are both integral to cultivating the circular

economy within your company culture.

Fill out the Empathy Map worksheet on the

next page to get started.

£ First, explore your employees’ needs,

then branch out to other stakeholders.

(For example, consider different types of

customers, vendors and/or partners.)

£ Fill out the worksheet by yourself or with

a small group. Think about why the

person is interacting with you, and what

they see, hear, think, feel, say and do.

Jot down words and phrases from their

£ If you have two or more leaders in your

business, it may be helpful for each

person to fill out a worksheet about

the same stakeholder, then compare

notes. You might identify new insights

about your employees, customers or

Creating a workplace culture that values the circular economy and sustainability is key.

14 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ASSESS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

E M PAT H Y M A P What does someone else experience when they interact with your business? Use this worksheet to understand your customers, employees and other stakeholders better by noticing what they see, hear, say and do. Write down your hypotheses in each area.

WHAT DO THEY SEE?

WHAT DO THEY DO?

WHAT DO THEY SAY?

WHAT DO THEY HEAR?

WHO are you empathizing with? WHAT is their goal?

Customer type, employee, stakeholder, etc. What do they want to achieve when they interact with your business?

SET GOALS

PEOPLE GOALS

See the list of key factors for employee

retention on page 13 and consider

implementing some of these measures in

Additional suggestions:

£ Hold a training on circular economy

concepts for your employees.

£ Create an empathy map for key

stakeholders, including employees

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

goals related to people.

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for

encouraging your people to embrace

circular economy activities, you can take

action and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to track

your progress. In a few months, you

might see big changes!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: PEOPLE

£ The MIT Living Wage Calculator allows

you to calculate a living wage based on

your geographic location and a few other

£ Zero Waste Chicago offers staff trainings

on a variety of circular economy practices.

zerowastechicago.com/business

£ IDEO and Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s

Circular Design Guide offers

suggestions, including worksheets

and full workshop agendas, for getting

a group into a circular economy and

design thinking mindset.

circulardesignguide.com

16 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

YOUR NETWORKS

• Geographic Range
• Symbiotic Groups
• Circular Goal Setting

LEARN

BUILDING COALITIONS AND CONNECTIONS

A local circular economy is by definition

a collaborative practice, which can only be

achieved by forming effective partnerships

and networks at the local level.

As a small business owner, you probably

already work with a variety of local partners,

including customers and suppliers. These

partnerships are likely based on acquiring

capabilities, products or other assets you

require from local actors. In a local circular

economy, you may need to expand your

partnerships to include additional people

The ability to consider the implications

of actions beyond a business’s direct

sphere of influence is necessary for CE-

based decision-making.

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

Interested in understanding and strengthening

your network to cultivate a local circular

economy in your community? On the next

three pages, you’ll find worksheets that will

help you think about who is in your network

and how far it ranges.

£ First, use the Geographic Range

worksheet to think about your reach in

the world.

£ Then, fill out the Your Stakeholders

worksheet to delve into your partners

in the community.

£ Finally, use the Symbiotic Groups

worksheet to identify any symbiotic

organizations you might want to work

with in the future, and what activities

you might engage in with them.

YOUR NETWORKS Building a Healthy, Collaborative Practice

to Make the Circular Economy Real

19CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

GEOGRAPHIC RANGE ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSG E O G R A PH I C

R A N G E Where your business activities take place, and the people, places and things those activities affect, define your boundaries. These impacts can be economic, environmental and/or social. How local or global are your boundaries?

DISTANCE: For each of the following rows, circle two choices. First, circle the shortest distance each one travels to or from your business. Second, circle the longest distance one travels.

How far do our...

Employees travel to get to work?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Ingredients/inputs travel to get to our business (including

ingredients & packaging)?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Products travel to reach a customer?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Waste travel to be processed, reused, recycled or disposed of?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Products travel to be processed, reused, recycled, or disposed of after they’re used?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

EXAMPLE How far do our employees travel to get to work?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

YOUR STAKEHOLDERS ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

YO U R S TA K E H O LD E R S Your business likely interacts with a wide range of organizations, groups and people. We consider these your stakeholders: people or groups who are affected by your activities or whose activities affect your business. It is important to think about them during this process, because they are also affected by changes to your business.

We’ve listed some groups to start, but you should fill in any missing stakeholders.

1. Cross out ("X") any types of people who are irrelevant or don’t play a role. 2. Circle the stakeholders who are being helped or served by your business. 3. Star the stakeholders who you consider local.

Customers Employees Business Partners

Supplier Supplier Landlord/ Tenant

Neighborhood Organization

Chamber of Commerce

Alderman Investors

SYMBIOTIC GROUPS ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

LOCAL BUSINESS, ORGANIZATION, COMMUNITY GROUP, ETC.

HOW DO YOU CURRENTLY INTERACT?

HOW COULD YOU INTERACT OR BENEFIT FROM EACH OTHER IN THE FUTURE?

S YM B I O T I C G R O U P S Some networks you’re a part of are harder to identify than your current stakeholders. Especially when it comes to your local community, nearby groups can affect each other in subtle ways (and might all be affected by the same people, decisions or pressures). For example, a new business starting in your neighborhood could bring more lunch customers, increase competition or even change the smells in the air!

List some businesses and organizations that coexist with you in your local area. They can include schools, nonprofits, community centers or others. If you need more ideas, check out the listings from your Neighborhood Council or Chamber of Commerce.

SET GOALS

NETWORK GOALS

As you explore Your Stuff and Your People,

you will likely find many ways to involve

your stakeholders and local groups in your

In addition, here are a few action step

suggestions that can help you start building

£ Do some research on the stakeholders

and symbiotic groups that you identified

on the Symbiotic Groups and Your

Stakeholders worksheets to identify a

few immediate opportunities to work

together on a project.

£ Attend a local neighborhood council or

chamber of commerce meeting.

£ Create a definition of "local" for your

business. Use the results of your

Geographic Range worksheet to inform

this decision and think about how this

might influence your sourcing, hiring or

distribution goals.

£ Conduct a focus group with local

stakeholders and/or symbiotic groups

to find out how your business activities

affect them and how they might like to be

involved moving forward.

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

goal(s) related to your networks.

23CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for building

an active network that can help you achieve

your circular economy goals (and share

resources or waste streams), you can take

action and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to track

your progress. In a few months, you

might see big changes!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: NETWORKS

Your local Chamber of Commerce,

Neighborhood Council, or other business-

focused groups can be great resources for

connecting with other businesses.

The City of Chicago, for example, maintains a

few different lists of applicable organizations

on their website:

£ Small Business Development Centers

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/sbc/small_

business_developmentcenters.html

£ Additional Business Support Services

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/sbc/other_

business_supportagencies.html

£ Map of Neighborhood Business

Development Centers

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/sbc/

neighborhoodbusinessdevcenters.html

£ Information on Special Service Areas

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bacp/sbc/

special_service_areasssa.html

£ Many neighborhoods also have

community groups (not specific to

businesses, but typically open to all

community organizations, businesses

and residents). These groups are a great

way to connect with and hear from local

residents and organizations.

£ Many local academic institutions have

classes or clubs that connect students

with local companies to conduct research,

design programming and more. Consider

reaching out to your local colleges and

universities to seek assistance with the

recommended Action Steps above.

24 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

YOUR STUFF - General Circular Best Practices

• Energy & Water Management
• Ingredient Sourcing
• Food Recovery & Organic Waste Diversion
• Nutrient Management

YOUR STUFF Circular Economy Best Practices

for the Food Industry

GENERAL CIRCULAR BEST PRACTICES

Businesses in the food system have many

unique challenges and opportunities when it

comes to cultivating local circular economies.

In the following sections, we will explain

why each focus area is important for food

businesses, guide you through the process of

setting goals, and make an action plan to be

more circular in each aspect of Your Stuff.

To get started, feel free to choose the topics

that are most relevant and exciting to you,

or use the priorities given for major food

business categories on page 30 for

In general, for any business that makes a

product, materials and energy are two of

the most important factors to consider when

looking to operate within a local circular

economy. The following list of practices is a

good starting point to guide your operations

toward a circular economy.

Material

Inputs

£ Should be minimized to limit the

amount of material and energy

extraction required to create the input.

£ Should be made from reused or

recycled materials to limit the amount

of raw material used.

£ Should travel as little as possible to

and from your business, to minimize

greenhouse gases from transportation

(and reduces shipping costs).

£ Should be made from materials that can

be recycled, reused, remanufactured or

composted locally. This helps ensure that

your product and/or its packaging will not

end up in a landfill after it is used.

£ Should be made/grown using circular

economy practices, many of which are

covered by third party certifications

(e.g., sustainability, ethics). The best

way to learn about your suppliers'

practices is to talk with them directly.

Photo by

Leah Kuhn

LEARN

27CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Business Space

and Facilities

£ Should be as small as possible to meet

your needs. This will help reduce energy

consumption and allow you to scale only

£ Should be shared with a complementary

business/organization if the space

is bigger than your business’s current

needs. This could also create additional

revenue via rent from a subtenant.

