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Latin America’s largest open circular economy initiative

Movimento Circular connects people, organisations and solutions to put circular economy into practice. Founded in 2020, it is Latin America’s largest open initiative in circular economy mobilisation, participation and literacy.

Content, learning experiences and meeting spaces bring together learners, producers and decision-makers to keep resources in circulation, reduce waste and expand the ways we produce and consume.

The Movement’s Reach

  • ~7MM

    people reached

    Through initiatives, projects and activities, in person and online

  • ~180

    learning experiences

    Events, talks, courses, training and field work

  • ~100

    organizations in the ecosystem

    Governments, industry bodies, companies, startups, cooperatives and education networks

An ecosystem already working together

Meet some of the members working with Movimento Circular to advance the circular economy agenda.

  • 3M
  • Dow
  • Electrolux
  • IPT, Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas
  • Lwart Soluções Ambientais
  • MARS
  • Scania
  • Sebrae, Centro de Sustentabilidade
  • Tecnológico de Monterrey
  • Valgroup
View the full ecosystem

Four fronts, each with concrete results

Choose an area to explore our work.

  • Two adult participants hold a trophy and an award board at Magalu’s Mutirão do Eletrônico.
    Mutirão do Eletrônico awards · December 2025.

    Schools taking part in Mutirão do Eletrônico

    Together with Magalu, Movimento Circular prepares educators to bring circular economy into schools. Training leads to activities with students and an electronics collection drive, with collection and processing handled by ABREE. Mutirão do Eletrônico brings these stages together in a learning journey that leads to action.

    • ABREE
    • Magalu
    Explore Mutirão do Eletrônico
  • Participants wearing badges talk during a break at the II Fórum de Economia Circular.
    Conversations at the II Fórum de Economia Circular · August 2026.

    42 speakers from 37 organisations at the Fórum

    The II Fórum de Economia Circular brought together businesses, public authorities, academia and cooperatives in São Paulo in 2026. Movimento Circular’s curation connects organisations that rarely work together and creates space for new relationships. These meetings are part of an ecosystem of around 100 organisations. The Fórum is the official circular economy hub of São Paulo Climate Week and an official side event of the World Circular Economy Forum.

    • São Paulo Climate Week 2026
    • Selo de evento paralelo do World Circular Economy Forum
    Explore the ecosystem
  • Front and back views of Catarina coffee packages beside a cup and coffee beans.
    O1NE packaging, adopted by Catarina Café e Amor · 2025.

    A partnership that led to new coffee packaging

    O1NE packaging grew out of a partnership brought together by Movimento Circular between Dow, Valgroup and Catarina Café e Amor. Connecting technology, industry and the coffee roaster made it possible to develop monomaterial packaging designed for recycling, now used for the brand’s coffees.

    • Catarina Café e Amor
    • Dow
    • Valgroup
    Explore the partnership
  • Six participants at the II Fórum stack their hands together on stage and smile at the camera.
    Coordination at the II Fórum de Economia Circular · August 2026.

    International coordination through a year-round agenda

    The Fórum Permanente connects São Paulo Climate Week, the World Circular Economy Forum, New York Climate Week and the COP. In 2026, Movimento Circular welcomed the office of the COP31 Climate High-Level Champion and signed a memorandum with Sıfır Atık Vakfı, opening a direct channel with Türkiye.

    • Zero Waste Foundation
    Explore the collaboration
A woman in a printed headscarf smiles and claps in the audience at the 2nd Forum, with other participants applauding beside her
The Circular Experience Sebrae group celebrating, in Recife
Four participants discuss their work around a table with worksheets, pens and materials at a Movimento Circular workshop.

2nd Circular Economy Forum · São Paulo Climate Week, August 2026.

Six years, five turning points

How this work has grown since 2020: from open education to a year-round circular economy agenda.

  1. 2020

    Born in the pandemic, already in four countries

    The Movement starts out digital, and for that reason reaches families in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico from its first year. Dow joins as founding partner, alongside educational institutions, innovation agencies and cooperatives.

  2. 2021

    The first open circular economy school

    In September, Circular Academy is created: free courses, with certification, in Portuguese, Spanish and English. Training becomes open to anyone, in any of the three languages.

  3. 2023

    The return to in-person work becomes a method

    With gatherings back in person, Circular Experience takes hold as a hands-on methodology: participants take products apart and visit sorting cooperatives at work. Today it runs inside organizations and at the largest events on the agenda.

  4. 2025

    The Movement enters the global agenda

    Circular Day takes place within the World Circular Economy Forum, the global conference in the field. That same year, the Circular Economy Forum holds its first edition within São Paulo Climate Week.

  5. 2026

    The agenda becomes recurring

    The 2nd Forum is held as the Official Circular Economy Hub of São Paulo Climate Week and an official side event of the World Circular Economy Forum, with 73 cases submitted from more than 20 states, 42 panelists from 37 organizations and a full house. Out of it comes the Permanent Circular Economy Forum, which carries on to New York Climate Week in September and is being built toward COP31 in November.

Instituto Atina

Atina has worked in cross-sector literacy since 2008, leading education initiatives for companies, governments and school networks. Movimento Circular is one of them: it was created in 2020, with the support of strategic partners such as Dow, to bring that experience to the circular economy agenda.

In September 2025, this work gained a vehicle of its own: Instituto Atina, a non-profit civil association, is responsible for managing the Movement.

Movimento Circular’s official headquarters is at Civi-co, in Pinheiros, São Paulo. The team works from Buenos Aires to Mexico City, by way of Santa Catarina and Pernambuco.