With progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) badly off track, solutions are needed - and the circular economy has clear potential.

This Chatham House paper explores how the circular economy could support each of the 17 SDGs and argues for this concept to be put at the heart of emerging plans to drive sustainable development towards 2050. 

It identifies five priorities for action: embedding principles of justice and inclusivity into the circular transition; increasing international policy coordination; reforming the financial architecture to ensure the circular economy gets the investment it needs; rewiring the global system of trade to make it easier to trade circular products and services; and developing common standards and metrics.