£ Should be located as near as possible to

your customers, and to the resources

and infrastructure needed to run

your business. This can help minimize

transportation costs and lower overall

greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy and

Water Inputs

£ Should be minimized to reduce

consumption of natural resources.

This includes both finite resources like

coal and natural gas and resources that

are "infinite" but scarce in many parts

of the world, such as water. Energy and

water efficiency should be a top priority

for any business.

£ Should come from clean/renewable

sources so that the energy a business

uses after implementing energy

efficiency measures does not deplete

finite natural resources.

28 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Mechanical

Equipment

£ Should be as efficient as possible to

save on energy costs and reduce

consumption of energy and water.

£ Should be repaired when broken instead

of buying new equipment. This preserves

the valuable energy and materials

embodied in the piece of equipment

instead of sending it to a landfill.

Material Byproducts

and Waste

£ Should be reduced, reused, repurposed,

recycled or composted to avoid sending

these materials and their associated

monetary value to the landfill, where they

serve no purpose in the economy or in the

£ Reducing the amount of byproducts

is a top priority when possible. When

byproducts are unavoidable, reusing and

repurposing are preferred ways of dealing

with them, since they tend to be less

resource-intensive.

£ For organic waste, composting is the

preferred solution.

£ Recycling is usually preferable over

sending materials to a landfill, but is

energy- and resource-intensive, and

should be a last resort for physical

outputs in a circular economy, just before

sending materials to a landfill.

29CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

FOOD-SPECIFIC FOCUS AREAS

When it comes to Your Stuff, there are

too many targets for a small business to

tackle all at once. In addition to the general

guidelines we outlined previously, we

recommend focusing on aspects of Your Stuff

specific to your business type. Many of these

categorized priorities are based on extensive

research done by the Sustainability Accounting

Standards Board.

FOR CAFÉS, RESTAURANTS

AND FOOD RETAILERS

£ Ingredient Sourcing

£ Energy & Water Management

£ Food Recovery & Organic Waste

Diversion

FOR FARMS

£ Water Management (All farms should see

water efficiency & water reuse sections. Indoor

farms should also see energy management.)

£ Nutrient Management

£ Food Recovery & Organic Waste

Diversion

FOR FOOD MANUFACTURERS OR

CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS

£ Ingredient Sourcing

£ Energy & Water Management

£ Packaging

FOR FOOD RECOVERY, WASTE

HAULERS OR COMPOSTERS

£ Energy & Water Management

£ Nutrient Management

HOW TO USE THE "YOUR STUFF" TOPICS

Each topic section includes an introduction,

some advice and interactive exercises on

assessing your current state, a walk-through

of the goal-setting process with examples

and action step recommendations, and a list

of resources you might find helpful to achieve

After completing your chosen topic section(s),

you will have a new goal and a step-by-step

action plan, complete with a resource list,

to begin cultivating a local circular economy

through your business activities.

If there is a Your Stuff section that

you’d really like to work on, but it's

not listed under your sector below,

feel free to go for it!

30 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

YOUR STUFF

ENERGY & WATER MANAGEMENT

LEARN

PUT ENERGY INTO MINIMIZING ITS USE

Energy is the top contributor to climate

change worldwide. According to the United

Nations, the food sector accounts for 30%

of the world’s energy consumption and 22%

of total greenhouse gas emissions. The food

sector is also a major consumer of water.

This makes energy and water management a

key priority for any food business that wants

to participate in the circular economy.

Energy and water can be complicated to

track and set specific goals around within a

business context. Luckily, energy and water

management are two of the most well-studied

areas of environmental sustainability. There

are plenty of best practice lists already out

there for everyone, from homeowners to

Energy Efficiency First

To quote the Illinois utility consumer advocate

group Citizens Utility Board (CUB), "the

cheapest kilowatt-hour is the one you never

use." Although renewable energy is an exciting

prospect, energy efficiency is always the best

way to reduce energy costs and environmental

impact. Businesses should maximize their

energy efficiency before diving into the world

of renewable energy.

Energy efficiency is always the best way to reduce energy costs and environmental impact.

31CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ENERGY INCENTIVES

Luckily, Illinois utility companies, like ComEd

in the Chicago area, offer many incentives

for homeowners and businesses to complete

energy efficiency upgrades. The ComEd Energy

Efficiency Program offers small businesses

free energy efficiency audits and a list of

contractors who can offer full installation

services for any work recommended after the

audit, with up to 75% off total energy efficiency

project costs. An energy audit is a great way to

identify opportunities for energy efficiency and

cost savings within your space.

There are also financial incentives available

for businesses in Illinois to purchase energy

efficient lighting and equipment, and to help

building owners insulate and air-seal their

building envelopes to maximize efficiency of

their heating and cooling systems.

Green Power

Once you’ve maximized your energy

efficiency, installing your own renewable

energy generation system, participating in

a community solar program, or purchasing

renewable energy from your utility company

is the next step in your circular energy

journey. The EPA defines green power

as "electricity supplied from a subset of

renewable resources that provide the

highest environmental benefit."11

Some examples of green power sources

include solar, wind, geothermal, biogas,

biomass (specific plant & waste materials),

and low-impact hydroelectric.

INSTALL YOUR OWN RENEWABLE SYSTEM

The best approach to sourcing green power

is to install a renewable energy system at your

facility. This could be solar panels, a

wind turbine, a geothermal system, or an

anaerobic digester coupled with a power

system. There are many financial incentives,

such as rebates and tax credits at the

state and federal level for renewable energy

installations. At the moment, these incentives

are heavily focused on solar energy.

COMMUNITY SOLAR

Another option for sourcing green power is

community solar. This is a new program in

Illinois that allows individuals and businesses

who are unable to install their own solar

panels to sign up to help pay for a solar panel

installation at a nearby building. Individuals

or businesses who pay into the system then

receive ongoing bill credits for the solar energy

their investment helps generate.12

GREEN POWER PLANS

If you are not able to install your own green

power system or participate in a community

solar program, another option is to sign up for

a "green power" plan.

32 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Illinois has a deregulated electricity supply

market, meaning that businesses can choose

an electricity supplier other than ComEd,

the regulated supplier for the state. While

some of the unregulated alternative suppliers

offer "green" electricity plans, none of them

are currently more affordable than ComEd’s

energy supply. As of January 2020, the CUB

recommends sticking with ComEd as an

electricity supplier.

Some good news is that ComEd and other

Illinois utilities are required by state law

to source at least 25% of their power from

renewable energy sources by 2025, so some of

your electricity may already be coming from

renewable sources.13

Water Efficiency & Reuse

Similar to energy management, efficiency is

the best practice for water management in a

circular economy. If you want to go above and

beyond efficiency, your business could look

into reusing water within your operations,

or sending your clean water to a co-located

business when applicable.

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

Ideally, your business’s energy and water

bills will list both a dollar amount as well as

the amount of each resource your business

consumed during the billing period. Looking at

these reports is a great start to understanding

your current usage and potential for reduction.

Another relatively easy thing to measure is

what percent of your energy comes from

renewable sources (wind, solar, geothermal).

You could also go a step further and use the

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, a free online

tool to help people analyze their energy and

water bills, and track usage over time. This tool

also allows you to track any energy or water

efficiency upgrades you make to see if they’re

paying off in financial savings over time.

33CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS

ENERGY & WATER GOALS

Depending on which energy and/or water-

related circular economy practices you want

to focus on, you may want to use one of the

following goals as a starting point:

£ % reduction in energy and/or water costs

by [DATE]

£ % lighting is energy efficient by [DATE]

£ % of our energy will come from clean/

renewable sources by [DATE]

£ Increase % or $ investment by [AMOUNT]

every [TIME PERIOD]

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet

in this section to create an energy or water

management goal.

Remember that it’s okay to start small with your

energy and water goals! Many energy efficiency

projects are affordable and can add up to significant

cost savings. Your cost savings can then be

reinvested into more capital-intensive upgrades, like

installing green energy systems.

Action Step

Recommendations

Depending on the goal(s) you set, you may

want to choose from the following action steps

to achieve your goals. Or, come up with your

UNDERSTAND YOUR USAGE

£ Get a free energy audit through a

local program. Most of the items/

recommendations below will be covered

in a comprehensive energy audit, like

those offered for free by ComEd in the

LIGHTING

£ Purchase energy-efficient lighting when

bulbs or fixtures need to be replaced.

£ Employ bi-level switching.

£ Install dimmers on lights.

£ Install daylight sensors.

£ Swap light-up signs (like Exit and

Open/Closed signs) to LED-lighted signs.

£ Turn off lights when not in use.

£ Install occupancy sensors.

HEATING AND COOLING

£ Air-seal & insulate your building envelope

(or work with your building owner to do

£ Install a programmable thermostat.

£ Change HVAC air filter regularly.

£ Tune up HVAC equipment annually.

£ Seal all heating & cooling ducts.

