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Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion: Championing DEI

Diversity, equity, and inclusion impact businesses in a tremendous way, enabling them to access a wider talent pool and opening the door to unique perspectives that enhance the capacity for agility and innovation. Unfortunately, the full picture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace is often overlooked or lacks support. To rectify this, the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) is helping organizations across Canada understand the value of developing and implementing DEI practices and plans. 

We spoke with Anne-Marie Pham, CEO of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, about how this national charitable organization is supporting workplaces through every step of their DEI journey. 

Tell us about the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion’s mission.

Founded in 2013, the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion is a national charitable organization that helps businesses and organizations understand the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). We aim to build a more inclusive Canada for all, and we do this by offering learning, research, and knowledge solutions to our Employer Partners and DEI practitioners. We elevate the DEI profession through our certification program, and we partner with like-minded organizations to educate the workplace, as well as youth in schools and communities.

We are a workplace that aims to model the behaviours we want to see developed in our partners and clients. We are focused on our mission with a passion that continues to make a difference in the lives of working Canadians, and we endeavour to make an impact where it matters. 

What inspired your founder to start the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion?

Twenty twenty-three is our 10-year anniversary. CCDI was founded by Michael Bach at a time when there was no national umbrella organization that existed to support workplaces to be more equitable and inclusive on a wide spectrum of diversity dimensions. Organizations existed to support specific aspects such as gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, etc., but there was no organization that was intentionally pan-diversity. CCDI met that gap and slowly developed employer partnerships across Canada. 

We listened to the needs of workplaces and developed a solid and ever-evolving suite of learning offerings, case studies, reports, toolkits, podcasts, blogs, advice, and support to employers so we can walk alongside them on their DEI journey and to be, we hope, their trusted advisor.

What were some of the challenges CCDI’s founders encountered? 

Any new organization needs time to build its profile and visibility and, certainly, that was the case for us as well. Building this organization from scratch meant we needed to create a lot of new connections and host many consultations with employers so we could develop the types of resources and services that were most relevant to them. 

It took time to build that critical mass of Employer Partners to get us to a strong enough foundation upon which we could build our organization. That is why we are so thankful to our Founding Employer Partners who believed in the vision and took the risk to join us from the very beginning of our journey.

What do you consider CCDI’s biggest success?

If I were to reflect on the journey, our biggest success has been our ability to pivot and stay relevant and resilient in times of hardship and transition. We almost doubled our Employer Partner base in 2021–2022, and today we have over 730 Employer Partners across Canada, from tiny organizations to large multinational corporations, in all industries and sectors. 

Workplaces continue to reach out to us to get connected, find resources and materials, and seek practical advice to help them advance on their DEI journey. This is encouraging to us! It makes us feel that our hard work and efforts to challenge ourselves and pivot where needed are making an impact.

What makes CCDI unique?

Our uniqueness lies in our ability to address a wide spectrum of topics on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We have a diverse team of professionals with lived experiences who can provide advice in many areas, such as race, religion, disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Where we don’t have internal expertise, we partner with great organizations and associates who bring their unique expertise and perspectives to best support our clients.

What also makes us unique and brings tremendous value is our focus on convening employers and amplifying the voices of DEI champions and practitioners who are doing the hard work within their organizations. We find that their stories and experiences bring grounded, real, and practical applications to our Employer Partners and our listeners.  

How do you feel CCDI makes the world better?

In addition to making workplaces across Canada more ready and courageous to start or strengthen their DEI journey, we also have two other programs that help to make the world better in our view. The first is the Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional (CCIP) designation, Canada’s only certification program designed to assess an individual’s existing knowledge or skills against a set of pre-defined competencies. This helps to elevate the profile of DEI practitioners and helps employers hire qualified and experienced individuals in DEI-related functions.

The second is the See Different program, which focuses on empowering students to make meaningful change in their communities. We offer learning certificate programs where students explore concepts of identity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as power and privilege; learn about Canada’s history of systemic racism and discrimination; and engage in conversations to support their ability to enact change in their own communities and schools. We are excited to be able to support the next generation of workplace and community leaders!

How would the world be better off if it were more diverse, equitable, and inclusive? 

I often imagine a world where there is no hate, no bullying, no covering of one’s authentic self, and there’s no need to feel anxious because you can be “outed” — where everyone has the same opportunity to succeed because systemic barriers have been identified and removed.

