Small Businesses, Big Impact: Driving the Circular Economy Forward
Human-driven climate change is challenging global systems, requiring businesses and governments to rethink outdated business models. The circular economy provides a regenerative and equitable alternative—and small businesses have an opportunity to lead the way. By leveraging their resources—such as innovation, partnerships, and expertise—along with their agility and local knowledge, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can address pressing societal challenges while reshaping traditional systems.
From extractive to circular
Traditional business models prioritize short-term profits, often at the expense of environmental and social well-being. Extractive systems take resources and knowledge, produce goods, and generate waste without accounting for their impact on broader systems. As global challenges grow, this approach is proving unsustainable – and harmful. Additionally, terminology like the circular economy can often be misleading. For example, some of the largest polluters use the term to define their plastics sustainability efforts. This creates a paradox: plastic, which cannot be reused multiple times and poses significant risks to human health and the environment, does not align with the true principles of a circular economy. This inconsistency leads to widespread confusion among the public.
Conversely, an authentic circular economy offers an alternative. Instead of waste, it focuses on maintaining the value of resources through strategies like Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Repurpose (the 5Rs). By designing long-lasting products and fostering collaboration, circular systems distribute value equitably across networks, not only reducing environmental harm but also creating resilience.
The unique role of small businesses
The United States is the second-largest manufacturing economy, with nearly 240,000 manufacturers—98 percent of which are SMEs. These small businesses collectively employ over 60 million people, strengthening local economies and communities. Unlike large corporations, SMEs are deeply rooted in their communities, enabling them to foster close relationships with suppliers and adapt quickly to new challenges.
SMEs also serve as connectors within industries, linking organizations that might not otherwise collaborate. Their flexibility allows them to experiment with innovative circular models, creating partnerships that enhance resilience across supply chains.
ERS: Addressing e-waste and driving social impact
In 2023, Pyxera Global facilitated a pilot program to recover valuable materials from electronic waste (e-waste) for use in next-generation lithium-ion batteries. This collaboration involved FedEx, Metabolic, Terra, Electronics Recycling Solutions (ERS), and American Battery Technology Company (ABTC).
ERS, an SME partner in the pilot, exemplifies how small businesses can address complex challenges while fostering social impact. The company employs and trains young adults with autism to repair and recycle electronics, providing stable jobs for individuals often excluded from traditional labor markets.
During the five-month project, ERS repaired 23 percent of the 180 devices it received, extending their lifespan and diverting waste from landfills. At the same time, the company addressed operational challenges such as managing packaging for different brands and ensuring a viable material flow for profitability. By expanding its operations, ERS transitioned from a repair center to a sorting, storing, and repairing facility, making it a key player in this supply chain.
This dual impact—reducing waste and creating economic opportunities for structurally excluded communities—demonstrates the transformative potential of SMEs in the circular economy.
Collaborating for change: SMEs and Corporations
Corporations bring scale, infrastructure, and resources, while SMEs offer agility, local insights, and adaptability. Together, they can create powerful partnerships that transform supply chains into equitable, value-generating networks.
For example, FedEx provided logistics services for the pilot, collecting e-waste from ten states through a prepaid label drop-off system. While FedEx’s infrastructure made the movement of materials possible, its partnership with ERS helped address a critical challenge: the risk of misplacing devices due to labeling issues in large-scale storage operations.
These collaborations shift traditional client-provider dynamics toward models that strengthen local economies and distribute resources more equitably.
Seizing opportunities
For SMEs, circular models offer more than harm reduction and environmental benefits—they create new revenue streams and align business operations with community needs. In the pilot, ERS and ABTC collaborated to meet the technical purchasing requirements of a battery recycling facility, including shipping quantities, packaging, and quality standards.
While these barriers can be daunting for small businesses, the pilot demonstrated how partnerships can help SMEs access technical training, comply with regulations, and retain the value of materials that might otherwise end up in landfills. Such collaborations maximize the strengths of each partner, fostering shared value and resilience.
The Circular Supply Chain Coalition (CSCC): A catalyst for change
Building regenerative circular supply chains requires rethinking how organizations interact and relate to one another. The Circular Supply Chain Coalition (CSCC) is driving this transformation by uniting SMEs, refurbishers, manufacturers, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), corporations, local governments, and community-based organizations to create equitable, circular ecosystems.
Founded by Pyxera Global, Metabolic, Circularity Consulting, and Sustain Our Future Foundation, and with primary funding from FedEx, the CSCC fosters partnerships that recover materials and reintroduce them into supply chains, reduce emissions, and strengthen communities. By leveraging the resources of larger corporations and the agility of SMEs, the coalition helps businesses reimagine their operations for a regenerative, equitable future.
Pyxera Global’s recently published report, Optimizing Circular Logistics: A Revisited Approach, sponsored by FedEx, provides actionable insights for the logistics industry based on pilot findings and industry research.
Join the Circular Economy
The transition to a circular economy requires collaboration across industries and sectors. Through the CSCC, businesses of all sizes can help create systems that use resources wisely, reduce waste, and generate lasting benefits for communities and the planet.
To learn more, connect with other leaders in this new circular economy, and explore actionable strategies for building these systems, please join Pyxera Global at Circularity in Denver, CO, from April 29-May 1, 2025! (You can even register with code C25PG for 10% off.)
As a Community Partner at this premier event, we’ll be sharing additional insights from our work on the Circular Supply Chain Coalition and demonstrating how businesses of all sizes can collaborate for systemic change.
We can build a future where economic prosperity aligns with environmental and social well-being.
Together, we’re building the infrastructure to make circularity a reality.
- Equitable Circular Economy, Strategic Collaboratives
- Equitable Circular Economy
