Latin America has a resource-intensive economy with a vigorous social innovation culture. By establishing a presence here, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is able to explore new aspects of a transition to a circular economy, including the perspective from low- and middle-income countries.
The principles behind a circular economy are not entirely new in Latin America, and have begun to appear in pockets of activity across the continent.
With a vibrant social entrepreneurship scene and abundant natural resources on which its economy is heavily reliant, Latin America offers an interesting angle for circularity.
Luisa Santiago - Ellen MacArthur Foundation Brazil Lead
Mobilising new approaches to accelerate the transition to a circular economy for...
ViewAn international network of institutions which develop pioneering and innovative...
ViewWe offer thought leadership and knowledge exchange for pioneering cities embeddi...
ViewThe DIF is an online platform which aims to shift mindsets and inspire action to...
View
As a major resource exporter, Latin America has an important role in the global transition to a circular economy. Unique regional elements, such as an incomparable biodiversity, rich natural reserves and widespread culture of social innovation, also suggest that Latin America could benefit greatly from a circular development path. Shifting towards a regenerative approach could help the region harness these strengths and realise its remarkable economic potential, while promoting distributed and inclusive growth in a region with unparalleled urbanisation rates and critical inequalities. Pockets of circular innovation and activity already exist across the region and a system-wide, multistakeholder approach will be essential to bring them to scale. The Foundation is already working with local leaders and innovators across business, government and academia in order to accelerate this shift.
Members of the CE100 network in Brazil collaborated with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation on an exploratory paper that...
As a pioneer university, USP joins a small group of international higher education institutions that are developing...
What do we mean by low to middle income economies or emerging markets? Why has there been so little research on...
