The Circular Economy Leadership Council  (CELC) of Canada was launched at the Halifax meetings of G7 Environment, Energy and Ocean ministers on September 20, when the focus was on plastic pollution of our oceans.  The CELC is a Canada-wide, non- profit coalition which includes corporate and NGO leaders, think tanks, and academics,  with a dual goal “to eliminate waste and accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions from the Canadian economy.”  Their immediate objective is to develop and publish a Circular Economy Roadmap which will serve as a national strategy document. More details appear in their  bilingual brochure .

Co-chairs of the coalition are David Hughes, President and CEO of Natural Step Canada, and John D. Coyne, Vice-President and General Counsel of Unilever Canada.  Founding members are listed as: Unilever Canada • IKEA Canada • Loblaw Companies Limited • Walmart Canada • NEI Investments LP • International Institute for Sustainable Development • National Zero Waste Council     • Smart Prosperity Institute • The Natural Step Canada, and  • Institut EDDEC – Environment, sustainable development and the circular economy  in Quebec.  The CELC also declares strong working relationships with two well-established  Circular Economy organizations –  the Ellen MacArthur Foundation  based  in the U.K., and Sitra in Finland, which organized the first World Circular Economy Forum in Helsinki in June 2017,  with 1,600 participants from  100 countries.  The 2nd World Circular Economy Forum will take place in Yokohama, Japan on 22-24 October 2018.