Circular, the leading sustainable sourcing platform, secured $10.5 million to expand its massive database of post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials and its accompanying platform that streamlines buying and selling of PCR materials.
WHO: Launched in 2022, Circular is the leading sustainable sourcing platform, simplifying buying and selling of post-consumer recycled materials through the world’s largest curated technical database. On a mission to power and expedite the industrial evolution to sustainable materials, they put information in the hands of manufacturers and suppliers to efficiently find the material they need.
Circular provides access to over 9,000 global suppliers with over 50,000 PCR technical records codified using artificial intelligence (AI), including details such as price, specs, and volume of materials, and supplier certifications. Its extensive database brings visibility and transparency to an—until now—disjointed, opaque, and illiquid industry. Circular handles the searching, sourcing, vetting, and onboarding process for its customers, with results in days compared to months or even years, using analog methods.
WHY: Closing a critical gap in the circular economy, the company will use the funding to grow the team, expand to additional sustainable materials, continue to add more companies and suppliers, and deepen the scale and functionality of its platform.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “Many of the global Fortune 500 have set aggressive targets to use up to 50% recycled resin in the coming 3-5 years,” said Eclipse Partner Aidan Madigan-Curtis. “Globally, we manufacture north of 400 million tons of plastic goods per year, which will require not only a mind-bending amount of PCR to source, but a complete overhaul of the supply chains and manufacturing processes used to procure plastic in order to meet these targets. In a world where procurement and product teams are expected to reimagine their supply chains almost overnight, Circular is the only single-pane-of-glass solution that can streamline the vendor identification, supplier qualification, specification standardization, quality assurance, and logistics to create consistency of supply, price, and quality to make PCR possible.”
“Buyers transitioning to recycled materials face the typical challenges of an emerging, analog market rife with inefficiency and a lack of transparency. They can’t find the material they need, and if they can find it, it’s too expensive—and if they can afford it, there are often quality or consistency issues,” said Ian Arthurs, founder and CEO of Circular. “Existing relationship-driven systems fail to provide the information necessary for buyers to make fast informed decisions, and on the flip side, suppliers have a hard time being discovered by and getting access to serious buyers. Circular unblocks these common issues using data and technology to help buyers and sellers navigate the global market efficiently. Armed with our data, buyers and suppliers make faster and smarter business decisions and simplify their process to get sustainable materials into production now.”
“As a trusted global brand, Danone is on a mission to improve the circularity of our packaging,” said Marcu Alexander, Manager, Packaging Sustainability at Danone. “Increasing the use of post-consumer recycled plastics in particular is critical to meeting our ESG goals. Large manufacturers need more efficient ways to navigate new PCR markets and Circular is taking an innovative approach there.”
“In a nascent, highly fragmented PCR market, Circular.co’s platform can help address existing supply shortages. As brands increasingly prioritize sustainability, Circular offers a seamless marketplace solution to purchase PCR reliably. With a world-class, experienced team, Circular is poised to solve some of the unique requirements of the industry,” said Artur Faria, CEO of Oxygea. “Oxygea is the manager of Braskem’s $100 million corporate venture capital fund. Our investment in Circular aligns seamlessly with Braskem's circular economy objectives, and we look forward to supporting the company as it scales.”
"With guidance and support from the U.S. Pact, our members (called ‘Activators’) are demonstrating strong commitments not only to our collective PCR targets, but also their own individual PCR goals," said Emily Tipaldo, U.S. Plastics Pact Executive Director. "U.S. brands, including large manufacturers like Danone, have committed to adopting PCR to hit ESG goals and in doing so need help navigating new markets and new materials. We're excited that Circular.co, as one of our committed Activators, is delivering an innovative, data-driven approach to advance these goals. Their technology complements our own PCR Toolkit to help manufacturers navigate opaque PCR markets. By offering helpful resources, we can increase the adoption of PCR throughout U.S. manufacturing.”
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