Nurturing Circular Innovation: The 2024 NextCycle WA Accelerator Academy

In April, COO was able to attend the 2024 NextCycle WA Accelerator Academy two-day convening in Olympia and learn from the entrepreneurs, funders, government partners, and industry leaders working to build a circular economy ecosystem in Washington state.  

In its second year, the 2024 NextCycle WA Accelerator Academy is a capacity building opportunity for entrepreneurs committed to shifting supply chains, processes and business models to reduce waste, improve recycling, or find ways to reuse or remanufacture materials typically discarded as waste or trash. To create the conditions that support a just, sustained and strong shift towards a circular and generative economy and away from our current extractive systems, we need intention, collaboration, innovation and significant resources.  

The NextCycle WA initiative is a state-wide collaborative investment in the creation of circular systems versus traditional linear models, between the Washington State Department of Ecology, Seattle Public Utilities, and the Washington Recycling Development Center. The initiative is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington State Department of Commerce and the Seattle Office of Economic Development. It’s facilitated by RRS, Cascadia Consulting Group, Traversal Design, and Start Consulting; and supported by public, private, industry and community partners who provide governance, design, business and technical support, including King County.  

Learn more here: https://www.nextcyclewashington.com/  

Passion for a circular economy 

Accelerator participants include those leading businesses and projects focusing on upstream waste prevention or improved/expanded reuse and repair as well as downstream projects that improve, innovate or expand recycling, recovery and end uses – such as food waste recovery for compost, or textile repurposing. While the projects and business range in their size and scale, location, sector and details, it was clear that each person in the room was passionate about the impact of their work on the people, land and environments of our region, and the potential to create and expand an economy that is community-centered, regenerative, sustainable and healthy.  

Through the Accelerator Academy and grant funding, NextCycle WA supported 14 accelerator teams, distributed 41 seed grants, and helped raise $13.5 million in investor funds in the first year of the cohort. The initiative has also led to 70 new jobs and helped divert 4 million pounds of material away from the landfill. 

See the Funded Projects  

See the current and former Accelerator Academy teams  

(Above photos from Day 1 of the Accelerator Academy presenters by Whitney Johnson, COO)

The current thirteen Accelerator Academy groups receive individualized consulting and technical support to develop their business plans, refine their project pitches, and support and mentorship to grow the knowledge and connections to support their entrepreneurship journey over a 6-month period. In the initiating 2-day convening, Accelerator participants and teams were able to connect with one another and coaches in person, learn about the experiences of Accelerator alums as well as the work across the broader NextCycle network and landscape, and received insight on pitch development and other tools for funding and partnership.  

At the conclusion of the 6-month program, Academy teams will participate in a September pitch showcase event and share a brief business pitch to an audience interested in circular economy businesses and projects, as well as a judging panel. You can watch last year’s showcase at the link below and stay tuned for the upcoming 2024 Pitch Showcase this September!  

https://www.youtube.com/@nextcyclewashington 

Also check out the recent news out of NextCycle WA as well as features on Academy alums, including hyperlocal community composting program Restaurant 2 Garden, textile recycler Refugee Artist Initiative, South King County Tool Library, and community-based organization the Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association:  

A network of statewide investments 

The Accelerator Academy is one investment happening in Washington state to spark and sustain a network of shared resources, ideas, and support that is required to strengthen and amplify the innovation, solidarity and labor of an economy based on re-use, re-generation, and circularity.  

COO is grateful to learn from the capacity building, learning and work happening within NextCycle WA and from groups across King County who are investing in collaborative actions that create a region of greater resource stewardship, equity, well-being, and healthy relationships with the land and one-another.  

“It is incredibly inspiring and fulfilling to bring together passionate leaders who are defining new ways to balance environmental, economic and community outcomes through market-based solutions built upon the principles of a circular economy. We are building a community that supports one another through mentorship, partnership and innovation to create change and demonstrate successful models that can be scaled and replicated.” 

Bryce Hesterman, Senior Consultant, RRS

Learn more about NextCycle WA, the 2024 Accelerator Academy, and the local landscape of Circular Economy resources and data at the links below:  

Learning Community, Bloginfoblog, COO news, SCOOP, economy, environment, Learning Community