This is a world where we have solutions for everyone to thrive, not in spite of their differences but because of their differences and all the wonderful things they bring to our team, our clients, and our organization. This is a world where we feel hope; we know we are not perfect, but we are progressing in the right direction!

Tell us about CCDI’s goals.

We have ambitious goals for the next few years, which were developed in consultation with our clients, our team, and our board. We are hoping to build our profile to new markets in Canada in order to tell our story — not only the story of our people, but also the story of our employers, schools, and communities where we have partners. We also plan to do more research to advance knowledge on the most pressing DEI trends and concerns that are being felt in the workplace or that we anticipate will become emerging areas we will need to address. 

We will also strengthen our team, which has been working very hard, by ensuring they are well-supported and are growing with us. And, like many organizations, we will be spending some resources to invest in our infrastructure and technology. There is much to be done, but we are ready for this challenge!

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

This year, we have launched a partnership with the UN Global Compact Network Canada (GCNC) to support the Government of Canada’s 50 – 30 Challenge, which asks organizations to aspire to two goals: gender parity (50% women and/or non-binary people) on Canadian boards and/or in senior management; and significant representation (at least 30%) on Canadian boards and/or senior management of members of other equity-deserving groups. We are working with UN GCNC, as their learning partner, delivering content on a variety of topics to accomplish these goals.

I am also excited to share that, in February 2023, CCDI was a founding member of the new Global Inclusion & Diversity Alliance (GIDA). GIDA partners are not-for-profit organizations working across the spectrum of diversity dimensions and are specifically focused on workplace inclusion. We come together to partner and collaborate, to learn from each other how to do DEI better, and to share thought leadership across our jurisdictions. We do this for the benefit of our respective membership networks and to make workplaces all over the world more equitable.

What do you most want people to know about CCDI?

Our bilingual website www.ccdi.ca is filled with information, resources, reports, and details about upcoming webinars and events. Take a moment to browse through and learn more. You can also follow us on our social media platforms via @ccdisocial. 

How can people help or contribute to CCDI’s mission?

Please reach out to us if you are looking for support on your organizational DEI journey, if you’re looking for a speaker, if you’d like to learn more about the CCIP professional designation, if you’d like youth in your community to get connected to a DEI learning network, or if you have a story to tell that we should amplify. You can reach out to us via our website.

Additionally, as a national charity, we always appreciate any donations to help us fulfill our charitable mandate. Donations can be made on our website.

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Circular Economy Leadership Canada: Advancing Innovation

From implementing zero-emission transportation to banning single-use plastics, Canada is at the forefront of environmentally-conscious initiatives. Yet, even with advocates and industry leaders paving the way, there is still a knowledge gap about a game-changing model of production and consumption: the circular economy. 

The Circular Economy Leadership Canada (CELC) is working to bridge this awareness gap to advance the circular economy in Canada. We spoke with Paul Shorthouse, Managing Director of CELC, about being a “network of networks” for circular economy innovation.

Tell us about Circular Economy Leadership Canada’s mission.

Circular Economy Leadership Canada (CELC) is uniquely positioned as a multi-sectoral, national organization dedicated to advancing the circular economy in Canada. CELC is working to connect Canada’s circular economy community and serves as a bridge to similar networks around the world. We provide thought leadership, technical expertise, and collaborative platforms for accelerating systems change and the transition to a low-carbon, circular economy in Canada.

What inspired you/your founders to start your organization?

The Circular Economy Leadership Canada initiative is a project of The Natural Step Canada, a non-profit charity based in Ontario focused on creating a more sustainable future through effective systems change and social innovation. CELC was officially launched in 2018 at the G7 Oceans Partnership Summit in Halifax and was originally made up of a small number of corporate leaders, non-profit think tanks, and academic researchers. This group was part of an earlier Ontario-based Circular Economy Lab that was largely focused on eliminating plastic packaging waste and pollution. 

What were some of the challenges you/your founders encountered?

The key issues we’ve faced include the low level of awareness among businesses, governments, and the public in terms of the circular economy and its benefits for Canada, as well as the fragmented and siloed nature of our supply chains. These are two areas we are working to address: raising awareness about what the circular economy is and its benefits and acting as a cross-sector platform to create systems change.

What do you consider to be Circular Economy Leadership Canada’s biggest success?

