Building sustainable, inclusive, and economic waste management systems
We partner with governments, communities, and private companies to bridge global commitments with local action.
Real Change,
At Scale
Delterra works with cities in the Global South on infrastructure investment, capacity building, culture-specific behavioral change mechanisms and governance reform.
We also collaborate with companies on market development and increasing material demand.
How We Transform Systems
As an independent environmental NGO originating out of McKinsey & Company, we combine a distinctive problem-solving approach with our purpose-driven mission: to redesign human systems for the good of people and the planet.
Test
We start by identifying the most difficult environmental challenges that affect everyone but are the responsibility of no one—where current systems aren’t working, and where our approach can drive impact at scale. Then we reimagine and rethink the whole system, taking into account the needs of each stakeholder, including the planet.
Iterate
We create a model for change in a single community, and then iterate with local partners to learn and adapt our model as we expand to multiple geographies. In each location, we move at the speed of trust—with local governments, multinational corporations, and NGOs—to empower our collaborators to sustain success.
Scale
We use real-world findings from our pilot programs to build scalable solutions that deliver measurable impact and solve for long-term stability. Our adaptive design process allows us to meet the needs of communities around the world. Working with scaling partners sets us up to achieve meaningful impact on the global waste problem—and beyond.
Circularity experts with proven impact
At Delterra, we measure our progress and ambition against our core success metric: environmental impact. These numbers highlight our ability and ambition to deliver system-wide change on large-scale environmental problems while improving people’s lives.
8.3M
People in municipalities connected to improved waste and recycling systems
45%
Average participation of community members in our recycling program, higher than the participation rate of many US cities
1.1k+
Waste workers, many of whom are marginalized women, benefiting from improved livelihoods
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Delterra is a 501(c)(3) public charity.