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Circle · The Circular Leadership Network · Anchor Partnership 2026–2027

Anchor Partnership 2026–2027

Authentic alignment with Circle’s programs, events, and member network.

A category-exclusive partnership between RTI International and Circle. RTI is Circle’s exclusive research institute partner.

Circle × RTI International

01 · The Platform

The neutral convening platform for the EPR ecosystem.

Circle sits at the forefront of U.S. circular policy, convening the full value chain — brands, producers, converters, haulers, recyclers, policymakers, and NGOs — in one neutral room. This is the platform RTI anchors.

02 · Circle + RTI

Advancing circular policy, together.

The Circular Leadership Network and RTI International, partnering to bring research rigor and neutral convening to the center of U.S. circular policy.

Neutral by design. Circle convenes under Chatham House Rule — a place to learn and compare notes, never to advocate.

Clear antitrust guardrails. Circle sessions never involve current or future prices, fees, cost structures, volumes, customer-specific strategies, or other competitively sensitive information — and working sessions convene with antitrust counsel present.

Two Circle members in conversation beside a wall of baled plastic at a recycling facility.

03 · Elements of the Partnership

What Circle and RTI build together.

Six elements, one partnership.

Click any element to unfold it

01 In-Person SummitsThe core of the partnership — both flagship summits hosted at RTI.

High-trust working rooms under Chatham House Rule, where the field works its hardest problems. RTI hosts the two flagship convenings of the Circle year.

  • Dec 2026Responsible End Markets Summit at RTIAligning the value chain on credible, responsible end markets — with TRP & CAA.
  • May 11–13, 2027The Circular Economy Summit at RTIThree days with the whole ecosystem at one table — the largest convening of the Circle year.
What these rooms produce

At June 2026’s Source Reduction Summit — hosted at RTI — two days moved the room from lost to ready on California’s Individual Source Reduction Plan.

5%
Coming in
→ ×10 →
52%
Two days later
97%
left at moderate-or-better understanding
98%
met the goal they came for
40
hands-on case-study stations

Source: Source Reduction Summit pre/post-event polls, June 2026 — anonymized & aggregated.

02 Experiential ExpeditionsParticipation in every experiential expedition.

RTI participates in all Circle expeditions — observing implemented systems firsthand with the people who operate them.

  • Nov 2026Textile EPR ExpeditionPreparing the value chain for California’s textile EPR.
  • 2026–27CanadaQuébec and Vancouver — North America’s most mature producer-responsibility systems.
  • 2027EuropeInside mature EPR and deposit-return systems.
  • OngoingFuture programsNew expeditions as the landscape evolves.
03 Virtual CirclesRTI recognition at the front of every virtual session.

RTI logo recognition at the front of all virtual Circle sessions, all year long.

  • QuarterlyEPR Policy CirclePlenaries supporting hundreds of elected officials & staff.
  • Quarterly +EPR Readiness CircleLearning exchanges plus monthly expert office hours.
  • OngoingWriter’s RoomWith the writers of the laws themselves.
  • OngoingImplementer’s InsightsFrom the people running the programs.
04 Anchor Partner RecognitionRecognition across all Circle events and programming.

RTI logo recognition as anchor partner across all Circle events and programming — the summits, the expeditions, and every virtual session in between.

05 Circle Guide & Learning ProductsAccess to Circle Guide and the full learning library.
  • IncludedCircle GuideAlways-on, source-cited EPR intelligence.
  • IncludedThe Legislator GuideThe nonpartisan circular-policy resource.
  • IncludedState of the Circle & VoicesSyntheses from every Circle session.
  • IncludedExpedition reports & playbooksFindings from every trip, and the working guides behind them.
06 Pre-Competitive WorkOpportunities to partner further on member-led working groups.
  • ActiveResponsible end marketsBuilding confidence in where recovered material actually goes.
  • In designTextile EPR working groupPreparing the value chain for California’s textile EPR.
  • ActiveAMCP recyclingCredible standards & guardrails for advanced / chemical / molecular recycling.

04 · The Calendar

What’s next.

The full 2026–2027 season — every expedition, summit, and webinar, and why each one matters.