One of our greatest successes was the launch of the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) in January 2021. Circular Economy Leadership Canada acted as an incubator to form and launch this network that now consists of more than 90 key stakeholders across the entire value chain in Canada, focused on creating a circular economy for plastics packaging in the country, including its roadmap to 2025.

What makes your organization unique?

We currently have more than 45 partners across Canada coming from all sectors and regions, as well as a handful of international partners, with CELC acting as a “network of networks.” CELC is dedicated to bringing value to our partners by filling existing gaps in the marketplace and supporting efforts to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in Canada. 

We do this by serving as a national hub that connects people to the knowledge, networks, and opportunities to help achieve circular innovation; fostering constructive dialogue between government and industry on critical issues where collaboration is key to the system transition required to achieving circularity; making the business case for new approaches by shining a light on corporate leadership and circular innovation; championing a national circular economy strategy and a coordinated innovation ecosystem; and accelerating circular economy transitions in key sectors through our Circular Economy Solutions Series, focused on taking advantage of opportunities and tackling the barriers.

How do you feel your organization makes the world better?

We’re hyper-focused on the circular economy which addresses our planet’s triple environmental crises: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The circular economy model leverages actionable business strategies to eliminate waste and pollution from our economy, reduce the demand on our ecosystems and natural resources by keeping materials and resources in use for as long as possible, and regenerate nature in the process. 

Tell us about Circular Economy Leadership Canada’s goals.

Our goal is to advance a circular economy in Canada across all sectors and supply chains, enhancing innovation and improving the competitiveness of Canada’s economy over the long term.

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

Circular Economy Leadership Canada’s work is carried out through our Solutions Series work streams where we have a number of projects underway in areas that include plastics, food systems, metals and minerals, construction and built environment, and finance. You can find more at circulareconomyleaders.ca/solutions-series/ 

As one example, CELC has recently launched a project in collaboration with BOMA Canada, Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), CSA Group, and others from the real estate sector exploring the use of circular strategies to extend the life of existing buildings – including innovative leasing and renovation – and, in turn, preserve the embodied carbon found within buildings. 

What do you most want people to know about your organization?

To advance the circular economy in Canada, we must work together in partnership to create the systems change we need. Through our collaborative approach and CELC’s platform for convening, we can accelerate the opportunities and tackle the barriers together.

How can people help or contribute to Circular Economy Leadership Canada’s mission?

We welcome organizations to join our network as Circular Economy Leadership Canada Partners, investing in the work streams we have underway, establishing the business case for action, and helping to communicate the benefits and advantages for Canada in transitioning to a more circular economy.

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Textile Lab for Circularity: Weaving a Circular Solution

No shirts, no shoes, no service. Clothing is essential for survival and navigating modern society; however, the shirts on our back have also evolved to be emblems of our status and reflect our unique personalities — all great qualities until it’s time to retire that novelty souvenir t-shirt we wore once as a joke. 

The Textile Lab for Circularity is fighting fashion and textile waste in Canada through extensive research and collaboration with industry players. We spoke with Megan Bourassa, Impact Strategist & Project Manager, to learn more about the Textile Lab for Circularity’s fashion-focused initiatives in the circular economy space.

Networking at the first in-person social innovation lab on textile waste, in 2017.

Tell us about Textile Lab for Circularity’s mission.

The Textile Lab for Circularity is a social innovation lab connecting unlikely allies across Western Canada to divert fashion and textile waste from landfills and move the industry toward circularity. We envision a thriving circular textiles economy in British Columbia by 2031. 

We believe that collaboration is key to making the circular economy a reality, and we strive to build the spaces for strategic cross-sector connections and industry clusters to form and flourish. 

What inspired you/your founders to start your organization?

While facilitating a social innovation lab for the hospitality industry in 2015, our founder Sara Blenkhorn witnessed the severity of the textile waste problem. She saw that textile waste resulted from almost every stage of the product life cycle, with no comprehensive, scalable solutions to divert this waste from the landfill. Folks working on solutions were isolated from each other, and she saw an opportunity to bring them together to make more progress, faster. 

She launched the first textile-focused lab through her consulting firm Leverage Lab. This two-year interactive lab program resulted in a whitepaper that mapped the flows of textile waste in Metro Vancouver and identified leverage points to take action. 

The first lab identified that in Metro Vancouver alone, upwards of 22,000 tonnes of textiles make their way to landfills annually. We also know that approximately 95% of this landfill waste is repairable, reusable, or recyclable, showing a large opportunity for the circular economy. This opportunity is what inspired Sara to start the Textile Lab for Circularity. 

