Zero Waste Canada and Zero Waste Foundation: Moving Forward Under Our Memorandum of Understanding
Zero Waste Canada is pleased to share an update on our collaboration with the Zero Waste Foundation under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between our organizations.
In January 2025, the Zero Waste Foundation reached out to reaffirm its partnership with Zero Waste Canada and to acknowledge a delay in follow-up communications related to the MoU. This delay was attributed to the Foundation’s extensive engagement in the COP 30 process. With COP 30 now concluded, the Foundation confirmed its availability and readiness to move forward with collaborative actions.
In response, Zero Waste Canada welcomed this renewed engagement and reiterated our commitment to advancing shared objectives under the MoU. Our response emphasized the importance of a common foundation for collaboration, particularly a shared understanding of the Zero Waste Definition and the Zero Waste Hierarchy, which underpin Zero Waste policy development, education, planning, and certification work in Canada.
As a capacity-building initiative, Zero Waste Canada also offered the Zero Waste Foundation and its designated staff pro bono access to our online education and training programs. These self-paced courses are designed to support practitioners, municipal staff, and organizational leaders in applying Zero Waste principles in practical, real-world settings, in accordance with the intellectual property provisions of the MoU.
To further advance collaboration, Zero Waste Canada proposed a working session to:
- Identify priority areas for collaboration in 2026
- Explore opportunities for applied learning, pilot projects, and knowledge exchange
- Discuss how shared reference frameworks can support implementation in practice
We believe this approach will help translate the shared intent of the Memorandum of Understanding into concrete, mutually beneficial action, while maintaining clarity, consistency, and trust across our respective organizations and networks.
We look forward to continued collaboration and will share further updates as next steps are confirmed.