34 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

EQUIPMENT

£ Perform regular maintenance/tune-

ups on equipment to keep it running

£ Reduce idle time by shutting down/

turning off equipment when not in use.

£ Repair equipment as soon as possible

£ Regularly calibrate any equipment that

relies on temperature control via a built-

in thermostat, such as refrigerators,

dishwashers and hot water heaters.

£ Keep cooling coils in refrigeration

£ Purchase energy-efficient appliances

when you need to replace an appliance.

For example, choose ENERGY STAR certified

£ Check the temperature settings of your

cooling equipment. If the temperature

is set cooler than needed, you could be

wasting energy. According to ENERGY

STAR, the most commonly recommended

settings are between -14° and -8° Fahrenheit for freezers and between

35° and 38° Fahrenheit for refrigerators.

£ Keep fridge and freezer doors closed as

much as possible and make sure door

seals close tightly.

GREEN POWER

£ Install a renewable energy system.

£ Purchase renewable energy.

WATER

£ Repair leaky faucets and fixtures.

£ Install faucet aerators.

£ Convert existing toilets to dual-flush or

£ When a need arises to purchase new

equipment, replace appliances, fixtures

and attachments with WaterSense,

ENERGY STAR, or other high-efficiency

£ Install greywater catchment system.

Be sure to check your local laws first!

Consider the lifecycle cost of

equipment, instead of just the

purchase price. Sometimes, more

efficient equipment is pricier to

purchase, but pays off in the long

run through significant savings

on your energy bills.

35CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for your

energy and water management, you can take

action and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to

track your progress.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: ENERGY & WATER

£ ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager

energystar.gov/buildings/facility-owners-

and-managers/existing-buildings/use-

£ ENERGY STAR Action Workbook for

Small Business

energystar.gov/buildings/tools-and-

resources/energy_star_action_workbook_

£ Database of State Incentives for

Renewables & Efficiency (search

incentives by state or ZIP code):

£ Center for Resource Solutions' Green-e

certification program: green-e.org

£ EPA resources on understanding

& procuring green energy: epa.gov/

greenpower/switch-green-power

£ EPA resources for water efficiency in

restaurants: epa.gov/watersense/best-

management-practices

£ UL’s free and searchable SPOT database

allows companies to find credible

sustainability information for a wide

variety of products. Searchable products

include everything from insulation

materials to toilet paper, from lightbulbs

to flooring, and more. spot.ul.com/

Local Resources

£ ComEd Energy Efficiency Program

for Small Business is a free energy

assessment and financial incentives for

energy efficiency work, including specific

guides for restaurants and grocery stores.

Pages/BusinessTypes.aspx

£ Citizens Utility Board allows you to

check current electricity pricing and find

resources to interpret your electricity

bill and calculate potential savings.

citizensutilityboard.org/electric/

£ Citizens Utility Board also has resources

citizensutilityboard.org/clean-energy/

£ City of Chicago list of water resources.

chicago.gov/city/en/progs/env/water.html

36 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

YOUR STUFF

INGREDIENT SOURCING

LEARN

LOCALIZING YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN

Food production and food service businesses

use a wide variety of ingredients and inputs

to make their products, often relying on a

global supply chain for their needs. The ability

for this globalized system to deliver is highly

dependent on the long-term availability of

agricultural products at a certain price point.

This ability is already being affected by

climate change, water shortages, land

management and other resource scarcity

issues. Creating a supply chain that works to

combat these issues is a key practice in the

There are several key aspects for small

businesses to consider when creating a more

local, circular supply chain. But first, you

should define what "local" means to you.

What is local? Each business must decide what "local" means for them. The USDA says that a locally or regionally produced agricultural product travels less than 400 miles from its origin, or comes from within the same state.14 The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification uses a 500- mile radius as a starting point for sourcing local building materials.15

Photo by Leah Kuhn

38 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Ingredient Supply Chain

Best Practices

£ As with most circular economy practices,

reduction is the first step. Order only

what’s needed and closely manage your

inventory to prevent waste.

£ Source locally to minimize costs

and greenhouse gas emissions from

£ Support fellow small businesses to

build a local circular economy and create

a closer relationship with suppliers.

This improves resilience and allows food

businesses to start conversations about

circular economy practices with their

suppliers more easily.

£ Source reused or recycled materials

to avoid environmental impacts

associated with extracting or producing

brand new materials.

£ Source agricultural products grown using

regenerative practices.

£ Work with suppliers to minimize

incoming packaging.

URBAN INFLUENCE

Food businesses in cities like Chicago are

well-positioned to influence how food is grown,

produced and packaged, as 80% of food will

be consumed in cities by 2050.16

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

In a circular economy, food should be

grown, produced and packaged in ways

that regenerate natural ecosystems. In

agriculture, this means using growing

practices that build healthy soil, improve

water retention, reduce nutrient runoff and

cultivate a high level of biodiversity. In addition

to purchasing ingredients directly from

farms that are implementing these practices,

businesses can also support regenerative

agriculture and prevent food waste by using

CONSUMER DEMAND FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Customer demand is another reason to

implement circular ingredient sourcing. More

and more people are starting to look for food

that is produced locally, sustainably and

ethically. Businesses can meet this rising

demand by implementing the practices listed

above and making their sourcing information

available to their customers.

39CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

The first step in creating a more circular

supply chain in your business is to

understand more about your most-used

There are three important aspects to consider

in a circular supply chain:

£ Geography

Where does the ingredient come from?

£ Material composition

What is the ingredient made of?

£ Production practices

How was the ingredient made or grown?

On the next two pages, you'll find useful

worksheets that will help you take a closer look

at your ingredients.

£ First, fill out the Product Input worksheet

to find out more about the circularity of

your supply chain as a whole.

£ For your three most-used ingredients,

copy and fill out the Input Deep-Dive

worksheet to understand more about how

each one is sourced and packaged.

£ Also, refer back to the Geographic Range

worksheet on page 20 to see an

overview of how far your inputs currently

travel to reach you.

40 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

PRODUCT INPUTS ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

PR O D U C T I N P U T S What goes into your products has a big impact on your circular practices. Understanding your inputs/ingredients today can help you find room to improve.

ESTIMATE: Overall, what percentage of your inputs (or ingredients) are...

INGREDIENT LIST: Can you find areas to improve in your current set of inputs/ingredients?

What are your most used ingredients? List them here.

Do you have any "big ticket" or "special order" ingredients? List them here.

Any input/ingredient can be counted multiple times, so the total can be more than 100%

% recaptured?

sourced from material that would otherwise be waste

% produced locally?

within a specific geographic range that you consider local (e.g., 50 or 500 miles)

% produced using CE practices?

sustainable and ethical toward people, animals and resources; these are often indicated by third party certifications

come from your own business?

% come from another business or source?

% Of your recaptured ingredients/inputs, how many...

Who are your current partners/sources? List them here.

INPUT DEEP-DIVE ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSI N P U T

D E E P - D I V E Take a closer look at your three most-used inputs/ingredients. For each ingredient, complete the following:

INGREDIENT: Where do you purchase this input/ingredient? (Circle one)

From a vendor or distributor

Where does the product ship from?

Directly from the source

Where is the producer located?

Who is the original producer?

What type of packaging does it come in?

If the packaging has multiple components, list all components.

Circular economy practices include sustainable and ethical methods regarding people, animals and resources. Third-party certifications are often relevant, but the best way to learn this is to talk to your suppliers.

What do you know about how this input/ingredient was produced?

SET GOALS

INGREDIENT SOURCING GOALS

Depending on which sourcing-related circular

economy practices you want to focus on, you

may want to use one of the following goals as a

starting point. Or feel free to make your own!

£ % of product made from locally grown/

produced ingredients

£ % of product made from locally purchased

ingredients

£ % of product made from ingredients

certified to a third-party environmental

£ % of product made from ingredients

certified to a third-party social standard

£ % of product made from recaptured

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

ingredient sourcing goal(s).

Action Step

Recommendations

Depending on the goal(s) you set, you may

want to choose from the following action steps

to achieve your goals:

£ Team up with fellow small businesses to

collectively purchase circular inputs. If

minimum order size is a barrier for your

business to purchase a more circular

ingredient, consider splitting an order

with a nearby business who uses the

same ingredient in their products.

£ Write a purchasing policy that prioritizes

circular criteria, such as purchasing

locally produced ingredients, purchasing

from locally based suppliers, purchasing

products made from reused materials,

purchasing products that come with

minimal packaging, etc.

£ Work with a local farm to source

£ Plan ingredient ordering around historic

sales data and informed predictions

about future sales to prevent over-

43CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

£ Conduct a local sourcing pilot project to

see if locally grown or produced inputs is

feasible for your operations. Fill out the

Local Sourcing Pilot Project worksheet

in this section to get started.

£ Design your menu or food product with

food waste reduction in mind.

£ Challenge yourself to design a menu or

food product with as few ingredients as

possible that still meets your business

goals. Simplicity saves time and can help

reduce waste and save money.