What were some of the challenges you/your founders encountered?

There are a few challenges we’ve encountered and continue working on, including pivoting from in-person programming to 100% online due to the pandemic; pivoting to the changing needs of the industry during this turbulent time, thus redesigning our offerings to work for companies that had pivoted away from long-term climate and waste prevention strategies to short-term pandemic mitigation; and minimizing Textile Lab for Circularity added-value activities to extend the lifetime of our initial funding save money. 

As well, there are some challenges we’re encountering on an ongoing basis, including juggling the back and forth between the industry needing regulation and legislators waiting for the industry to take the lead. 

And more recently, we have seen an emerging need in our networks for reshoring textile/fashion production due to unstable supply chains. However,  there are gaps in the workforce and infrastructure to make that a reality at the moment.

What do you consider to be Textile Lab for Circularity’s biggest success?

Our biggest success since our official formation in 2019 is our massive pivot that led to producing our now-annual Building Your Circular Strategy Workshop! 

From 2017-19 we partnered with Vancity, The City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, and the Vancouver Economic Commission to convene 25 businesses and organizations from textiles-related sectors to collaborate on the issue of regional textile waste. We mapped the regional textile system through participant and network interviews and secondary data sources, and we produced the whitepaper, Unravelling the Problem of Apparel Waste in the Greater Vancouver Area. This study revealed a systems map of apparel waste flows in the Lower Mainland, establishing critical baseline data. This foundation positions us well to identify and act on opportunities that disrupt the conventional take-make-waste process.

The Textile Lab for Circularity was formed as a result of this whitepaper and its five leverage points for systemic change: increasing industry collaboration, investing in circular fibre development, educating consumers, levelling the playing field, and, ultimately, making circular fashion business models mainstream.

We designed and began marketing a Phase 2 lab in the winter of 2020 to take serious collaborative action on the leverage points that the whitepaper identified; however, COVID-19 disrupted this plan. Unfettered, we performed an in-depth analysis of the leverage points and the emergent needs of the industry. We determined that our lab model could be parsed out into two phases: an educational workshop to level the playing field and tangible pilot projects down the line. 

As a result, we successfully recruited and guided nine organizations through our new educational program and are now gearing up for a second cohort. 

What makes Textile Lab for Circularity unique?

We act like mycelium around the complex systemic issues of textile waste, transmitting knowledge, connections, and resources between key nodes when they wouldn’t otherwise relate. We believe that by breaking down silos in this highly-competitive industry and open sourcing key research and resources, we can move the whole industry further, faster. 

We also employ the science-based Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, grounding our programs in a holistic methodology that accounts for the long-term well-being of both people and planet. This helps us guide the industry toward addressing the root problems, rather than implementing band-aid reactionary strategies. 

The first cohort of the Textile Lab for Circularity’s virtual Building Your Circular Strategy program, launched in October 2021.

How do you feel your organization makes the world better?

Our organization is composed of sustainability experts with deep experience in education and facilitation. We make the world better by championing collaboration in an increasingly competitive world. By creating safe spaces for exploration, open conversation, and sandboxes for play, we are able to spark ideas and partnerships otherwise inaccessible. 

We also aim to facilitate and normalize the open sourcing of key research to move the industry forward together.

Tell us about Textile Lab for Circularity’s goals.

As mentioned, we aim to create a thriving circular apparel industry in British Columbia by 2031. To get there, we are focused on taking action on these five leverage points designed to catalyze systemic change: 1) increase industry collaboration in the collection, sorting, recycling, and design for the environment; 2) invest in circular fibres development, recycling technology, and collection infrastructure; 3) educate consumers, designers, and brands about their role in a zero-waste fashion future; 4) set a level playing field that supports the reduction of apparel waste; and 5) make circular fashion business models mainstream. 

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

One project we’d like to share is our upcoming landmark research project, the Roadmap to Textile Recycling in Western Canada. This roadmap is a cross-sector study engaging folks from government, industry, non-profit, academia, and funding to forge a path through the complex ins and outs of making scalable textile recycling in Western Canada a reality. 

