Today, we are thrilled to announce that Circle Economy has joined forces with the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) to measure the circularity of the Swedish economy. The analysis, funded by the strategic innovation programme RE:Source, will deliver tailored recommendations for a circular economy in Sweden and inspire stakeholders from businesses, governments, academia and civil society to steer the country's transition.
Sweden, like many countries around the world, recognises the circular economy as a means to meet emissions targets, improve living conditions and make the economy more competitive. But while the why of the circular economy is clear, the how remains a big challenge. Through the Circularity Gap Report analysis for countries—Circle Economy's method for analysing material flows in national economies—RISE and Circle Economy will shed light on Sweden's resource reality: what kind of materials already flow in the economy? Where do the biggest waste streams come from? Are certain streams already cycled back into the system? Understanding how circular Sweden is today will provide valuable insights into opportunities for the future.
‘Thanks to this analysis, we will understand how circular Sweden is, where Sweden is excelling and where Sweden needs to improve. Based on that, we can identify circular actions that are likely to have the biggest positive impact. This will help us drive the circular economy transition in the Nordics and the world.’ - Vojtech Vosecky, Circle Economy Associate
‘It will be interesting to identify what measures should be prioritised for Sweden to become more circular and to what extent these measures are addressed in various national strategic documents such as the national action plan for a circular economy.’ - Carl Jensen, Project Manager at RISE
‘Our mission is to improve resource efficiency in society, but to measure improvement over time we need first of all a baseline measurement. That is why we decided to fund this important initiative.’ - Klas Cullbrand, Innovation Manager at RE:Source.
Thanks to the support from RE:Source, outcomes of the analysis and key recommendations will be launched in the form of a Circularity Gap Report for Sweden in the first quarter of 2022.
By conducting a Circularity Gap analysis, Sweden will join the ranks of Austria (9.7% circular), the Netherlands (24.5% circular), Norway (2.4% circular) and Quebec (3.5% circular). Read more about Circle Economy's Circularity Gap Reporting Initiative here.
For more details about the Swedish project or our activities in the Nordics, feel free to get in touch with Vojtech at www.circle-economy.com/contact
About RISE
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden is Sweden’s research institute and innovation partner. Through international collaboration with industry, academia and the public sector, we ensure business competitiveness and contribute to a sustainable society.
About RE:Source
RE:Source has been appointed by the Swedish Energy Agency, Vinnova and Formas as a Strategic Innovation Program, supporting research and innovation leading to sustainable use of materials. www.resource-sip.se
About Circle Economy
Circle Economy is an impact organisation, founded to create prosperity for all within the limits of our planet. We combine data, tools and digital knowledge for the greater good. With nature as our mentor, we support businesses, cities & nations to accelerate circularity with practical roadmaps for change. We are an international team of passionate experts working globally, based in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam, 21st of September, 2021—Today, Circle Economy announces changes in its leadership team. As of 1 September 2021, Annerieke Douma (Director Global Alliances and Cities) has left Circle Economy after six years. Staying in Indonesia, Annerieke will remain connected to Circle Economy as an Advisor for Southeast Asia, while Hatty Cooper (Director Director Governments and Institutions) will additionally oversee the Cities programme, formerly led by Annerieke, moving forward. Meanwhile, Ivonne Bojoh—our Head of Digital—will assume the responsibilities of Chief Operating Officer ad interim.
'I am grateful to see the need for a circular economy gaining momentum rapidly over the past six years as one of the solutions to the global challenges we are facing. Cities, businesses and nations all play a key role in the necessary systemic change. I am convinced Circle Economy will continue to have a foundational role in the transition to a circular economy. I am grateful to have been part of an incredible team and to our close partners for the trust and collaborative effort we have put into contributing to a more equitable and prosperous society. The Cities Programme is in the best possible hands with Hatty Cooper moving forward.' - Annerieke Douma
'Working with national- and local-level decision makers at the intersection of government, industry and civil society is vital to achieving an impactful and sustained circular transition for all. I look forward to collaborating with Annerieke in her new role in Southeast Asia and working with a great team to pursue our ambitious agenda to double global circularity by 2032.' - Hatty Cooper
'As Circle's COO a.i., I can leverage lessons learnt from (digital) scale-up organisations and guide our teams to work according to the tri-track agile method. This will enable us to continue valuable research and development work for programmatic development, while we productise and distribute the content and data through our (upcoming) digital platform.' - Ivonne Bojoh
At Circle Economy, we want to thank Annerieke for helping shape what Circle Economy is today. While she was with Circle Economy she, among others, successfully developed a thriving Cities Programme, launched the first Doughnut City and initiated the Circular Jobs Initiative in collaboration with strategic global partners.
