In a context of limited resources, where the growing population also has greater access to the middle class and increased purchasing power, the linear economic model in which we operate - extracting resources and producing goods that are then consumed and thrown away - creates increasing pressure on our environment and our societies. In order to respond to the challenges raised by this unsustainable linear trajectory, a new model for implementing sustainable development is gaining popularity. It is about the circular economy, "a system of production, exchange and consumption aimed at optimizing the use of resources at all stages of the life cycle of a good or a service, all by reducing the environmental footprint and contributing to the well-being of individuals and communities (Québec Consensus Group on the Circular Economy, 2016)."

Because they concentrate large quantities of resources in their meta-bolism and reject large flows of waste, large cities and metropolises are particularly challenged by the development of the circular economy. Thus, they have recently become leaders in promoting the circular economy on their territory. Among the precursors, Amsterdam, which proposes in 2014 a major action plan including the development of a new district entirely dedicated to the circular economy. Paris, with the Estates General in 2015, Seoul, which wants to become the capital of the sharing economy, Brussels and many other cities have also launched with great ambition in this direction.

With a large concentration of researchers working on the circular economy internationally, Montréal already has a leading role on this theme. In this context, a first study was conducted by the EDDEC Institute and the Prospective City Lab to identify the actors who are already contributing to a better circularity of resources in the Montréal area. As a first step, this mapping offered to local organizations the opportunity to become familiar with this innovative concept that is the circular economy by concrete and innovative examples during meetings or-ganized in collaboration with the arrondissements-towns and cities linked (see the detailed methodology in Part II).

Subsequently, the data collected made it possible to make a first portrait of the variety of existing actors and initiatives in Montreal (see the synthesis of the results in the third part), both in a thematic and geographical perspective. Symbolic projects as well as contrasting logics between ar-roundings have thus been identified and are presented in the fourth part (see the 8 "initiatives" sheets and the 19 sectoral sheets).