The second initiative we’d like to share is gearing up for the second cohort of our one-of-a-kind Building Your Circular Strategy program. This four-session training is designed to spark circular strategies for long-term resilience in BC’s fashion and textile organizations. Together, we help companies understand their current system, set a circular mission, and develop a custom plan for embedding circularity into their business model. Teams will leave with their own internal Circular Strategy and the confidence to implement and communicate it internally and externally.

What do you most want people to know about your organization?

We truly believe that the future is collaborative. Together, we have the know-how, the resources, and the passion to make the apparel industry circular. As a non-profit organization, we are not driven by money but rather by the quality of the connections we facilitate. We measure our success on impact — all the way from individual conversations to systemic shifts.  

How can people help or contribute to Textile Lab for Circularity’s mission?

Non-profit, laser-focused Social Innovation Labs like ours are a key ingredient in catalyzing and accelerating innovation. We realize this is still a new concept to many, so please join us, support us, and amplify our work!

Some ways to get involved is to join or sponsor one of our programs, subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on social media at @textilelabforcircularity.

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Project Learning Tree Canada: Planting Conservation Literacy

These days, being called a tree hugger is aspirational, not disparaging. To protect our planet for generations to come, we need so-called tree huggers to save our forests to capture CO2 and foster biodiversity. But when it comes to conservation, we need to make sure we’re not missing the forest for the trees.

Project Learning Tree (PLT) has been a leading environmental education program for nearly 50 years. We spoke with Jessica Kaknevicius, Vice President of Education, about PLT’s educational and career-driven resources, as well as their diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives. 

A GIS analyst performing fieldwork in Frederick Arm, BC.

Tell us about Project Learning Tree’s mission.

Project Learning Tree is committed to advancing forest literacy and environmental education. In 2018, we launched our career pathways programming, and initially focused on providing valuable work experiences for young professionals. 

We’re an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) which is dedicated to promoting sustainability through forest-focused collaborations. SFI is an independent, non-profit organization that collaborates with its diverse network to provide solutions to local and global sustainability challenges. We accomplish our work through four pillars — standards, conservation, community, and education — to achieve our vision of a world that values and benefits from sustainably-managed forests.

What inspired you/your founders to start your organization?

Project Learning Tree was launched in the US in the mid-1970s with the goal of developing an effective environmental education program. In 2017, SFI took on PLT and expanded it to Canada, with the goal of increasing its impact on educators and youth and exploring the opportunities to grow green career paths.  

Today, Project Learning Tree is one of the most widely used preK-12 environmental education programs in the United States and abroad, and it has expanded its programs and resources to include career pathways and forest literacy. PLT provides educators, parents, and community leaders with peer-reviewed, award-winning curriculum support materials to engage students in learning about the environment. It promotes forest literacy so that people acquire the tools and knowledge they need to keep our forests sustainable over the long term while continuing to benefit from them. Project Learning Tree also helps build a diverse and resilient forest and conservation workforce through our skills development resources, mentorship programs, and high-value work experiences.

What were some of the challenges you/your founders encountered?

Like many organizations, we had to pivot several of our programs because of COVID-19. Prior to this, most of our programs and content were delivered in person. In fact, our first PLT Green Mentor cohort launched right at the beginning of the pandemic, and we had to adapt to deliver it completely virtually. 

We recognize the benefit of having an in-person, local connection to make it relevant for communities on the ground. However, we quickly realized the benefits of going virtual and using webinars and online resources. With virtual programs, we can reach more people, no matter their location.

Students from Hardy School in Washington, DC learn how to monitor a forest’s condition.

What do you consider to be Project Learning Tree’s biggest success?

Our scale and reach of the work we have achieved.

Since 1976, Project Learning Tree has reached 145 million students and trained 765,000 educators to help students learn how to think, not what to think about complex environmental issues. Then, as previously mentioned, we launched our career pathways programming in 2018, which initially focused on providing valuable work experiences for young professionals. Now, we’ve supported over 400 employers and helped place over 6,000 young adults into green jobs including over 900 Indigenous youth from more than 100 different Indigenous communities in Canada.

What makes Project Learning Tree unique?

Project Learning Tree is able to have a significant impact because of the scale and reach of our diverse network. Be it through SFI-certified organizations, educators, Indigenous communities, youth, conservation organizations, and more, we are able to reach a variety of audiences and find collaboration opportunities to co-create positive change and advance nature-based solutions.

How do you feel your organization makes the world better?