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for your

ingredient sourcing, you can take action

and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to

track your progress.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: INGREDIENT SOURCING

£ UL’s free Prospector search engine is

meant to help companies find materials

and ingredients for product development.

Some sustainability information is

included on products, with more

sustainability related indicators to be

added soon: ulprospector.com/en/na

£ LocalHarvest is a resource to find local

farms based on your location.

localharvest.org/chicago-il

£ Use the information you gathered

when you filled out the worksheets in

Your Networks to think about potential

sourcing partnerships with other

44 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

CIRCULAR SOURCING PILOT

TAKE ACTION

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Set a goal to try this source as a pilot!

One of your goals might be to try a locally grown, locally distributed, or locally recaptured substitution

in a test run over a certain period of time and see how it goes. Make sure to track any cost savings, additional

costs, added revenue, or other impacts of the trial!

C I R C U L A R S O U R C I N G P I LO T If your top three products are not currently from local producers or vendors, do some research on locally grown or produced options. It may be helpful to refer to the Product Inputs worksheet you filled out earlier.

LOCAL ALTERNATIVES: Can you find an ingredient/input that is...

Re-check your options (and your networks) soon.

• A recapturing story: An ice cream maker has a coffee roaster in her local network. When the coffee roaster has unsold, roasted beans that are past peak freshness, the ice cream maker offers to buy them at a discount to make coffee ice cream. The ice cream maker gets a locally sourced (and discounted!) ingredient, and the coffee roaster gets value from the sale instead of discarding the product.

How does this source compare to your current source, based on the following factors?

Describe the ingredient/input source.

Cost: Convenience:

Quality: Circular economy practices:

Available from a local supplier or distributor?

Already used by a local business in your network?

Can you recapture*

Photo by Leah Kuhn

LEARN

CURB AND REDIRECT ORGANIC WASTE

According to a 2018 ReFED report, "the U.S.

restaurant sector generates 11.4 million tons

of food waste annually, the full cost of which

is more than $25 billion."17 The majority of this

food waste is sent to landfills, where it releases

methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the

environment and serves no useful purpose.

In a circular economy, edible food is instead

recovered and distributed to those who need

food, and non-edible food (i.e., food scraps)

is composted or used in a biogas/biomass

energy generation system.

Luckily for small businesses, there is an

immense economic opportunity in curbing

food waste that also brings potential

environmental and social benefits.

A 2017 report by Champions 12.3 found

that for every dollar invested in food

waste reduction, restaurants can realize

approximately $8 in savings.18

The EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy (shown

on the next page) "prioritizes actions

organizations can take to prevent and divert

wasted food."19 Recovery strategies at the

top of the hierarchy create the most social,

economic and environmental benefits.

A few strategies (e.g., ordering only what you

need, sourcing "imperfect" product from

farms) for food waste prevention are covered

in the Ingredient Sourcing section, starting

on page 44. This section focuses on post-

processing and post-consumer waste.

The EPA's chart prioritizes feeding hungry

people first, followed by animals, then

industrial uses and composting. Landfills

YOUR STUFF

FOOD RECOVERY & ORGANIC WASTE DIVERSION

47CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

and/or incineration are relegated to a

last resort if no other use can be found.

Keep these guidelines in mind as you set

your circular goals and take action.

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

The first step in reducing food waste is to

understand how much and what types of

waste your business generates today.

You should know when and where the waste

is happening. Is it in the kitchen, on the

processing line, or in the dining room?

A great way to get this information is by

conducting a waste audit.

Roll up your sleeves and get ready to dig

through some trash! The Waste Audit

worksheets on the next two pages will help

guide you through the process.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency (2019).

48 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

WASTE AUDIT PROCESS ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

To successfully complete a waste audit, an item-by-item sorting and weighting approach is recommended. The process is summarized in the following series of steps:

1 Think about your current waste management practices & timing.

2 Estimate the types of waste material you generate and create preliminary categories.

3 Determine time period for your audit based on your specific operational practices (for example: 1 day, 1 week or 1 month). Over this time, you should be able to get a good sampling of the waste regularly created by your business.

4 Collect waste over the amount of time you determined in Step 3.

5 For each sample, lay waste out on tarp and sort by material type and category. Take photographs throughout the waste audit.

6 Weigh waste and record data (e.g., material type, category, weight, collection location, sorting date) on a Waste Audit Data Sheet.

7 Analyze data and make recommendations. For example, if there is a high organic waste content, set a goal to work with local composters to collect the material.

WA STE AU DIT PRO CE SS

How long should our waste audit last?

How often is trash collected? How often is recycling collected?

Notes on the types of material you discard, collect and/or recycle (e.g., paper, organic/food, metal, plastic, glass)?

Paper

Plastic

Metals

Organic waste

Glass

Other

WASTE AUDIT DATA SHEET

ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Lay waste out on tarp and sort by material type and category. Weigh waste and record data (material type, category, weight, collection location, sorting date) here.

Collection location: Date: Sheet number:

Estimate what percentage of the waste for each material type can be diverted in the following ways. Your percentages don’t need to add up to 100%

CATEGORY MATERIAL TYPE TOTAL WEIGHT REDUCE DONATE/

EXCHANGE RECYCLE COMPOST

Paper

Mixed Paper % % % %

Cardboard % % % %

Newspaper % % % %

Plastic

Plastic Bottles #1 (PETE) or #2 (HDPE) % % % %

# 3, 4, 5, 7 % % % %

Polystyrene # 6 % % % %

Plastic Film % % % %

Other Plastics % % % %

Organic

Food Waste % % % %

Yard Waste % % % %

Glass Glass Bottles and Jars % % % %

Metal

Aluminum Cans % % % %

Other Metal % % % %

Misc. Fiber, Metals, Residual, etc.

Misc. Items*, Textiles, Electronics % % % %

Other Waste* % % % %

• Describe any misc. items or "other waste" found:

WA STE AU DIT DATA SHE E T

SET GOALS

FOOD RECOVERY & WASTE DIVERSION GOALS

Depending on which food recovery and

organic waste reduction-related circular

economy practices (listed above) you want

to focus on, you may want to use one of the

following goals as a starting point. Or, feel free

to make your own!

£ % reduction in waste sent to landfill

£ % or pounds of edible food donated to

local organization(s)

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

food recovery and waste reduction goal(s).

Action Step

Recommendations

Depending on the goal(s) you set, you may

want to choose from the following action steps

to achieve your goals. Or, feel free to come up

with your own action steps!

£ Set up a system to measure waste

consistently and accurately.

£ Use waste data to inform ordering

decisions and avoid over-ordering .

£ Experiment with making new products

from trimmings and other kitchen or

production scraps (e.g., vegetable stock

from veggie scraps).

£ Offer "seconds" for employees to take

home. This prevents food waste and

potential food theft, and also doesn't

require partnering with an outside

organization or transporting food outside

of your place of business.

£ Partner with a local organization who

distributes food to the community and

donate edible items.

£ Sign up for a local food scrap

£ Sign up for a local used cooking oil

£ Provide smaller servings of a menu

item (like fries that come with a burger)

and offering the option for a refill if the

customer would like more. As ReFED’s

Restaurant Food Waste Action Guide

suggests20, this strategy leads diners to

leave less uneaten food on the plate.

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for your

food recovery and organic waste diversion,

you can take action and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to

track your progress.

51CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: FOOD RECOVERY & WASTE DIVERSION

FOOD RECOVERY

£ The Greater Chicago Food

Depository accepts donations from

companies across the food industry.

chicagosfoodbank.org/food-industry-

donations

£ Feeding America is a nationwide network

of food pantries: feedingamerica.org

£ The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food

Donation Act protects food donors from

criminal and civil liability if they are

donating to a non-profit organization.

feedingamerica.org/about-us/partners/

become-a-product-partner/food-partners

£ Food Recovery Network is a national

nonprofit that supports students to fight

food waste on campus and beyond.

foodrecoverynetwork.org

ORGANIC WASTE DIVERSION

£ ReFED has many food-waste prevention

resources, including its "Top 27 Solutions

to Food Waste," each of which is based on

a detailed economy analysis: refed.com

£ Zero Waste Chicago offers a variety of

services for small businesses, including

waste assessments, zero waste training

and sourcing sustainable packaging.

zerowastechicago.com/business

£ Illinois Wasted Food Solutions

Task Force: sevengenerationsahead.org/

illinois-wasted-food-action-alliance

£ Illinois Food Scrap Coalition has a

range of resources and information on

composting in Illinois: illinoiscomposts.

org/resource-directory

CHICAGO-AREA FOOD SCRAP AND

COOKING OIL PICKUP SERVICES

£ Illinois Food Scrap Coalition has a

comprehensive list of organic waste

haulers and composters in the state:

illinoiscomposts.org/haulers-processors

£ Collective Resource: residential and

commercial organic materials pickup.

collectiveresource.us

£ Healthy Soil Compost: residential and

commercial organic materials pickup.

healthysoilcompost.com

£ The Urban Canopy: residential and

commercial organic materials pickup.

