CM Consulting

What CM Consulting does

CM Consulting Inc. is a privately-held Canadian waste reduction policy and analysis consultancy founded in 1998 by Clarissa Morawski and headquartered in Peterborough, Ontario. The firm specializes exclusively in recycling and reuse policy research, with concentrated expertise in deposit return systems (DRS), Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and beverage container recovery economics. Core deliverables are annual or biennial published reports — most notably the 'Who Pays What' series (produced since 2002), the Global Overview of Deposit Systems (2017), and the WEEE Report on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment management in Canada — alongside bespoke commissioned research studies for governments and industry associations.

The underlying 'technology' of the firm is domain expertise rather than software: decades of accumulated proprietary data on Canadian provincial beverage container collection rates, program costs, and policy structures, packaged into publications, factsheets, briefing materials, and bilingual video presentations. Distribution occurs through direct report downloads from cmconsultinginc.com, trade-press articles in Solid Waste & Recycling Magazine, Resource Recycling, and the CIWM Journal, a YouTube channel carrying English and French video content, and industry-conference talks. Customer-facing delivery is led by Morawski as Principal, supported by named team members Jason Wilcox and Samantha Millette.

CM Consulting's revenue model is professional services: a mix of jointly-sponsored flagship publications — the Who Pays What report is explicitly described as 'a jointly sponsored initiative paid for by the beverage industry, not-for-profit agencies, and government' and offered at 'extremely affordable cost' to participating parties — and bespoke commissioned research paid by industry associations (e.g., Canadian Plastics Industry Association, Container Recycling Institute) and municipal or provincial governments (e.g., City of Calgary). Primary customer segments are Canadian provincial regulators, beverage-industry producers and stewardship agencies, recycling-sector NGOs, and European policymakers reached indirectly through Morawski's Managing Director role at the sister organization Reloop Platform. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, no external investors or parent companies are evidenced, and the firm has no acquisition history.

Name

CM Consulting

Legal name

CM Consulting

Website

https://cmconsultinginc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CM Consulting is a privately-held Canadian waste-reduction policy consultancy that publishes the Who Pays What report on beverage container recycling and conducts commissioned research on deposit-return systems, extended producer responsibility, and WEEE management for provincial governments, beverage producers, and industry associations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management Policy Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Waste reduction consulting
• Recycling policy analysis
• Deposit return systems
• Extended producer responsibility
• Beverage container recycling

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Published Reports: CM Consulting publishes the Who Pays What report series analyzing beverage container collection and costs in Canada, sold to industry stakeholders and government officials
2. Commissioned Research: Research commissioned by industry associations such as Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) for access to recycling studies and reports

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CM Consulting provides strategic policy consulting and research for recycling and reuse initiatives, focused on deposit return systems, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and beverage container recovery. The firm produces the biennial "Who Pays What" report analyzing Canadian beverage container collection and costs, alongside other reports such as the Global Overview of Deposit Systems and the WEEE Report, serving government regulators, beverage industry stakeholders, and environmental organizations.

Product overview

CM Consulting is a waste reduction policy and analysis consulting firm established in 1998, offering a portfolio of research reports and advisory services focused on beverage container recycling, deposit return systems, and extended producer responsibility. The core offerings include the Who Pays What report series analyzing Canadian beverage container recovery, the Global Overview of Deposit Systems for international deposit system analysis, WEEE management reports, and Residential Recycling Access studies. These products are distributed as downloadable PDF reports and video presentations, serving government officials, beverage industry stakeholders, and recycling sector professionals seeking to understand program performance, costs, and policy effectiveness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Who Pays What: Biennial report analyzing beverage container recovery and costs in Canadian provinces
• Reloop

Products and services

• Who Pays What Report Comprehensive analysis of beverage container collection and costs in Canada, providing province-specific performance rates, collection costs, and analysis of environmental and economic benefits. Published biennially since 2002.
• Global Overview of Deposit Systems Analysis of deposit return systems for one-way beverage containers across global jurisdictions, addressing marine litter and recycling challenges.
• WEEE Report Report on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment management in Canada, covering program costs, performance methodologies, and producer responsibility.
• Residential Recycling Access Reports Analysis of recycling access rates in Canada, tracking household access to recycling programs for various plastic packaging materials including bottles, tubs, bags, and film.
• Single Stream Collection Research Research on economic and environmental impacts of single-stream collection systems versus dual-stream and source-separated programs.
• Deposit-Return Factsheets Educational factsheets produced in partnership with Reloop covering handling fees, public support polling, performance data, and economic impacts to municipalities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Canada maintains 70% total recovery rate for beverage containers, representing over 10 billion units collected per year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Reloop PlatformcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2015Clarissa Morawski, Principal of CM Consulting, co-founded Reloop Platform in March 2015. Reloop is the first pan-European organization focused on waste prevention, reduction, and recycling, representing industry, government, and environmental organizations at the EU level. CM Consulting works closely with Reloop on deposit return system advocacy and policy development.
• Kelleher EnvironmentalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2014Partnered with CM Consulting and Sound Resource Management on a City of Calgary commissioned study to analyze factors influencing declining recycling tonnages in May 2014.
• Sound Resource ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2014Collaborated with CM Consulting and Kelleher Environmental on the City of Calgary study examining factors affecting recycling trends, in May 2014.
• Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2012CM Consulting prepared the Residential Recycling Access for Consumer Plastic Packaging report for CPIA in 2012 (updated in 2016), examining plastic packaging recycling access across Canada. The report showed that over 95% of Canadians can recycle plastic bottles.
• Container Recycling Institute (CRI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008In 2008, CRI commissioned CM Consulting to examine the economic and environmental impacts of single-stream collection systems. CM Consulting has produced multiple reports for CRI on beverage container recycling and collection systems.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CalRecovery Inc. California-based waste-management and recycling economics consultancy producing studies on beverage container recovery, deposit systems, and recycling program costs — directly comparable specialty niche and client type.
• Anthesis Group: Global sustainability consultancy with a strong circular-economy and packaging practice serving CPG, beverage, and government clients — directly comparable in mission and on competing RFPs for EPR/DRS advisory work.
• Eunomia Research & Consulting: Independent environmental consulting firm specializing in waste management, recycling, and circular-economy policy analysis for governments and industry — directly comparable in mission, client base (UK/EU governments, beverage and packaging producers), and report-driven revenue model.
• Resource Recycling Systems (RRS): North American consultancy focused on materials management, recycling program design, and producer responsibility policy — comparable to CM Consulting on North American beverage container and EPR advisory work and similar government/industry client base.
• Container Recycling Institute (CRI): U.S. nonprofit research organization producing reports on beverage container recovery and deposit-return systems — closely comparable to CM Consulting's Who Pays What and CRI is itself a documented CM Consulting client.

Emerging players

• Reloop Platform: Pan-European circular-economy organization co-led by CM Consulting's founder; operates in overlapping deposit-return and packaging-recycling policy space with a policy-advocacy (rather than paid-consulting) business model that intersects with CM Consulting's offerings.

Broad incumbents

• SLR Consulting: Global environmental and sustainability advisory firm with waste-management and recycling practice areas — competes for similar municipal and corporate clients, though at much larger scale and broader scope.
• WSP: Global professional services firm with a large environment and sustainability practice covering waste, recycling, and EPR advisory work for governments and corporate clients — broader portfolio but overlapping with CM Consulting's offerings.
• Ramboll: Global engineering and sustainability consultancy with significant waste-management and circular-economy work in Europe, including deposit-return scheme design — competes with CM Consulting on European policy engagements.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Large global environmental consultancy with established packaging, plastics, and circular-economy practices serving beverage multinationals and governments — competes for the same advisory RFPs at greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CMConsultinginc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC8OIm9N8Ug2IL8ryTUz3EWA/videos?sort=dd&shelf_id=0&view=0

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CM Consulting