We believe that sustainably-managed forests are critical to our collective future. From climate change to water quality to biodiversity, well-managed forests provide viable solutions to many of the world’s most important sustainability challenges. We advance sustainability and nature-based solutions through forest-focused collaborations, specifically promoting forest literacy. 

As well, we provide educators, parents, and community leaders with educational resources to help develop students’ awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of the environment; build their skills and ability to make informed decisions; and encourage them to take personal responsibility for sustaining the environment and our quality of life that depends on it. 

Through these resources, we engage diverse youth in  learning about exciting and rewarding green career pathways that support nature-based solutions for a more sustainable planet. As they get older and begin considering possible jobs, they can explore our skills development resources, grow their network with our mentorship programs, and potentially land their first work experience.

Mentees and mentors posing for a group photo during the 2022 SFI/PLT Annual Conference.

Tell us about Project Learning Tree‘s goals.

Project Learning Tree’s goal is to advance environmental literacy, stewardship, and career pathways using trees and forests as windows to the world.

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

SFI and PLT are working in partnership with Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) to ensure greater opportunities for rewarding careers in the forest and conservation sector for young Black Americans. This will include skills training resources and a mentorship program, as well as Black Faces in Green Spaces: The Journeys of Black Professionals in Green Careers, which tells the stories of Black Americans who have taken this career path and have advice and resources to share. You can learn more here and sign up to be the first to hear about the guide’s release!

What do you most want people to know about your organization?

Project Learning Tree aims to develop a lifetime of learning to create a forest-literate society. It’s critical that we learn and value the benefits that sustainably-managed forests have on the environment, our communities, and the economy. Educators, parents, and community leaders can use PLT resources to build forest literacy while engaging students and growing the next generation of environmental stewards. Plus, as youth grow up, they may be inspired to pursue a green career pathway and will have the resources and support to get there.

Project Learning Tree’s lifetime of learning helps grow future forest and conservation leaders and ensures our forests are kept sustainable over the long term.

Activity sheets and supplies needed to conduct Project Learning Tree’s monitoring forest condition worksheets.

How can people help or contribute to Project Learning Tree’s mission?

Get involved with one of our programs! Learn more about Project Learning Tree in your own region: attend a PLT training session for educators, hire a green jobs youth, become a mentor or encourage a young professional to sign up to become a mentee, and/or access great resources to get your family and friends outdoors. We also accept donations to Canadian and US programs.

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Purpose-Driven Marketing Tips

Why and How Circular Economy Companies in Canada Should Use Storytelling

In a world where consumption rules and waste is taking over, your organization is ready to help save the day.

As a circular economy organization, you already know the benefits of reusing, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, repurposing, or recycling products. But the journey to rally others on your quest for impact may seem incredibly lonely.  

Bam! Suddenly, a conveniently-timed character has entered the scene to help guide your marketing and offer a beacon of clarity to your communications. Their name is storytelling. 

Setting and achieving your impact goals can be daunting given that the circular economy hasn’t entered the mainstream yet. And if getting attention is hard enough, imagine sustaining that attention to explain something that most people haven’t even really heard of. 

As an impact-led enterprise, connecting with your audience at a deeper level is crucial. Storytelling will help you better engage, inspire, and lead your audience on the long journey to the day when the circular economy just becomes “the economy.” 

To avoid getting lost in the plot and deliver compelling communications leading up to the Zero Waste Conference, here’s how to effectively use storytelling to reach your impact goals. (Cue the cliffhanger.) 

Know Your Target Market Audience(s)

Before you can begin using storytelling as a marketing tool, you first need to break down your audiences into primary and secondary groups through segmentation. 

According to Bizfluent, “the primary target market is the group of consumers a business covets the most or feels is most likely to be the purchaser of its product or service.” As you can imagine, secondary audiences are those that fall closely after primary in terms of desirability. 

It’s important that you get specific with your various audiences to understand who will have the most impact, and, therefore, who you should be reaching and creating resonance with. Depending on what sector you’re in within the circular economy/zero waste space, as well as your impact goals, there may be unique audiences you’ll want to target.

Here are a few sector-specific audiences:

Public/Government: Legislators, personnel, general public.

For-profit: Since the circular economy is new in the mainstream, audiences may need to get created; however, they may be cohorts of current “green” consumers. 

Non-profit: Employees (often unpaid volunteers), donors, board members, etc. 

Determine Your Current Challenges

Before you can devise a story to share through your marketing channels, ask yourself: What are the current challenges/problems your organization is facing that marketing/communications could help overcome? 