£ WasteNot Compost: residential and

commercial organic materials pickup.

wastenotcompost.com/

£ Loyola Institute of Environmental

Sustainability Cooking Oil Collection:

used cooking oil pickup and drop-off

services. luc.edu/sustainability/initiatives/

£ Mahoney Environmental: used cooking

oil pickup and recycling service.

52 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

LEARN

SEND YOUR WASTEFUL PACKAGING PACKING

Unlike many other industries, packaging

can be necessary in the food industry for

important safety and consumer health

reasons. In today’s world, most of the

packaging used across industries is made

Unfortunately, according to a report by the

Ellen MacArthur Foundation, "most plastic

packaging is used only once; 95% of the value

of plastic packaging material, worth US $80-

120 billion annually, is lost to the economy."21

Some of this plastic goes to landfills, but much

of it ends up in the polluting the environment,

including important bodies of water.

Some good news is that there are a growing

number of options to purchase compostable

packaging, recyclable packaging, packaging

made from recycled materials, and reusable

packaging. As a business owner, you’ll have to

decide what works for your business.

THE "COMPOSTABLE" TRAP

Part of making this decision is considering

local recycling and composting programs and

infrastructure. Even if you do send a customer

home with compostable packaging, will they

be able to compost it or will they end up

sending it to a landfill anyway?

For instance, the City of Chicago does not

offer municipal composting alongside landfill

and recycling services. This, coupled with

YOUR STUFF

PACKAGING

Photo by Leah Kuhn

54 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

the fact that the majority of "compostable"

packaging can only be properly composted in

an industrial system, means that most people

in Chicago do not have an accessible way to

compost this packaging.

However, surrounding municipalities, including

Evanston, IL and Oak Park, IL, do offer

municipal composting options for residents.

PACKAGING REGULATIONS

It’s also important to keep in mind that your

municipality may have specific regulations

In Chicago, retail stores are affected by the

city’s Checkout Bag Tax, which applies to all

plastic and paper bags given to customers

at the point of checkout.22 In early 2020, an

ordinance that would severely limit the use of

single-use plastic items by restaurants was

introduced in Chicago’s city council.

Your local health department may also have

regulations or guidance regarding reusing

containers and allowing customers to bring

their own containers. Be sure to check your

local regulations before launching a new

packaging initiative.

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

The first step in understanding your business's

potential to use more circular packaging is to

understand what your current packaging is

made of.

£ Complete the Packaging Life Cycle

worksheet on the next page for each of

your most-used pieces of packaging.

£ Once you have described the materials

and post-consumer options available for

your current packaging, opportunities to

find better options may become obvious.

55CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

PACKAGING LIFE CYCLE ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSPAC K AG I N G

L I F E CYC LE This worksheet focuses on the packaging you use to sell, distribute, and/or transport your product(s). (To learn more about incoming/supplier-generated packaging, revisit the packaging section of the Product Inputs worksheet. )

Focus on your three most-used pieces of packaging. For each, answer the following:

What is the piece of packaging made of? If there are multiple components, list them all.

How can it be reused by the customer (e.g., reusing a glass jar for storage)?

Could it be useful to me if it were returned to me by customers? If so, what extra steps would need to happen to reuse it after a return (washing, repairing, etc.)?

NOTE: While compostable packaging exists, many compostable packaging items must be sent to an industrial composting facility in order to be properly composted. The City of Chicago does not currently offer compost pickup services, so businesses would need to sign up for a private compost service. A list of companies in the Chicago area are listed in the toolkit under Additional Resources: Food Recovery & Waste Diversion.

NOTE: Materials typically accepted by Chicago-area recycling haulers include the following:

• #1-5 & #7 plastic bottles and containers (does not include plastic bags or foam products)
• Clean and dry paper or cardboard
• Cartons (milk and juice, etc.)
• Glass jars and bottles
• Aluminum, steel and tin cans
• Foil and pie tins

Is the piece of packaging all one type of material (e.g., a plastic bag or a cardboard box) or a combination of multiple materials (e.g., a cardboard box lined in wax or a glass jar with a metal lid)? Circle one.

What percentage of this piece of packaging is made from recycled materials?

Multiple types of material

One type of material

PACKAGING TYPE:

After use, can this piece of packaging be...

Reused? Recycled? Composted?

What product(s) is the packaging used for? What function does it serve?

SET GOALS

PACKAGING GOALS

Depending on which packaging-related circular

economy practices you want to focus on, you

may want to use one of the following goals as a

starting point. Or, feel free to make your own!

£ % reduction in overall packaging

£ switch from mixed materials to 100%

recyclable or compostable materials

£ % of packaging made from recycled

content

£ % of packaging able to be recycled

by consumers

£ % of packaging able to be composted

by consumers

£ % packaging able to be returned to my

business for reuse or proper composting

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

Action Step

Recommendations

Depending on the goal(s) you set, you may

want to choose from the following action steps

to achieve your goals. Or, feel free to come up

with your own action steps!

£ Reduce packaging if possible. Ask yourself:

Is there a way to reduce packaging? Is there

excess/unnecessary packaging? Could I meet

my packaging needs with less materials?

£ Reuse packaging materials.

£ Redesign packaging to be more

aligned with CE principles. These can

include reclaimed/recycled materials,

alternative materials (such as bio-based

or renewable materials), recyclable, or

compostable materials.

£ Reach out to your current supplier to see

whether they offer the packaging you

might need if you decide to redesign your

packaging to fit one of the above criteria.

£ If any of the above options are available,

do a trial run and see how it goes.

£ If your order is too small to get a

packaging supplier to try something

Remember, the City of Chicago does

not offer municipal composting

services. Since most compostable

packaging won’t break down in

backyard compost systems, this

could be a difficult goal to meet.

Reducing the overall amount of

packaging is always the best option

in a circular economy.

57CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

new, consider teaming up with other

small businesses in your area or industry

to make a bulk order.

£ Educate your customers on the proper

treatment of recyclable or compostable

packaging through in-person reminders,

online communications and labels on

packaging. Recycling or compostable

packaging thrown in the garbage has

negative environmental impacts.

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of packaging

goals, you can take action and make

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to

track your progress.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: PACKAGING

£ In their report "Reuse: Rethinking

Packaging," the Ellen MacArthur

Foundation reported on several

potential models of returnable/reusable

packaging, with corresponding case

studies from real businesses.

ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/

£ Recycle By City has a helpful guide

for household recycling in Chicago:

recyclebycity.com/chicago/guide

Note that your commercial provider may

have different practices/requirements.

CHICAGO-BASED COMPANIES THAT

MAKE COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING

The products offered by these companies

are not compostable in a typical home/

backyard composting setup. They must be

sent to an industrial composting facility to be

composted. Residents and businesses would

need to sign up with a private organic waste

hauler if they want to properly compost these

A list of private haulers can be found in the Food

Recovery & Organic Waste Diversion resources

section on page 52.

£ Onyx Company: onyxcompany.com

£ Elevate Packaging: elevatepackaging.com

58 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

Photo by Scott O'Malley

LEARN

BUILD LOCAL HEALTH FROM THE GROUND UP

In a local circular economy, farms should

manage nutrients in order to regenerate

natural ecosystems through improving soil

health and minimizing nutrient runoff to

waterways. Not only does proper nutrient

management benefit local ecosystems,

but it also benefits crop health and overall

While all food businesses must manage

nutrients in a way, this section is geared

toward nutrient management for farms.

Other types of food businesses should

refer to the Ingredient Sourcing and Food

Recovery & Organic Waste Diversion

sections for information on managing

incoming nutrients — in the form of raw

ingredients — and outgoing nutrients — in

the form of your products and byproducts.

Adding too few nutrients to the soil (or water,

in the case of hydroponic and aquaponic

growing) can be detrimental to plants, but

adding too many or adding the right amount

at the wrong time can cause runoff, leading

to environmental issues like dead zones in

important bodies of water.

A key practice in "circular" nutrient

management for soil-based farms is the

use of compost, preferably from a local

source, as opposed to nutrients from

synthetic fertilizer products.

YOUR STUFF

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

60 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Growing Systems

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA),

which includes indoor hydroponic and

aquaponic growing, is a relatively new industry.

There is currently very little information about

best practices in nutrient management for

water-based indoor growing systems. We

include a few resources at the end of this

section, and we hope that more research will

be done in the near future.

ASSESS

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE?

One way to understand which nutrients, and

in what quantity, your soil might need is to

get your soil tested. If you can pinpoint certain

nutrients that are needed in your unique soil

profile, you will be less likely to over-apply

nutrients on your land.

SET GOALS

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT GOALS

Depending on the state of your soil and local

ecosystem, you should identify one or more

goals to pursue to ensure they are as strong

as possible in the future.

Use the Circular Goal Setting worksheet in

this section to capture your most important

nutrient management goal(s).

Action Step

Recommendations

Depending on the goal(s) you set, you may

want to choose from the following action steps

to achieve your goals. Or, feel free to come up

with your own action steps!

ORGANIC FARMING STRATEGIES

£ Plant cover crops.

