The principle of Circular Economy is to keep raw materials within the economic cycle as long as possible while generating the lowest possible amount of waste and emission. To do so, end-of-life products and materials must be kept at the highest possible level of value creation according to their original use. Adapted logistical concepts to coordinate both material and information flows - in addition to innovative business models and new approaches to product design for recycling - are necessary to realise circularity in the economy.

The megatrend of digitalisation, especially through Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things, offers solutions that have not yet been applied extensively.

Is the current circular economy paradigm enough? Will it get us to a fairer society and flourishing planet? Will it allow us to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals? Perhaps not. There could be a different way: by combining social enterprise and circular economy (= social circular economy), to deliver benefits to people, planet and profit.

​The Social Circular Economy report provides insights from our engagement with 30+ organisations from around the world that are using the value creating approaches of the circular economy to deliver environmental, societal and economic benefits. From a recycling hub supporting a disability rehabilitation centre to corporate uniform repurposing with women's collectives, there are organisations innovating business models.

How does a transition to a more circular economy affect jobs and skills demand in Europe?

This report looked at trends of circular economy activities across different sectors and quantified these activities as modelling inputs to provide employment changes for different sectors. The analysis also provides estimates of the occupational shifts and skills requirements that a shift to a more circular economy could entail.

The aim of this report is to develop an understanding of how a transition towards a more circular and resource efficient economy in Europe will affect labour markets across the Member States. Our analysis is the most comprehensive quantification of the EU jobs impacts from the circular economy to date. By using a fully integrated energy-environment-economy model (E3ME), our analysis considers both direct job losses and job creations that result from a shift to a more circular economy. It also captures indirect, induced and rebound impacts from interactions between sectors, Member States, and between economic, environment, material, energy and labour market indicators.

Our findings suggest that the EU is on the right track by making the circular economy a policy priority as circular economy policies will contribute to reducing negative environmental impacts, while simultaneously contributing to higher employment levels. By moving towards a more circular economy, GDP in the EU increases by almost 0.5% by 2030 compared to the baseline case. The net increase in jobs is approximately 700,000 compared to the baseline through additional labour demand from recycling plants, repair services and rebounds in consumer demand from savings generated through collaborative actions Although the magnitude of job creation is driven by our assumption of the rate of circular economy uptake in the scenarios, our analysis confirms that it is possible to become more resource efficient and increase employment at the same time.

Dit document is een samenvatting van de informatie die gedeeld werd tijdens het seminarie “Financiering van de circulaire economie” dat de FOD Economie op 6 juni 2017 organiseerde met verschillende sprekers uit de openbare sector en de banksector en met ondernemers van de circulaire economie.
Het concept van de circulaire economie wordt kort toegelicht, waarna oplossingen voor publieke en private financiering voorgesteld worden.
Er wordt tevens ingegaan op de moeilijkheden rond financiering waarmee de ondernemingen en de banken worden geconfronteerd.
Tot slot wordt door een vergelijking tussen de Belgische initiatieven op het vlak van circulaire economie en die van onze buurlanden de rol van België in Europa belicht bij de opkomst van dit nieuwe economische systeem. Verschillende aandachtspunten komen onder een rubriek “aanbevelingen” op het einde van het document.

"Cerrar el círculo: el business case de la economía circular" (Closing the loop: the business case for a circular economy) is a report authored in 2018 by Foretica, which shows the latest trends in circular economy, a practical roadmap to guide companies towards a circular mindset as well as best practices from 9 companies that are leading the transition towards a circular economy in Spain.

Forética is a multi-stakeholder non-profit organisation working to promoting ethical and socially responsible policies at the core of institutional and corporate values. In 2017, Foretica launched the Circular Economy Action Group with 9 leading companies: Ecoembes, Endesa, Naturgy, IKEA Ibérica, ING, LafargeHolcim, Nestlé, OHL and Unilever.

This report investigates how a more circular economy can contribute to cutting CO2 emissions. It explores a broad range of opportunities for the four largest materials in terms of emissions (steel, plastics, aluminium, and cement) and two large use segments for these materials (passenger cars and buildings). The key conclusion is that a more circular economy can make deep cuts to emissions from heavy industry: in an ambitious scenario, as much as 296 million tons CO2 per year in the EU by 2050, out of 530 Mt in total – and some 3.6 billion tonnes per year globally. Making better use of the materials that already exist in the economy thus can take EU industry halfway towards net-zero emissions.

Society and businesses are becoming increasingly aware that the resources needed for products are not infinite. There is growing pressure on the availability of resources due to a variety of factors including the expected increase in global consumption of goods spurred by a growing global middle class.

The report aims to introduce the various business risks of common ‘linear economy’ business practices and start a dialogue with the financial and business community about their implications. Building on this report, there is an objective to explore further directions to better understand and model them. Hopefuly, these risks will one day become an integral part of investment decisions to ensure better investment decisions that achieve long-term stability and growth.

Achieving the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement climate targets will hinge upon the global transition to a low-carbon circular economy. Replacing finite and fossil-based materials with responsibly managed renewable materials could decrease carbon emissions whilst reducing dependency on finite resources.

However, the role that renewable materials can play in the circular economy is often under-rated, and, so far, most of the conversation has focussed on biodegradability, instead of the role they could play in reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling streams. The aim of the Collaborative Project was to start a conversation on the role of renewables in the circular economy.

In order to support public purchasers to leverage support for a transition to a circular economy, in October 2017 the European Commission published 'Public Procurement for a Circular Economy'. This brochure contains a range of good practice case studies as well as guidance on integrating circular economy principles into procurement.

This report is the result of a collaborative project which was carried out by members of the Circular Economy 100, a program curated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The participants aimed to: (1) understand the implications of a circular economy on the business and financing models of companies; (2) determine how a transition to a circular economy can be supported and accelerated by the financial system; and (3) co-develop and share communication strategies and tools to make the transition clear and tangible to our colleagues, clients, and academics.