Beyond 34
Scaling Circularity for a Sustainable Economy was a multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at advancing the circular economy in cities across the U.S.
Originally launched to increase the baseline 34% recycling rate, Beyond 34 helped communities and businesses create a more sustainable future through closed-loop recycling and recovery systems that divert valuable resources from landfills. Beyond 34 was active in Orlando, FL; Cincinnati, OH; Austin, TX; Philadelphia, PA; and Atlanta, GA.
The initiative provided a scalable model to identify and implement high-impact waste solutions tailored to local needs, offering tools, templates, case studies, and other resources for communities to replicate.
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Partners
Beyond 34 was made possible by support from Walmart.org. Since launching in 2017, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation collaborated with additional corporations, local governments, local chambers, and technical partners, including The Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Kroger Co., Metabolic, Procter and Gamble, Dow, PLASTICS Industry Association, Republic Services, Target and Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Recycling and Recovery Resources
In partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's America Recycles network of organizations working together to create a more resilient materials economy, we collected tools, resources, and best practices that communities and businesses can use to easily access the broad landscape of support available to them.
Latest Content
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation has partnered with Philips and the World Economic Forum’s Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) to help companies in the capital equipment sector transition to a circular “make-use-reuse” model to realize a better future for people and the planet.
Here are a few examples of how the private sector, in tandem with NGOs and the federal government, is investing in innovations focused on the end-of-life recovery of plastics.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation today announced that Austin, Texas, and Philadelphia will join its multi-stakeholder initiative, Beyond 34: Scaling Circularity for a Sustainable Economy.
Last month, the U.S. Chamber Foundation hosted roundtables with innovators across the plastic value chain to understand the challenges and opportunities related to innovation and investment into sustainable plastics in the U.S. Here’s a sneak peak of what we heard.
As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s fellow leading their work in sustainable plastics innovation, I had the honor of judging the Plastic Industry Association’s ReFocus Sustainability Innovation Awards. This year, the association received a landmark 52 entrants across three categories: Design, Materials, and End-of-Life. Here are a few of the innovations that were featured.
The U.S. Chamber Foundation is pleased to announce a new sustainable plastics initiative to help us harness the full potential of plastics while ensuring we plan for their end-of-life management. This initiative will explore innovations across the plastics value chain, all the way from material science to end-of-life reuse and repurposing.
We launched “Beyond 34: Scaling Circularity for a Sustainable Economy” five years ago to understand the barriers and opportunities in recycling and recovery optimization in U.S. cities, and what role the private sector is playing to increase collection and materials reuse at regional and national levels. Today, we are excited to announce that we are not only bringing Beyond 34 to new regions, but also offering a crowdsourced Recycling and Recovery Resources Hub so more stakeholders across the nation can access critical resources to prepare their communities for a sustainable future.