£ Use compost, along with other

soil-building strategies in place of

chemical fertilizers.

£ In a hydroponic system, use a nutrient

solution made from organic matter

such as worm compost tea instead of a

synthetic nutrient solution.

£ Explore possibilities to treat and recycle

water used in your hydroponic system.

CULTIVATE SOIL BIODIVERSITY

£ Use diversified crop plantings.

£ Integrate fungi into soil to

encourage mycorrhizae (symbiotic/

beneficial relationships between fungi

and plants that can help with water

and nutrient uptake).

£ Integrate livestock to aerate and

61CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

TAKE ACTION

ACTION PLANS & MEASUREMENT

Now that you have a set of goals for your

nutrition management, you can take

action and make them happen.

Along your journey, take notes and

measurements (where applicable) to

track your progress.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

£ The University of Illinois Extension

maintains a list of soil testing labs in

Illinois. web.extension.illinois.edu/soiltest

£ Learn more about soil health via the

Sustainable Agriculture Research &

Education program (SARE). sare.org/

Learning-Center/What-is-Soil-Health

£ Advocates for Urban Agriculture offers

technical assistance for Chicago-area

urban farms and a comprehensive

resource guide for Chicago-area

auachicago.org/technical-assistance

auachicago.org/resources

£ The Chicago chapter of the Bionutrient

Food Association offers events and

resources geared toward soil health and

sustainable nutrient management.

bionutrient.org/site/chapters/US/chicago-il

£ The University of Arizona's Controlled

Environment Agriculture (CEA) Center

has a wide variety of CEA research and

resources: ceac.arizona.edu

£ An ongoing multi-state project through

the National Institute for Food

and Agriculture is researching how

technology can assist with water and

nutrient management in CEA systems.

Part of the research project looks at how

new applications of technology can help

CEA operations avoid nutrient run-off

and over-use of water resources.

nimss.org/projects/view/mrp/outline/18481

£ The Hydroponics Planet has a few

helpful DIY guides for making organic

nutrient solutions and reusing/recycling

water in a hydroponic system.

thehydroponicsplanet.com/diy-hydroponic-

nutrients-6-cheaper-homemade-recipes

thehydroponicsplanet.com/how-to-recycle-

hydroponic-water-a-beginners-guide

£ The USDA has a wide variety of resources

related to nutrient management, soil

erosion, and organic growing techniques

usda.gov/topics/forestry/agroforestry

£ The USDA also provides technical

assistance for urban farms on topics

related to nutrient management.

nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/

national/landuse/urbanagriculture

62 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

SET GOALS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

CONGRATULATIONS ON SETTING YOUR LOCAL CIRCULAR GOALS!

By now you should have at least one goal with

an accompanying action plan to implement

a local circular economy practice within your

business operations.

If you're not sure what your action plan

is, look back at your Circular Goal Setting

worksheet(s). The prompts on each sheet

should help you determine what your action

plan is and who should be involved in

carrying out the plan.

Now that you know where you’re headed

(and why!), it is important to communicate

this information with Your People and

Look back at what you discovered in those

two sections to help you think about who you

will need to communicate with, what those

people/groups care about, and how best to

communicate with these audiences.

For example, you may want to:

£ Host a training session for employees on

separating organic waste streams.

£ Launch a social media campaign to

let customers know about your new

returnable packaging system.

£ Set up phone calls with your suppliers to

let them know about your new circular

COMMUNICATE & ITERATE Tracking, Adjusting, Communicating and

Iterating on Your Circular Economy Goals

Photo by

Leah Kuhn

65CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

MONITOR YOUR PROGRESS

It’s also important to make sure you track data

regularly to monitor your progress and know

when you’ve met the goal you set. Make sure

you’re including financial data in your tracking

system! This will help you determine whether

implementing certain local circular economy

practices helps you reduce costs, increase

revenue, or otherwise affects your bottom line.

There may also be intangible benefits to

implementing these new initiatives, such

as increased employee welfare, community

engagement and more meaningful customer

interactions. Work with Your People and Your

Networks to come up with a tracking schedule

and system that works for your business and

any project partners.

ADJUSTING YOUR PLAN

If you didn’t meet your goal in the time frame

you anticipated, that’s okay! Go back and

look at your goal setting worksheet to see if

you need to adjust your action plan or utilize

different or additional resources to help you

accomplish your goals.

Don’t forget to communicate your goal,

including any challenges you've experienced,

to Your People and Your Networks. You never

know who might be able to offer resources

CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS

Once you’ve achieved your original goal (and

celebrated this huge accomplishment!), it's

time to communicate your success. Achieving

a circular economy goal is an exciting

opportunity to share your circular economy

success stories with employees, customers,

partners and other members of your network.

Communicating your progress can also be

helpful to other businesses in Your Network

who might also be on their own circular

economy journey.

STAYING AWAY FROM "GREENWASHING"

If you’re communicating your successes via

marketing channels, such as social media

platforms or product labels, it’s important

to communicate accurate information with

consumers without "greenwashing" your

business or your products.

One way to do this is to avoid using general

terms like "green" or "eco-friendly" to describe

your products. If general claims are made,

they should be qualified with clear and

specific information about how the product

benefits the environment. The US Federal Trade

Commission offers more specific guidance on

this topic through their Green Guides.

66 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Lastly, once you’ve achieved your original

goal, you’ll want to update it or set a new one.

This could mean improving a system you’ve

already been working on or focusing on a new

circular economy opportunity. For example, if

you achieved a goal of diverting 50% of your

waste from the landfill through recycling

and composting, you’ll need to decide if it’s

feasible to try for a higher diversion rate or

move onto a different area, like ingredient

sourcing, instead.

67CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

• Additional Circular Economy Resources
• Local Circular Economy Business Practices
• All Worksheets

9 United Nations Environment Programme.

Resource Efficiency: Potential and Economic Implications. resourcepanel.org/sites/default/ files/documents/document/media/resource_ efficiency_report_march_2017_web_res.pdf

10 Accenture. Newsroom: The Circular Economy Could Unlock $4.5 Trillion of Economic Growth, Finds New Book by Accenture. newsroom.accenture. com/news/the-circular-economy-could-unlock- 4-5-trillion-of-economic-growth-finds-new-book- by-accenture.htm

YOUR STUFF

11 United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Guide to Purchasing Green Power. epa.gov/ sites/production/files/2016-01/documents/ purchasing_guide_for_web.pdf

12 Citizens Utility Board. Community Solar in Illinois. citizensutilityboard.org/community- solar-illinois

13 Citizens Utility Board. Electric Competition: A Guide For ComEd Customers. citizensutilityboard. org/electriccompetitioncomed

14 Martinez, Steve et al. United States Department

of Agriculture. Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues. ers.usda.gov/webdocs/ publications/46393/7054_err97_1_.pdf

15 U.S. Green Building Council. LEED BD+C,

Regional materials. usgbc.org/credits/new- construction-schools/v2009/mrc5

16 Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Cities and Circular Economy for Food.

ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/ cities-and-circular-economy-for-food

INTRODUCTION

1 U.S. Small Business Administration Office of

Advocacy. Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business. cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/wp- content/uploads/2019/09/24153946/Frequently- Asked-Questions-Small-Business-2019-1.pdf

2 United States Census Bureau. 2015 Firm and Estab Release Tables. census.gov/programs-surveys/ bds/data/data-tables/2015-firm-and-estab- release-tables.html

3 Kobe, Kathryn, for U.S. Small Business

Administration Office of Advocacy. Small Business GDP: Update 2002-2010. cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/ wp-content/uploads/2019/05/10163006/Small- Business-GDP-Update-2002-2010-Full-Report.pdf

4 United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals.

un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable- consumption-production

5 Kirchherr, Julian & Reike, Denise & Hekkert, M.P..

(2017). Conceptualizing the Circular Economy: An

Analysis of 114 Definitions. SSRN Electronic Journal.

127. 10.2139/ssrn.3037579

6 Ellen MacArthur Foundation. What is a circular economy? ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/ circular-economy/concept

7 ING. Opportunity and disruption: How circular thinking could change US business models.

ingwb.com/media/2692501/ing_us-circular- economy-survey-05-02-2019.pdf

8 World Economic Forum, Ellen MacArthur

Foundation and McKinsey & Company. Towards the Circular Economy: Accelerating the Scale-up Across Global Supply Chains. www3.weforum. org/docs/WEF_ENV_TowardsCircularEconomy_ Report_2014.pdf

WORKS CITED

Photo by

Leah Kuhn

69CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

17 ReFED. Restaurant Food Waste Action Guide, 3.

refed.com/downloads/Restaurant_Guide_ Web.pdf

18 Champions 12.3. The Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste.

champions123.org/the-business-case-for- reducing-food-loss-and-waste/

19 United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Food Recovery Hierarchy. epa.gov/sustainable- management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy

20 ReFED. Action Guide, 35.

21 Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics. ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/ the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the- future-of-plastics

22 City of Chicago. Checkout Bag Tax - UPDATED.

chicago.gov/city/en/depts/fin/provdrs/ tax_division/news/2016/december/ NewCheckoutBagTax.html

CIRCULAR ECONOMY CONCEPT

Learn more about the general concept and the

worldwide Circular Economy movement.

