The Circularity Gap Report provides a metric that measures the circular state of the world economy and high-level insights into the global metabolism. It also identifies key levers for transitioning to circularity at a global level by mid-21st century.

PARTNERS:

Circle Economy, WBCSD, DSM, UNCTAD, City of Amsterdam, WWF, Philips

LOCATION:

Global and national (Austria as the first country)

Creates a common regional vision and platform for advancing and building circularity in their economies (under development). 

PARTNERS:

UNEP, World Economic Forum, UNIDO, Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS-EKLA) 

LOCATION:

Central and South America

Convenes key stakeholders and advance harmonized approaches to measuring the progress and impacts of a circular economy transition. 

PARTNERS:

PACE (Secretariat), World Resources Institute, World Economic Forum, Circle Economy

LOCATION:

Global

LONG TERM AMBITION

Provide a scalable solution that helps OEMs and the parties in their supply chains to define the business case for viable and bankable circular propositions.

CONTEXT

• The circular transition will be driven by end-demand and large manufacturers (OEMs) who are investing in new circular propositions

• SMEs and mid-corps are major enablers in the supply chain of OEMs, but are due to their size hindered from investing in the transition and adopting circular business models, as long as the financial viability is unclear

OBJECTIVES

• Develop a scalable solution that helps OEMs and the parties in their supply chains to formulate a viable and bankable business case for circular propositions

• Ensure cooperation and a just risk-reward distribution in the supply chain, thereby also enabling SMEs and mid-corps to make the transition

• Conduct a pilot with a construction company and their supply chain partners, with an initial focus on the construction sector

• Share insights with WEF PACE and broader CE community

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Circular Economy is happening, and it’s not… With the aim to ensure that supply chain participants effectively cooperate and are able to create viable and bankable business cases of their circular propositions; ING, Accenture and Circle Economy are developing CiSCA: the Circular Supply Chain Accelerator. Actively engaging with companies and industry experts, the initial focus of the project is on the construction sector as this is a materials intensive sector, with significant CO2 emissions and great interest to jointly build that positive business case, we know it’s there!

LONG TERM AMBITION

Build circularity in our economies through sustainable procurement

CONTEXT

• Leveraging the purchasing power by buying more sustainable goods and services can help drive markets in the direction of sustainability

• The Sustainable Development Goals have reiterated the strong link between environmental protection, sustainable development and public procurement, with the inclusion of target 12.7

• Currently, incorportation of circularity requirements in procurement practices has not been broadly applied, yet it holds important potential

OBJECTIVES

• Identify highest value opportunities to leverage procurement to scale the transition to circularity in economies

• Collaborate with the public and private sector to support the intergration of circularity in the procurement cycle

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The report «Building circularity in our economies through sustainable procurement» was launched at the World Circular Economy Forum 2018. The report highlights and draws attention to the potential of procurement as a tool to scale circularity in products and services.

Building on the findings of the report, the UN Environment Programme, in collaboration with the One Planet Network, aims to include circularity requirements in sustainable procurement practices for govenments and private sector in upcoming procurement and sectoral projects and initiatives.

LONG TERM AMBITION

Leverage the potential of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to advance the circular economy at speed and scale through PACE projects and across its thematic areas.

CONTEXT

• The Fourth Industrial Revolution has the potential to reshape our current systems by combining digital, physical and biological technologies at scale

• We have the opportunity to leverage this potental for the circular economy

• Many solutions exist, but independently of each other and often not at scale

• Plastics packaging and Electronics in particular provide significant opportunity spaces to accelerate the circular economy across different steps in the value chain

OBJECTIVES

• Publish a thought piece on 4IR applications for circular economy in electronics and plastics to be presented at Davos in January, 2019

• Actively engage PACE partners and members in the process

• Deliver 1 -5 concrete action insights to advance PACE project efforts

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

In the same way that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is reshaping healthcare, mobility and education systems worldwide, it can also be leveraged to help design innovative approaches to managing the way materials and products flow within, rather than through our economy in move away from the current “take-make- dispose” model towards a circular one. This project aims at identifying the circular economy opportunity spaces across the value chain of plastics packaging and electronics, the 4IR technology-enabled solutions to leverage them and the enabling frameworks required to implement these at scale. Outcomes of this project feed into the ongoing work in plastics and electronics and help to accelerate and scale impact.

LONG TERM AMBITION

Create an alliance of African countries represented at the Ministerial level who share best practices, undertake collaborative projects and advocate for the circular economy

CONTEXT

A number of countries in Africa are experiencing favorable demographics and fast growth, there is an opportunity for new growth and job opportunities through continued industrialization and urbanization. The circular economy can provide an economic opportunity and jobs while avoiding a number of negative externalities experienced in other regions as a result of widescale industrialization, while reducing dependence on unstable commodity markets

OBJECTIVES

• Share best practices for the creation of legal and regulatory frameworks, the building of partnerships and the financing and creation of circular economy projects

• Advocate for and raise awareness of the circular economy at a national, regional and global level

• Bring about new projects and partnerships within individual or multiple countries

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Conceived at the World Economic Forum in Kigali in 2016 and launched in Bonne at COP 23. The Alliance was founded by three countries Rwanda, Nigeria and South Africa along with UN Environment and the World Economic Forum. The Alliance held its first Annual meeting and board meeting at the Africa Green Growth Summit in November 2018 in which Niger, Senegal, Malawi and the DRC joined the Alliance.