Initiatives

What is it?

Jobs in the Circular Economy is a joint initiative of Circle Economy, the International Labour Organization and the World Bank’s Solutions For Youth Employment (S4YE) Program. It aims to create evidence and tools to unlock the potential of the circular economy for promoting innovation, sustainable enterprise, and ensuring decent work for all.

Our initiative was born from the idea that we need better data and evidence to understand how the circular economy can lead to a more just and inclusive world. This concerns both global progress towards this goal and the challenges and opportunities posed in specific countries, sectors and value chains.

Our goal and strategy

Our overarching goal is to develop compelling evidence on current work in the circular economy and support pathways towards more effective environmental, social and economic policies and interventions which can enable fair and just societies.

Our main objective is to use authoritative data to increase awareness and understanding about opportunities and challenges related to the creation of more and better jobs in the circular economy.

Our approach

We conduct in-depth analyses of the circular economy and decent work landscape through rigorous and high-profile reviews as well as deep dives in the selected countries, sectors and value-chains.

We develop consistent and authoritative methodologies, assessments and indicators for measuring the circular economy's potential for creating decent work, and share them via open access platforms and channels.

We raise awareness and share knowledge about the circular economy and its potential for creating decent work by designing and delivering training programs, workshops, and other capacity-building interventions that target different audiences, including policymakers, businesses, workers, and communities.

We foster partnerships and collaboration among various stakeholders, including governments, industry, employers’ organizations, trade unions, research institutions, and civil society organizations, to leverage their expertise and resources for driving systemic change.

Read our latest report:

Decent work in the circular economy

An overview of the existing evidence base

Read here

our partners

Having better data and evidence to understand how the circular economy can create better quality jobs in different industries around the world is crucial for a just transition. Also, the circular economy is still seen as an environmental agenda, and its social and economic benefits are yet to be fully embraced, despite the importance of this topic. We need to work in partnership to create and put evidence of its socioeconomic impacts in the hands of practitioners and decision makers.

– Hatty Cooper, Director of Governments and Institutions at Circle Economy

There is no doubt that a circular economy can help us reach our climate goals. However, the links between circularity and the achievement of social and economic progress remain overlooked. The shift towards a more circular economy offers significant opportunities for the world of work, such as the creation of new jobs and sustainable enterprises. However, fully unlocking the potential of this new economy requires a just transition that addresses the current inequalities and suboptimal working conditions currently present in the circular economy. If not managed properly, these issues could continue to impede progress towards a more equitable and sustainable future.

– Alette van Leur, Director – Sectoral Policies Department at ILO

The link between environmental sustainability goals and human development and jobs has often been overlooked, especially in the context of developing countries where most workers are clustered in the informal sector, which is characterised by low quality, low paying jobs. The shift to more circular approaches calls for policies that ensure that the jobs created are not only good for the environment, but also good for workers. But this integration will require intentional and adequate policies, as well as further evidence to understand the impact of the circular economy on people's livelihoods. A truly just transition to the circular economy will require reskilling and upskilling opportunities for workers to access better job opportunities.

– Namita Datta, Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE) Program at the World Bank Group – Program Manager