£ The Ellen MacArthur Foundation offers

a wide variety of CE resources, including

podcasts, reports, videos, infographics

and more. ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

£ Start with the Circular Economy

Concept explainer video for a quick

intro to the CE concept.

youtube.com/watch?v=zCRKvDyyHmI

£ IDEO and Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s

Circular Design Guide is meant to

help designers (and others!) get into

a circular mindset with downloadable

worksheets and tools.

circulardesignguide.com

£ Circular Economy Knowledge Map

from Het Groene Brein.

kenniskaarten.hetgroenebrein.nl/en/

kenniskaart/circular-economy

MORE CIRCULAR ECONOMY RESOURCES

70 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

£ The US Chamber of Commerce

Foundation offers a variety of resources

on CE for businesses in the US, including

reports, case studies, webinars, and an

online Circular Economy Toolbox.

uschamberfoundation.org/sustainability-

and-circular-economy/resources-and-

programming

£ The UN Sustainable Development Goals

are not explicitly tied to the CE movement,

but are a great framework for thinking

about the importance of sustainability

topics in our global ecosystem.

sustainabledevelopment.un.org

CIRCULAR ECONOMY METRICS

Learn about more ways to measure the

"circularity" of your business.

£ Circulytics from the Ellen

MacArthur Foundation.

ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/resources/

apply/circulytics-measuring-circularity

£ The UL 3600 Standard measures

and certifies products, facilities

and companies according to specific

circular indicators.

ul.com/resources/circularity-facts-program

CHICAGO-AREA SECONDHAND

RESOURCES

Rent or purchase second-hand products

locally with these organizations.

£ Chicago Tool Library

chicagotoollibrary.org

£ The Waste Shed

£ Rebuilding Exchange

rebuildingexchange.org

£ ReUse Depot

£ Habitat for Humanity ReStores

chicagolandhabitat.org/site/

PageServer?pagename=where_we_build

£ Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse

evanstonrebuildingwarehouse.org

£ Restaurant auctions & estate sales

£ Online platforms that allow people and

organizations to sell or trade used items

include Craigslist (chicago.craigslist.org),

OfferUp (offerup.com/explore/sc/il/chicago),

and Rheaply (rheaply.com)

71CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

TO REGENERATE LOCAL

£ Purchase inputs that can be

locally regenerated (e.g., reused,

recycled, composted).

£ Purchase inputs that are made with

local materials.

£ Purchase inputs that are produced locally.

£ Source renewable energy.

£ Contract local services to divert non-

product outputs from the landfill (through

repair, reuse, recycling, composting, etc.).

£ Extend the life of available resources

£ Reincorporate waste products into

production or end product.

In a local circular economy, a business should:

• Regenerate local ecosystems
• Address the needs and aspirations of local stakeholders
• Increase local human knowledge and capacity around circular economy practices

LOCAL CIRCULAR ECONOMY BUSINESS PRACTICES

This list of best practices was

generated collaboratively in 2019

by Plant Chicago and a group of

advisors with experience in business,

academics, community outreach

and circular economy practices.

72 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

£ Return nutrients to the correct ecosystem.

£ Properly dispose of toxic materials.

£ Maximize energy efficiency.

£ Support biodiverse ecosystems through

sourcing ingredients that are not grown

in monoculture.

£ Build products that are made to last.

£ Design out waste.

£ Create a culture that values reuse.

£ Locate operations close to the resources

and infrastructure that will be used.

£ Accurately measure inputs and outputs

on a regular basis.

£ Identify indicators of success based

on the conditions of the local ecosystem,

instead of financial gains alone.

£ Quantify and communicate non-

financial transactions (e.g., sharing

equipment, reusing/repurposing another

business’s old equipment).

TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS

AND ASPIRATIONS OF LOCAL

£ Actively involve local agents in

defining all benefits the business

can bring to the local economy.

£ Actively form partnerships with

local stakeholders based on

complementary capabilities.

£ Strengthen existing relationships

between local agents.

£ Work with local stakeholders to

shape and sign a community benefits

£ Open-source data using the appropriate

medium & language to reach local

£ Hire & train local talent.

£ Pay a living wage.

£ Hold or attend regular meetings with local

£ Actively involve employees at all levels in

decision-making processes.

£ Allow individual employees to take

ownership over special projects that

could further CE practices.

£ Share resources and information with

other local businesses.

£ Share resources and information with

local agents/stakeholders.

£ Identify indicators of success based on

the needs and aspirations of local agents,

instead of financial gains alone.

£ Cultivate and quantify non-financial

transactions (e.g., sharing equipment).

£ Work with diverse stakeholders.

£ Promote fellow local businesses.

73CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

£ Involve customers and other local agents

in decision making process and/or

business operations.

£ Reinvest profits locally (e.g., through

supporting local artisans, suppliers and/

or educational programs).

£ Promote non-financial successes to

£ Actively solicit regular feedback from

local stakeholders (and incorporate it,

as appropriate).

TO INCREASE LOCAL HUMAN

KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY AROUND

CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRACTICES:

£ Hire & train local talent.

£ Create a workplace culture that values

£ Educate customers about CE practices

(e.g., build excitement about use/reused

products and/or educate on proper ways

to reuse/repurpose/divert materials in a

product after consumption).

£ Actively involve employees at all levels

in decision-making processes.

£ Train employees at all levels on

CE practices (e.g., waste audits,

MEFA studies, equipment repair,

£ Share accurate data on inputs and

outputs with employees, customers and

potential collaborators.

£ Open-source "how-tos" to replicate their

success with implementing a CE practice.

£ Share information with other businesses.

£ Connect employees with professional

development activities related to CE.

74 CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ALL WORKSHEETS Each of the worksheets found throughout the

Local Circular Economy Toolkit are copied here

£ Empathy Map

£ Geographic Range

£ Your Stakeholders

£ Symbiotic Groups

£ Product Inputs

£ Input Deep-Dive

£ Circular Sourcing Pilot

£ Waste Audit Process

£ Waste Audit Data Sheet

£ Waste Audit Data Sheet: Blank

£ Circular Goal Setting x3

75CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

EMPATHY MAP ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSE M PAT H Y M A P

What does someone else experience when they interact with your business? Use this worksheet to understand your customers, employees and other stakeholders better by noticing what they see, hear, say and do. Write down your hypotheses in each area.

WHAT DO THEY SEE?

WHAT DO THEY DO?

WHAT DO THEY SAY?

WHAT DO THEY HEAR?

WHO are you empathizing with? WHAT is their goal?

Customer type, employee, stakeholder, etc. What do they want to achieve when they interact with your business?

GEOGRAPHIC RANGE ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

G E O G R A PH I C R A N G E Where your business activities take place, and the people, places and things those activities affect, define your boundaries. These impacts can be economic, environmental and/or social. How local or global are your boundaries?

DISTANCE: For each of the following rows, circle two choices. First, circle the shortest distance each one travels to or from your business. Second, circle the longest distance one travels.

How far do our...

Employees travel to get to work?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Ingredients/inputs travel to get to our business (including

ingredients & packaging)?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Products travel to reach a customer?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Waste travel to be processed, reused, recycled or disposed of?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

Products travel to be processed, reused, recycled, or disposed of after they’re used?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

EXAMPLE How far do our employees travel to get to work?

same neighborhood

same city

same county

same state

same region

same country

different country

YOUR STAKEHOLDERS ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSYO U R

S TA K E H O LD E R S Your business likely interacts with a wide range of organizations, groups and people. We consider these your stakeholders: people or groups who are affected by your activities or whose activities affect your business. It is important to think about them during this process, because they are also affected by changes to your business.

We’ve listed some groups to start, but you should fill in any missing stakeholders.

1. Cross out ("X") any types of people who are irrelevant or don’t play a role. 2. Circle the stakeholders who are being helped or served by your business. 3. Star the stakeholders who you consider local.

Customers Employees Business Partners

Supplier Supplier Landlord/ Tenant

Neighborhood Organization

Chamber of Commerce

Alderman Investors

SYMBIOTIC GROUPS ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

LOCAL BUSINESS, ORGANIZATION, COMMUNITY GROUP, ETC.

HOW DO YOU CURRENTLY INTERACT?

HOW COULD YOU INTERACT OR BENEFIT FROM EACH OTHER IN THE FUTURE?

S YM B I O T I C G R O U P S Some networks you’re a part of are harder to identify than your current stakeholders. Especially when it comes to your local community, nearby groups can affect each other in subtle ways (and might all be affected by the same people, decisions or pressures). For example, a new business starting in your neighborhood could bring more lunch customers, increase competition or even change the smells in the air!

List some businesses and organizations that coexist with you in your local area. They can include schools, nonprofits, community centers or others. If you need more ideas, check out the listings from your Neighborhood Council or Chamber of Commerce.