Filter by program type, or scroll the whole year

✓  Already delivered · Jan–Jul 2026 — seven months of programming
Jan · Policy Circle2026 Federal Initiatives: What to Watch
Feb · Readiness CircleCountdown to 5/31
Mar · Readiness CircleAt-Risk Formats & Internal Planning
Mar–Apr · ExpeditionACMP Expedition
Apr · Readiness CircleEase the EPR Burden
May · Readiness CircleReadiness Reality Check
Jun · SummitSource Reduction Summit
Jul · ExpeditionEurope Study Expedition · Austria & Slovakia
2026 · Upcoming
Sep 16–17EPR Learning Exchange 2026SummitPolicy Circle

The year’s flagship gathering, held at See Change in Burlington, VT — legislators and cross-sector leaders from across the value chain, in person and under Chatham House Rule. Also the launch of Circle Guide: always-on, source-cited EPR intelligence for every member employee.

Event detailsIn partnership withRTI International
Sep 25EPR Readiness Webinar #5Readiness Circle

The Readiness Circle’s working session on the compliance questions members are facing right now.

Coming soon
Oct 13–16Québec Study ExpeditionExpeditionPolicy Circle

Four days inside Montréal’s producer-responsibility system — one of North America’s most mature, observed firsthand with the people who run it.

Event detailsIn partnership withRTI International
Oct 23EPR Readiness Webinar #6Readiness Circle

Continuing the readiness curriculum — quarterly exchanges plus monthly expert office hours.

Coming soon
Nov 30Textile EPR ExpeditionExpeditionPolicy Circle

The first expedition of the textile program — preparing the value chain for California’s textile EPR.

Coming soonIn partnership withRTI International
Week of Dec 13Responsible End Markets Summit at RTISummitReadiness Circle

Aligning the value chain on credible, responsible end markets — convened with TRP & CAA, hosted at RTI International.

Coming soonIn partnership withRTI International
2027
Jan 21Policy Webinar #1Policy Circle

The Policy Circle opens 2027 — what changed over the winter, and what the new legislative sessions mean for producers.

Coming soon
Feb 19EPR Readiness Webinar #1Readiness Circle

The 2027 readiness curriculum begins — built around the decisions members actually have in front of them.

Coming soon
Apr 15Policy Webinar #2Policy Circle

Mid-session read on state legislatures: which bills are moving, and what they’d mean in practice.

Coming soon
May 11–13The Circular Economy Summit at RTISummit

Three days with the whole ecosystem at one table — the largest convening of the Circle year, hosted at RTI International.

Coming soonIn partnership withRTI International
Aug 2–6European Circular Policy ExpeditionExpeditionPolicy Circle

The 2027 European program — inside mature EPR and deposit-return systems with the people operating them.

Coming soonIn partnership withRTI International
Aug 27EPR Readiness Webinar #2Readiness Circle

Readiness Circle working session — compliance timelines, reporting, and what’s next.

Coming soon
Sep 15–16EPR Learning Exchange Sessions 2027SummitPolicy Circle

At See Change in Burlington, VT — next year’s exchange on the biggest topics in EPR for packaging.

Coming soonIn partnership withRTI International
Oct 18–22Vancouver Policy ExpeditionExpeditionPolicy Circle

British Columbia’s fully producer-run system — the closest look at what a steady-state program feels like.

Coming soonIn partnership withRTI International
Oct 29EPR Readiness Webinar #3Readiness Circle

Closing out the 2027 readiness curriculum ahead of year-end reporting cycles.

Coming soon

05 · Proof

The right people are in the room.

The network RTI anchors — industry, government, and the wider ecosystem, already at the table.

300+ leaders
private-sector leaders engaged across the ecosystem
100+ policymakers
legislators & advisors working on circular policy
All 7 EPR states
the authors & sponsors of every enacted EPR-for-packaging law participate in the network
8 expeditions
experiential expeditions delivered across the US, Canada & Europe
Whole value chain
brands, producers, converters, haulers, recyclers, policymakers & NGOs at one table

06 · The Partnership

The Anchor Partnership.

One annual commitment that puts RTI at the center of the field’s highest-value rooms — category-exclusive, as Circle’s research institute partner.

Anchor Partnership
$200,000
annually

As a component of this partnership, RTI makes its facilities available for the December Responsible End Markets Summit and the May Circular Economy Summit.

Talk with Dave →
$150,000Investment applied

Applied as trade toward event production for the two RTI-hosted summits — RTI’s event budget working as partnership value.

$50,000Cash investment

The cash partnership investment, supporting the year of programming RTI anchors — expeditions, virtual circles, Circle Guide, and the learning library.

How the structure works: $150,000 of the $200,000 partnership is applied as investment toward summit production; $50,000 is the cash component.

Circle · The Circular Leadership Network Private partnership brief · Prepared for RTI International circlenetwork.co