Marta Suplicy, Municipal Commissioner of International Affairs for the City of São Paulo, asserts that cities—even megacities such as São Paulo—can lead the transition to a circular economy. Drawing from Sao Paulo's impressive initiatives, Suplicy shares the inspiration and the road map for regenerative urban policy, with no one left behind.The circular economy is a key to not only fighting climate change and implementing sustainable development, but as a tool for transforming our reality and the cities we live in. It is an instrument that allows a municipality to harness the potential of food production, food security with a shorter production chain, and lower emissions. It can open new perspectives and opportunities as well as offer ways of building a new economic model. The transition to a fair and responsible circular economy also involves the study, planning, and setting of priorities with the effective participation of civil society.

Latin America is a region with great biological diversity, allowing truly transformative experiences to create regenerative value chains from our abundant resources while promoting and fostering local economies. Over the years, São Paulo has been paying close attention to issues such as regenerative agriculture and waste management to build well-structured urban policy. In recognition of this leadership, we signed a Cooperation Agreement with UN-Habitat. And in early 2020, we were recognized as Strategic Partners with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, alongside London and New York City.

Connecting The Dots: A Robust Public Policy

In addition to these potentials, São Paulo has already approved and is developing a circular food system across our city. It is promoting new businesses, jobs, training, and education opportunities by creating a system of positive overflows. The Connect the Dots project is one of our biggest success stories in recent years and is now entering a next phase. The initiative was the winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Mayors Challenge Award in 2016 and subsequetly was featured in the BBC's documentary series Transforming Cities. After several successful years and with the end of Bloomberg’s financing, São Paulo is preparing to make Connect the Dots a lasting public policy. Cases like this will serve as inspiration for the development of urban and sustainable food systems.

Another food circularity initiative in São Paulo is our Combatting Food Waste program, which leverages the hands-on knowledge of our public agencies overseeing our food supply logistics. São Paulo's food waste is delivered to the Municipal Food Bank, where it goes through screening before 85% is donated to those facing food insecurity. The 15% unfit to distribute for meals is then delivered to the city's sustainable composting yards. This residual food waste is transformed into high quality organic compost, used throughout our city's parks and distributed for free to our residents.

Rainforest and Plastic 

With over 12 million inhabitants, São Paulo has the potential to significantly reduce climate impacts through circular economy systems that offer a sustainable model for urban public policy. The city is one of the first and remains one of the few regional metropolises to commit to a circular model for plastics and to enact the reduction and elimination of single-use plastics. Our main partners for developing São Paulo's circular economy include the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme, with whom we have collaborated since 2019 in The New Plastics Economy. This partnership applies a circular economy model to areas beyond the food initiative, transforming São Paulo into a circular capital.

The circular economy also provides opportunities to foster more sustainable land use, one that cultivates organic food from regenerative agriculture while ensuring income generation for farmers and protecting native rainforest. This path is transforming São Paulo into a green capital and enabling a just and equitable economy. As recognition of that, São Paulo received the title Ibero-American Green City from the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI) this past September.

Communication and Public Engagement

In early May 2022, we hosted the inaugural Circular Economy Week in Latin America, offering a spectrum of circular economy panels with experts from academia, civil society, business, and the public sector. To engender broad public engagement with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), São Paulo hosted the first “Virada” SDG Event in July 2022, with 10 event hubs throughout the city. Partnering our municipal school system, Virada brings meaningful education and understanding in the SDGs to our youth living across the farthest reaches of metropolitan São Paulo.

We believe that these types of events and public communication initiatives offer both the inspiration and the dialogue necessary to engaging our city's diverse stakeholders and to furthering effective policies. Yet more than that, education is one of the main pillars of this circular transition. It is only by fostering knowledge around climate change and the importance of sustainable business that we will be able to make the powerful shifts towards a circular economy. This is made possible with the help of schools, theatres, live events, televised talks shows, and even TV soap operas. All these platforms help us to address and engage with the range of topics at hand.

Conclusion

As you can see, São Paulo is harnessing many innovative solutions to address climate change and sustainability through a circular economy approach. From best practices to success cases, these initiatives create a whole series of incentives that drive the development of circular solutions for the city. For cities like São Paulo, there are incredible opportunities for wealth generation through the broad implementation of the circular economy and the ongoing dialogue between municipal leadership and citizens. We have a plan and a commitment with our community, and we are driven to deliver it.

Making the transition to a circular economy can provide a policy response for meeting the multiple crises of both climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic, where cities can be the enablers of the systemic shift that is necessary. We understand the action that is needed. Yet to build lasting change, it is key to have everyone on board and committed to delivering impactful projects and policies for a greener future, with no one left behind.

That is our path. And along it, every citizen’s heart in São Paulo is beginning to embrace the circular economy.

PHOTO: Fábio Andrade | Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo

About the Author:

Marta Suplicy
Municipal Commissioner of International Affairs
City of São Paulo