At the same time, we look forward to helping more businesses, cities and nations put the circular economy into action with the continuing leadership of Hatty Cooper (Director Governments and Institutions) and Marc de Wit (Director Strategic Alliances), in close collaboration with Martijn Lopes Cardozo (CEO) and Ivonne Bojoh (COO a.i. & Head of Digital).
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We are thrilled to announce that Circle Economy has entered into a new partnership with the Nordic Circular Hotspot, the leading platform for the circular economy in the region.
Together, we intend to accelerate the circular transition in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and The Netherlands through knowledge sharing, networking and collaborative projects. By uniting our strengths, networks, experience and expertise, we aim to leverage our joint abilities to set a powerful course for the circular future of the Nordics.
“Since collaboration is key to circularity and today’s value chains swiftly need to change from linear to circular, it is crucial to join forces with like- and heart-minded organisations such as Circle Economy. Some of our ten Managing Partners already have had several years of experience working with Circle Economy by co-creating general awareness in the Nordics and growing the circular movement together. Working with nature as our inspiration, we very much look forward to our partnership and to accelerating the transition to a circular economy in the Nordics, hand in hand." - Einar K. Holthe, Managing Partner, Nordic Circular Hotspot and Market Strategist, Natural State
"Due to their innovation drive and strong sustainability movement, the Nordics are in a great position to become a global leader in the circular economy. But the region is in the midst of a major transition and still has a long way to go. By partnering up with the Nordic Circular Hotspot, we are co-creating opportunities to provide Nordic states, cities, regions and businesses with the fuel needed to accelerate their circular transition." - Vojtech Vosecky, Circle Economy Associate
Our partnership is part of the Nordic Circular Hotspot’s ten-year Partnership Programme, which has been designed to accelerate a strategic, systematic and efficient circular market transition and sustainable development in the Nordic region.
For further information on this partnership or our activities in the Nordics, feel free to reach out to Vojtech through our contact form.
About the Nordic Circular Hotspot
The Nordic Circular Hotspot is a collaboration platform and ten-year circular market transition programme run by a consortium of ten Managing Partners from five Nordic countries plus The Netherlands and co-financed by Nordic Innovation. On a mission to enable and accelerate the transition to an inclusive, regenerative and circular market in the Nordics, the Nordic Circular Hotspot operates as an active enabler, well-connected facilitator and strategic collaborator in the region. Its secretariat is located in Oslo.
About Circle Economy
Circle Economy is an impact organisation, founded to create prosperity for all within the limits of our planet. We combine data, tools and digital knowledge for the greater good. With nature as our mentor, we support businesses, cities and nations to accelerate circularity with practical roadmaps for change. We are an international team of passionate experts, based in Amsterdam.
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How can the circular economy support ecotourism?
Lao PDR is a country of rich and diverse natural landscapes including rainforests, waterfalls and limestone mountains. Its stunning nature offers unique opportunities to develop sustainable tourism, but financial, legal and other barriers hinder its development. Can the circular economy be a lever for change?
Our latest endeavour—participation in a UNDP-led project with Shifting Paradigms, Rebel Group and Earth Systems—explores how Lao can develop circular business models to support its ecotourism. Together, we led a Community of Practice: a series of workshops and consultations, bringing together local entrepreneurs and policymakers.
The result? Practical solutions that will help participants achieve their sustainability goals through a shift to circular business. For example, the sustainable tourism provider Green Discovery now collaborates with PLM Eastbeam, considering how to substitute steel for wood to build an eco-friendly bridge, and with Lao Biogas to champion more sustainable energy sources.
From investigating opportunities for sustainable building materials to financing circular business opportunities, the Community of Practice helped foster new connections, spark knowledge exchange and put theory into action.
‘We worked with businesses in Lao to kickstart and scale their circular ecotourism activities—using our Community of Practice to spark new ideas and transform theory into action.’ says project leader, Aglaia Fischer.
Stay tuned for our upcoming white paper summarising the outcomes of the project.
Shifting to a full circular clothing industry in the Netherlands won't just impact the environment—it can also bring employment benefits, boosting job creation by as much as 25%. This is according to new research by Circle Economy's Circular Jobs Initiative*, Putting circular textiles to work: The employment potential of circular clothing in the Netherlands. The report outlines three distinct circular scenarios—a shift in consumption patterns, prioritisation of reuse and repair, and upscaling of textile-to-textile recycling—through the lens of employment impacts, finding the second one to be most beneficial to the job market. But to realise such a scenario would require bridging current skills gaps, and re- and upskilling workers—bringing new careers, from (re)manufacturing designers to quality assessors to resale collection managers, to the fore.