PRODUCT INPUTS ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSPR O D U C T

I N P U T S What goes into your products has a big impact on your circular practices. Understanding your inputs/ingredients today can help you find room to improve.

ESTIMATE: Overall, what percentage of your inputs (or ingredients) are...

INGREDIENT LIST: Can you find areas to improve in your current set of inputs/ingredients?

What are your most used ingredients? List them here.

Do you have any "big ticket" or "special order" ingredients? List them here.

Any input/ingredient can be counted multiple times, so the total can be more than 100%

% recaptured?

sourced from material that would otherwise be waste

% produced locally?

within a specific geographic range that you consider local (e.g., 50 or 500 miles)

% produced using CE practices?

sustainable and ethical toward people, animals and resources; these are often indicated by third party certifications

come from your own business?

% come from another business or source?

% Of your recaptured ingredients/inputs, how many...

Who are your current partners/sources? List them here.

INPUT DEEP-DIVE ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

I N P U T D E E P - D I V E Take a closer look at your three most-used inputs/ingredients. For each ingredient, complete the following:

INGREDIENT: Where do you purchase this input/ingredient? (Circle one)

From a vendor or distributor

Where does the product ship from?

Directly from the source

Where is the producer located?

Who is the original producer?

What type of packaging does it come in?

If the packaging has multiple components, list all components.

Circular economy practices include sustainable and ethical methods regarding people, animals and resources. Third-party certifications are often relevant, but the best way to learn this is to talk to your suppliers.

What do you know about how this input/ingredient was produced?

CIRCULAR SOURCING PILOT

ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Set a goal to try this source as a pilot!

One of your goals might be to try a locally grown, locally distributed, or locally recaptured substitution

in a test run over a certain period of time and see how it goes. Make sure to track any cost savings, additional

costs, added revenue, or other impacts of the trial!

C I R C U L A R S O U R C I N G P I LO T If your top three products are not currently from local producers or vendors, do some research on locally grown or produced options. It may be helpful to refer to the Product Inputs worksheet you filled out earlier.

LOCAL ALTERNATIVES: Can you find an ingredient/input that is...

Re-check your options (and your networks) soon.

• A recapturing story: An ice cream maker has a coffee roaster in her local network. When the coffee roaster has unsold, roasted beans that are past peak freshness, the ice cream maker offers to buy them at a discount to make coffee ice cream. The ice cream maker gets a locally sourced (and discounted!) ingredient, and the coffee roaster gets value from the sale instead of discarding the product.

How does this source compare to your current source, based on the following factors?

Describe the ingredient/input source.

Cost: Convenience:

Quality: Circular economy practices:

Available from a local supplier or distributor?

Already used by a local business in your network?

Can you recapture*

WASTE AUDIT PROCESS ASSESS

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

To successfully complete a waste audit, an item-by-item sorting and weighting approach is recommended. The process is summarized in the following series of steps:

1 Think about your current waste management practices & timing.

2 Estimate the types of waste material you generate and create preliminary categories.

3 Determine time period for your audit based on your specific operational practices (for example: 1 day, 1 week or 1 month). Over this time, you should be able to get a good sampling of the waste regularly created by your business.

4 Collect waste over the amount of time you determined in Step 3.

5 For each sample, lay waste out on tarp and sort by material type and category. Take photographs throughout the waste audit.

6 Weigh waste and record data (e.g., material type, category, weight, collection location, sorting date) on a Waste Audit Data Sheet.

7 Analyze data and make recommendations. For example, if there is a high organic waste content, set a goal to work with local composters to collect the material.

WA STE AU DIT PRO CE SS

How long should our waste audit last?

How often is trash collected? How often is recycling collected?

Notes on the types of material you discard, collect and/or recycle (e.g., paper, organic/food, metal, plastic, glass)?

Paper

Plastic

Metals

Organic waste

Glass

Other

WASTE AUDIT DATA SHEET

ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Lay waste out on tarp and sort by material type and category. Weigh waste and record data (material type, category, weight, collection location, sorting date) here.

Collection location: Date: Sheet number:

Estimate what percentage of the waste for each material type can be diverted in the following ways. Your percentages don’t need to add up to 100%

CATEGORY MATERIAL TYPE TOTAL WEIGHT REDUCE DONATE/

EXCHANGE RECYCLE COMPOST

Paper

Mixed Paper % % % %

Cardboard % % % %

Newspaper % % % %

Plastic

Plastic Bottles #1 (PETE) or #2 (HDPE) % % % %

# 3, 4, 5, 7 % % % %

Polystyrene # 6 % % % %

Plastic Film % % % %

Other Plastics % % % %

Organic

Food Waste % % % %

Yard Waste % % % %

Glass Glass Bottles and Jars % % % %

Metal

Aluminum Cans % % % %

Other Metal % % % %

Misc. Fiber, Metals, Residual, etc.

Misc. Items*, Textiles, Electronics % % % %

Other Waste* % % % %

• Describe any misc. items or "other waste" found:

WA STE AU DIT DATA SHE E T

WASTE AUDIT DATA SHEET: BLANK

ASSESS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

WA STE AU DIT DATA SHE E T: B L AN K Lay waste out on tarp and sort by material type and category. Weigh waste and record data (material type, category, weight, collection location, sorting date) here.

Collection location: Date: Sheet number:

Estimate what percentage of the waste for each material type can be diverted in the following ways. Your percentages don’t need to add up to 100%

CATEGORY MATERIAL TYPE TOTAL WEIGHT REDUCE DONATE/

EXCHANGE RECYCLE COMPOST

• Describe any misc. items or "other waste" found:

CIRCULAR GOAL SETTING ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSC I R C U L A R

G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

ASSESS C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C I R C U L A R G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

ASSESS

plantchicago.org/ toolkit

C IRCULAR E CONOMY T OOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESSC I R C U L A R

G OA L S E T T I N G Setting well-defined goals is the first step to embracing circular practices in your business. We recommend using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) to help you write them. Learn more about SMART goals from the University of California at bit.ly/uc-smart-goals.

Date: Circular Economy Topic:

MY GOAL Use the action plans and local circular economy practices in the toolkit as a starting point.

Who are the stakeholders involved (e.g., employees, customers, partners, suppliers, community)?

What is one reason this matters to my business?

What resources are needed to achieve this goal (e.g., stuff, time, people)?

What barriers could get in the way? How could we overcome these?

What action steps can we take to achieve this goal? How will we measure our progress? When will we collect data?

Over the past year, I had the pleasure of leading Plant Chicago’s Circular Economy for Small Business

toolkit project. Like any project in a local circular economy, this toolkit would not have been possible

without the help of Our People and Our Networks! Plant Chicago’s toolkit working group met almost every

month for about one year to help shape the vision, content, look, and feel of the toolkit. Below is a list of

our working group members:

Special thanks to Plant Chicago interns Margaret Knap and Serena Suh, who interviewed and

gathered feedback from the 10 small businesses who tested the first version of our toolkit worksheets.

Margaret and Serena also did research, contributed content and gave valuable feedback on the toolkit.

Rosanna Lloyd of Just Ice, Inc. and Debbie Wood of No Denial Foods were the first two business owners

who agreed to test the toolkit. A huge thanks to them for putting in the time and giving insightful

feedback that helped make the toolkit something that small food business could (and hopefully will!)

use. Thanks also to the rest of the business testers, who asked to remain anonymous. Plant Chicago staff

members Kassie Hinrichsen and Stef Funk spent time editing and proofreading the text, and toolkit

working group member Cassie Slimmer took the content and vision created by the working group

and turned it into the beautiful document — if we do say so ourselves — you see here, using wonderful

photos from Leah Kuhn and Scott O'Malley.

This toolkit was made possible in part through the support of the Robert and Toni Bader Foundation.

Please contact Plant Chicago at info@plantchicago.org with questions, comments or requests for

more information regarding the toolkit.

With gratitude,

LIZ LYON Small Business and Circular Economy Manager at Plant Chicago

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Dr. Weslynne Ashton, PhD Associate Professor of Environmental Management and Sustainability at IIT Stuart School of Business

Phil Fry Plant Chicago Board of Directors

Alexis Greco BallotReady

Margaret Knap Environmental Studies graduate student at University of Illinois- Springfield & Plant Chicago Toolkit Project intern

Dr. Nancy Landrum, PhD Professor of Sustainability Management at Loyola University Chicago

Tara Larrue Plant Chicago Auxiliary Board

Dr. John Mulrow, PhD University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Andre Nogueira, PhD Associate Researcher and Instructor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Shantanu Pai Assistant Researcher at University of Illinois

Jonathan Pereira Executive Director at Plant Chicago

Catherine Sheehy Global Lead of Sustainability Partnerships, Environment & Sustainability at UL

Cassie Slimmer Experience Designer

Tommy Straus Plant Chicago Auxiliary Board & Compost Club Administrator at The Urban Canopy

Serena Suh Research & Project Development intern at Plant Chicago

Eric Weber Circular Economy Project Specialist at Plant Chicago

89CIRCULAR ECONOMY TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS