Tapping the Urban Mine: Incentivizing & Scaling Critical Material Supply Chains
A Climate Week NYC 2026 Session Presented by the Circular Supply Chain Coalition and Hosted by Mona Dajani at Cooley LLP
Date: September 23, 2026
Time: 12:00 – 5:00pm | Cocktail Reception 4:00 – 5:00pm
Location: Cooley’s New York Office, 55 Hudson Yards *
The richest critical material deposit in the country isn’t underground.
It’s already in circulation. It’s on our shelves, in our warehouses, in our data centers, and in our landfills.
From retired electronics and industrial equipment to products sitting in data centers, warehouses, and homes, valuable materials are hiding in plain sight. As governments and companies work to secure critical material supply chains, a growing opportunity is emerging to recover, reuse, and remanufacture the materials already within our economy
But unlocking that opportunity requires more than recycling. It demands better data, smarter procurement strategies, enabling policy, new technologies, and investment across the reverse supply chain.
During Climate Week NYC, join leaders from industry, technology, logistics, investment, and policy for a candid conversation on how urban mining can strengthen supply chain resilience, accelerate industrial decarbonization, and create long-term competitive advantage
What The Day Covers
The Current State and Global Vision: Explore the growing business case for urban mining and local critical material procurement. Hear perspectives on the connection between renewable energy and critical material recovery, corporate approaches to supply chain security and local sourcing, and the role of innovation in advancing industrial decarbonization.
Unlocking the Reverse Supply Chain: Discover how AI-enabled platforms, circular data, and emerging technologies are transforming material recovery and remanufacturing. Discussions will examine environmental and carbon credit opportunities, data transparency, and the competitive advantages available to organizations investing early in the reverse supply chain.
The Policy, Innovation, and Investment Nexus: Gain a transatlantic perspective on incentives, subsidies, and geopolitics shaping the future of critical materials. Hear from innovators and investors on the capital strategies, market signals, and partnerships needed to scale urban mining into a significant economic growth opportunity.
Confirmed Speakers:
Mona Dajani, Partner & Co-Chair, Cooley’s Infrastructure, Energy & Real Estate Practice
Ray Long, CEO, ACORE
Cecilia Martinez, Chief Environmental & Climate Justice, Bezos Earth Fund
Dr. Kirsten Dunlop, CEO, Climate KIC
Deirdre White, President & CEO, Pyxera Global
Kinnar Ghiya, Chief Procurement Officer, Trane Technologies
Brandon Tidwell, Communications Principal, Global Citizenship, FedEx
Rafael Vasquez, Senior Environmental Strategy Manager, Cummins
Kellen Mahoney, Executive Director, Suppliers Partnership for the Environment
Matt Bedingfield, CEO, Mint Innovation
Jordan Insley, Founder & CEO, Quick Ship Brands
David Hirschler, Chief Sustainability Officer, ERI
Mike DiPetrillo, CEO, Layer IQ
Phil Brown, Head of Sustainable Innovation, Circularise
Grayson Shor, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Buckstop
Lina Constantivici, Founder, Innovation 4.4
Xixi Chen, Senior Research Manager, WRI
John Holm, Co-Founder, Circular Supply Chain Coalition & SVP, Partnerships, Pyxera Global
Anita Schwartz, Co-Founder, Circular Supply Chain Coalition
Events:
ACT 1 | 12-1:45 PM ET| The Current State & Global Vision for Accelerating Local Critical Material Procurement
ACT 2 |1:45 - 2:50 PM ET | Unlocking the Reverse Supply Chain: Data, Neural Networks, & Economies of Scale
ACT 3 |2:50 - 4 PM ET| The Urban Mining Policy, Innovation & Investment Nexus
Cocktail Reception & Conversation |4-5 PM ET|
This is a limited capacity event, and attendees will be approved at an on-going basis. For any questions, please reach out to the event hosts.