The impact of the fashion industry on people and planet is well-known: the clothing industry accounts for around 5% of emissions worldwide, and workers around the globe are subject to unethical working conditions pervasive in the sector. And yet, the hunger for fast fashion is growing: in the Netherlands alone, residents purchase an average of one new garment per week, and around the world the equivalent of one truck load of clothing is burnt or incinerated every second. The need for a circular clothing industry—and especially one that benefits workers—is clear; but what skills do we need to get there?
Working in collaboration with the Goldschmeding Foundation, Circle Economy and HIVA dove into the intricacies of this question, with the aim of supporting national actors in the Dutch clothing value chain from linear to circular and supporting employment opportunities in the process.
Boosting clothing reuse and repair would see the greatest benefits, the report finds: a growing second-hand market and increased demand for repair and maintenance services could increase job creation in the industry by 25%—equal to 24,286 new full-time equivalents (FTEs) in repair and maintenance, 17,319 FTEs shifted from first- to second-hand sales and an additional 4,611 FTEs in second-hand sales. Some of the skills required for this scenario are already present in the Dutch labour market: repair and maintenance, logistics and procurement, manufacturing, management, sales and retail, waste management and industrial cleaning skills already crop up across the clothing value chain. As we progress towards a more circular system, the need for these skills will only become more prevalent—as will new jobs in technology, e-commerce and textile sorting, to better support repair and cycling. And what's more, progressing to a fully circular sector that fulfills both environmental and social standards will need aspects of all three scenarios to be developed in combination, bringing additional skills to the fore.
The research leads collaborated with Amsterdam-based social enterprise Makers Unite to further explore skills gaps for their current and future business models. The organisation, which works with skilled newcomers to the Netherlands with a refugee background to create sustainable, upcycled products, hopes to convert to a fully circular business model. Makers Unite notes the growing relevance of data scientists and analysts, sustainability and innovation managers, logistics and customer communications workers and the redevelopment of design, product development and tailoring roles.
'I believe a transition towards a circular economy model starts by understanding how to make the best use of our existing resources: material and human. The innovation needed for the skillforce will create new opportunities for social inclusion to be fostered—and this is why we have focused our efforts on new business models.'
Thami Schweichler—Managing Director at Makers Unite
The benefits of realising such a scenario are plentiful—but how can we get there? This will require committed coordination between relevant actors, from the Dutch government and private sector stakeholders to academia and education institutions—as well as action that ensures no worker is left behind or subject to unethical working conditions. Training and retraining must take a holistic approach and be directed at unemployed workers and those at risk of being phased out in addition to the employed workforce—and the role of vocational education and training must be recognised as essential to advancing the circular economy and building back better from the covid-19 pandemic.
While the world’s circularity sits at 8.6%, the Canadian province of Quebec trails behind—cycling just 3.5% of the materials it consumes. This is according to our new Circularity Gap Report Quebec, which deep dives into the intricacies of the province’s economy—pinpointing opportunities to jump start its own circular journey. The report presents circular strategies across six key sectors, and highlights how Quebec's circularity can climb from 3.5% to 9.8%, further outlining the co-benefits this transformational shift could bring. This first regional Circularity Gap Report shines a light on the power of provinces, positioning Quebec as a key agent for change and promising incubator for circularity.
Quebec boasts several assets—its electricity use is fuelled almost entirely by renewable sources, it's home to one of the most expansive forest reservoirs in the world with huge carbon-sequestration potential, and has high government spending power and a skilled workforce. Yet, the province's economy is still largely linear: it guzzles resources and consumes an average of 271 million tonnes per year—amounting to 32 tonnes per person; topping the average Canadian and far beyond the average European. The large material footprint also represents a sizable opportunity: if implemented, the impact of the proposed circular strategies is substantial, and would bring the province's consumption well below the European average.
Circle Economy, with partner Recyc-Québec, has uncovered six 'what-if' scenarios that have the power to transform the Quebecois economy. Based on a foundational analysis of how resources are used to meet various societal needs—from Housing and Mobility to Food and Consumer Goods—the report provides various interventions to narrow the province's Circularity Gap.
Which societal needs consume the most? Unsurprisingly, resource-intensive Housing, Manufactured Goods and Agriculture fill the first three slots. The interventions suggested for Housing have the power to boost circularity by one percentage point and shave a whopping 11% off the material footprint, bringing it to 241.2 million tonnes. These include:
Similarly, the interventions suggested for taking a more conscious approach to Manufactured Goods could see circularity rise from 3.5% to 4.2%, and strip back the material footprint by 4.4%. These include:
The interventions suggested for Agriculture bring the greatest potential for material savings, reducing the footprint by 12.3% while bumping circularity up 0.5 percentage points. These include:
Other scenarios explored include circular public procurement, resource-efficient manufacturing and a transition to clean mobility, which boost the Circularity Metric by 0.5, 0.3 and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.