Knowing these challenges can help you focus on a story (or stories) that would appeal to your target audience and cause them to perform a desired action. 

For example, if you’re a non-profit in need of volunteers, perhaps you could highlight one of your current volunteers, including why they started volunteering, what they like about volunteering, and how volunteering at your organization makes an impact on the planet. Individuals who connect with the “characters” in the story are more likely to consider contributing to your organization, including possibly volunteering.

While most circular economy organizations may currently face the common issue of educating stakeholders about the zero waste space and the circular economy, there may be challenges specific to your organization and/or sector that are worth focusing on in more detail. 

Sector-specific challenges:

Public/Government: Getting funding and legislation passed and/or buy-in from stakeholders.

For-profit: Audience growth, lead generation, and/or sales. 

Non-profits: Appealing to board members, getting donations, finding volunteers, etc. 

There may also be challenges you’re facing with your marketing efforts. Luckily, we offer tips on how to identify and overcome them. 

Use Storytelling to Reach Your Impact Goals

Now that you know your audience and have identified your current challenges, you’re ready for the inciting incident: telling your story(ies). 

While it may seem daunting, humans have been telling stories for thousands of years; it’s sort of our thing. 

Storytelling allows you to activate the imagination of your audience, which can help you stand out from the noise, establish a deep connection, and ultimately get their buy-in.

Perhaps you didn’t realize that you were already doing it by leading with your values, but marketing relies heavily on telling stories — in this case, your story. 

In order to do this effectively, you need to take this “novel” concept of the circular economy — something, of course, Indigenous people have been doing for centuries — and package it in a way that is accessible and familiar.  

Here are some tips for effective storytelling:

  • Establish a brand voice if you don’t have one
  • Choose a clear, concise message
  • Have a clear structure; a beginning, middle, and end is a good place to start
  • Include personal anecdotes when appropriate
  • Use one of seven familiar story archetypes, such as Overcoming the Monster or The Quest 
  • Look to others for inspiration. For example, check out Warby Parker’s Our Story page 

By applying these tips, you can more effectively share your brand vision to achieve your impact goals, thus helping the circular economy at large — and the world, one story at a time. 

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At Sparx, our mission is to create content to make the world better.

If you’re in the business of making the world better too and need help creating great content, digitally delighting your customers, marketing your business, or you simply have marketing-related questions, the experts at Sparx Publishing Group are always available to chat. You can reach us here.

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A Full Circle Movement: Make The World Better Magazine Issue 3 Sneak Peek

You care about your organization’s waste footprint. Perhaps you’ve reduced packaging, offered transit passes to employees, or implemented initiatives to eliminate take-out coffee cups. But what’s even better than reducing waste? Having zero waste in the first place. 

Individuals and organizations are “circling” back on the circular economy, a game-changing model of production and consumption that is newly entering the mainstream – and Sparx has curated some of these incredible stories to spark inspiration.  

As a purpose-driven marketing agency, everything we do is driven by our mission to make the world better. That’s why we created Make The World Better Magazine: to start conversations and ignite positive change. 

Make the World Better Magazine: A Publication to Amplify Good

Make the World Better (MTWB) Magazine amplifies good by sharing the stories of individuals and organizations making impactful differences in their communities. 

In our first issue of MTWB Magazine, we showcased a wide range of amazing organizations dedicated to “better.” And in our second issue, we looked at how regenerative agriculture can improve the world. 

Now, in our third issue, we’ve set our focus on the circular economy and will be featuring circular economy organizations in Canada and worldwide who are running circles around those slow to adapt. 

Sneak Peek of the Circular Economy Issue of Make The World Better Magazine

In our upcoming issue of Make the World Better Magazine, we take a look at 10 circular economy organizations and share their incredible initiatives to help locals eat more sustainably, unite changemakers, cultivate the next generation of conservationists, reduce and reuse waste, and accelerate Canada’s transition to a circular economy:

Be the First to Access Make The World Better Magazine: the Circular Economy Issue

The third issue of Make the World Better Magazine is coming soon! We can hardly wait to share it with you. In the meantime, you can learn more about impact-driven efforts by reading our previous issues. And if the game-changing circular economy won’t stop circling your thoughts, you can subscribe to get notifications to be updated when the next MTWB magazine is published:

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Check out the previous issues of Make The World Better magazine: