CE in a nutshell:
The circular economy is a new understanding of how we source and use materials. Especially important is to look at what happens to a product at the end of its life. We need to remodel the flow of our materials and products to move away from the linear take-make-waste economy. This transformation is necessary to ensure more efficient use of raw materials as well as to reduce our CO2 emissions, which are triggered by increasing levels of overconsumption. A CE will also help us to reduce waste and safeguard our resources and the environment.
What is the circular economy?
One of the most prominent CE definitions has been provided by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The foundation is a major player in pushing the transition to CE through research and industry collaborations. According to them
“[CE is] an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design. It replaces the ‘end-of-life’ concept with restoration, shifts towards the use of renewable energy, eliminates the use of toxic chemicals, which impair reuse, and aims for the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products, systems, and, within this, business models.”
In short, CE is based on the following three principles:
(1) Design out waste and pollution.
(2) Keep products and materials in use.
(3) Regenerate natural systems.
In addition to that, there are a certain number of principles or “Rs” to follow when you want to start implementing CE. They are building upon the initial 3Rs
- reduce (buy less, use less, use less materials)
- reuse (reuse products and materials once you want to discard them or once they no longer fulfill their original purpose)
- recycle (turn old products and materials into material input for new products and materials)
As part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission has set up a Circular Economy Action Plan. The goal of this plan is to achieve the EU’s transition to a circular economy.
This transition can
- help us to protect our natural resources and use them more efficiently
- create sustainable growth and new jobs in many industries and sectors
- help us achieve the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality target
- halt biodiversity loss and help us to protect our plants and animals
To get more detailed and academic insights on how the CE can be defined, resources to keep reading are e.g. Prieto-Sandoval et al. (2018), Kirchherr et al. (2017), Rizos et al. (2017) or Korhonen et al. (2018a, 2018b)
For further details on related concepts, please see Geisendorf & Pietrulla (2018). [DS1]
Why do we need a transformation towards the circular economy?
39% of global greenhouse gas emissions can be cut through a CE transition according to the Circularity Gap Report 2021. This will help us to avoid a climate breakdown and to fight the global climate crisis.
If we keep making new products from virgin materials this will approx. amount to 23 billion tonnes (Gt) of annual emissions. By applying circular strategies, we can reduce the number of minerals, fossil fuels, metals and biomass consumed by the world’s economy.
To achieve a successful transformation, Hartley et al. (2020) are outlining different policies for transitioning towards a circular economy. Many of these would have a direct impact on companies and industries because we will need to restructure the way of how we do business and how we produce goods. [DS2]
What are the benefits of a circular system
The EEA (2016) has identified a number of resources, environmental, economic, and social benefits of the circular economy in Europe. Resource benefits can be realized through improving resource security and decreasing resource dependency. The proportion of materials that are reused can be increased from approx. 9 to 17%, nearly doubling the circularity of the global economy (Circle Economy, 2021). On the environmental side, the negative impact can be reduced, which has also been confirmed by Circle Economy (2021), who outline 21 circular strategies in the Circularity Gap Report 2021. This can keep the planet on a well below 2°C trajectory by cutting emissions by approx. 23 billion tonnes beyond what is achieved by current climate commitments, a 39% reduction from 2019 levels. Among the economic benefits, opportunities for economic growth and innovation can be realized, e.g., the material cost savings of USD 340–630 billion per year in the EU alone (EMF, 2013a) and for certain consumer goods, i.e., food, beverages, textiles and packaging, the global potential of USD 700 billion per year in material savings is estimated, which equals about 20 % of the material input costs in these sectors (EMF, 2013b). On the social side, Europe would be enabled to grow resource productivity by up to 3% annually through technological advancements. In addition to a primary-resource benefit of as much as €0.6 trillion per year, €1.2 trillion in no resource and externality benefits could be generated, a sum of total benefits of €1.8 trillion compared with today (EMA et al., 2015; McKinsey, 2015). Meanwhile, the International Labour Organization projects the net creation of 18 million green jobs by 2030, including 4 million in manufacturing and 9 million in renewables and construction, all areas that will be boosted by a shift to circular thinking (ILO, 2018; 2019). However, this potential might differ according to country context and industry (Chateau & Mavroeidi, 2020).
[DS1]Not sure if we should keep this considering the target audience of the training guide…?
[DS2]Keep?