The report highlights the potential to jumpstart Quebec's circular transition—and help it meet the goals of its 2030 Plan for a Green Economy. A full-steam-ahead approach to circularity in Quebec carries great promise: by increasing circularity by just six percentage points, the province’s economy will see transformational change and slash its material footprint in half. That's not all—circular strategies reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the report’s proposed measures bring a host of other co-benefits, like increased biodiversity, reduced plastic pollution and stronger communities amongst others.
And the time is now: as provinces across Canada begin to return to business-as-usual after more than a year of restrictions due to the covid-19 pandemic, the Quebecois government has a crucial opportunity to position itself as a leader in 'building back better'—championing an approach that boosts resilience and puts environmental, social and economic concerns at the fore. This approach is the circular economy.
Businesses must measure and report on non-financial information to estimate future risks and optimise performance, as well help companies stay competitive while improving their environmental and social impact. This is according to a new Circle Economy Coalition Circular Accounting (CCA) white paper—published with the Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants and Invest-NL—which suggests a way to measure circular impact data and identifies next steps for businesses, financiers and accountants.
This is especially important as an increasing number of businesses are reshaping the linear ‘take-make-waste’ economy into a circular economy—sustainability is big business. If digital was the trend of the 2010s, sustainability and the circular economy are the focus of the 2020s—driven by consumer and investor demand, as reported by Forbes. Eyes are on the business world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste, as well as prioritise employee wellbeing—among other environmental and social indicators.
Today, financial statements are the primary sources of information on a business’s current and future performance. They are also the primary base upon which management and investor decisions are made. But here lies the problem—current statements have a very narrow focus. They do not fully reflect the short- and long-term constraints and impacts of non-financial aspects, such as resource depletion, social inequalities or climate change.
The CCA’s new white paper, How to find the value of circular impact in business, says positive and negative social and environmental impacts need to be integrated into financial reporting and, ultimately, governance and financial decision making processes.
‘A company’s value will be increasingly tied to its environmental and social impact—so it must become a matter of routine to integrate impact information in all strategic decision making processes.’ says Aglaia Fischer, project manager of Circular Finance at Circle Economy.
Profit has long been the language of business. But now, businesses and investors should consider reporting on circular and non-financial impact in financial statements to enable more substantiated decision making and unveil a company’s long-term opportunities and risks.
Circular impact means implementing circularity in business activities. This essentially entails incorporating externalities (i.e. impact) in the business and revenue model. Circular companies may have a lower financial performance compared to linear ones, due to the costs incurred for activities that have a positive economic, environmental or social impact, but it's likely they have a far higher sustainability performance. Therefore, in striving for a fair assessment of a company’s performance, it is key to create a level playing field and rate all companies the same way. This requires different information and different assessment frameworks, that do consider factors such as employee wellbeing, pollution and scarce materials use. Circular impact data measures this, giving businesses an incentive to change their behaviour for the better, and investors a chance to prioritise companies that do this.
We already know one thing: what gets measured, gets managed. And this white paper confirms that. To provide a clear account of the potential of circular impact and a possible methodology, the CCA worked with knowledge partner Impact Institute on an impact case involving Meerlanden, a Dutch material and energy recovery company. They measured how waste is collected and processed into new resources in the company using the Integrated Profit and Loss (IP&L) method. This method measures impact against six capitals: financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and natural.
The analysis uncovers that circular organic waste recycling has a far lower negative environmental impact than non-circular residual waste incineration. This impact case proves that environmental and social impacts considerably affect a business’s operations and prospects for the future, and that the method of IP&L can be scaled across different business processes in a variety of sectors.
The authors spotlight three next steps:
We are thrilled to announce that Circle Economy has joined the Pact for Skills, a shared engagement model for skills development in Europe launched by the European Commission.
By signing the Pact for Skills, Circle Economy commits to action on upskilling both our own people and through our work raising awareness of the skills people working in the circular economy need in Europe and beyond.
The circular transition hinges on workers and their skills. Upskilling and reskilling are urgently needed if we are to harness the full potential of the circular economy and ensure that no workers are left behind in the transition. Read this blog by Esther Goodwin Brown (Circular Jobs Initiative Lead at Circle Economy) from December 2020 to learn more.
Our latest report on skills explains the role of vocational and educational training (VET) in ensuring a skilled workforce can thrive in and scale up the circular economy. It provides recommendations for governments, educators, industry and civil society, illustrating how VET can help us build circular capacities, leverage existing skill sets and diversify.
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