A transition to a circular economy prevents global environmental collapse – it’s try or die

Since the industrial revolution the dominant economic model in high income countries has been a linear economy. In a linear economy a take-make-use-dispose mentality directs societal consumption behaviour. The almost inevitable fate of a product is its disposal at the end of its product life. According to Lieder & Rashid (2016 p. 37) this is explained by “disposable products with the explicit purpose of being discarded after use (planned obsolesce) heralded the era of fashion and style hence stimulating throwaway-mindset which is today known as linear consumption behaviour”. This system reaches the limits of its capacity. A wide range of environmental problems, water and air pollution and resource depletion call for a radical change and transition to a sustainable economic system. Scarce resources will be under even more pressure as material intensity is predicted to increase with the global middle class, i.e. the largest resource demanding consumer group, doubling in size to 5 billion by 2030 (EMF 2013b). Human survival is at stake as the stability of economies is threatened together with the “integrity of natural ecosystems” (Ghisellini et al. 2016 p. 11). To do justice to the demanding consumers, the supplying producers but also the struggling environment a solution serving all stakeholders needs to be implemented as quickly as possible. A possible and not at all new but rather rediscovered solution can be the implementation of a circular economy (CE).

In short, CE is about creating closed loop material flows keeping “products, components and materials at their highest utility and value” (EMF 2013a) and use them through multiple phases. CE is also about waste prevention, resource efficiency, leakage minimisation and dematerialisation (Geissdoerfer et al. 2017). Figure 1 depicts a principle model for a CE where raw materials are only added for manufacturing and re-manufacturing of products or components already in the system. These have been recycled or re-used by the consumer maybe several times already. Waste is almost non-existent and leaves the system as residual waste if not further used.

The shift from a predominantly linear to a circular economy needs the active involvement of many different stakeholders at several different levels. Some major enablers and also potential preventers that should be named are industries, companies or businesses, policy makers and users or consumers. Ghisellini et al. (2016 p. 11) accentuate their role in CE implementation as “cleaner production patterns at company level, an increase of producers and consumers responsibility and awareness, the use of renewable technologies and materials [and] the adoption of suitable, clear and stable policies and tools” are their main tasks. Companies and consumers can exert a major influence on an economy. Figure 2 shows the rapid historical and predicted growth of the middle-class from 1950 to 2030.

There is a rapid increase in the world middle class taking place since the early 2000’s. With this comes an increase in purchasing power and, consequently, a shift in demand from loose, unpacked products to manufactured, packaging goods leading to higher material and waste impact (EMF 2013b).

In addition, Table 1 shows the immense power companies and businesses wield in the global economy. It is shown that 50 % of the world’s 50 largest economies in revenue generation in US$ in 2016 were corporations rather than countries (countries coloured in black, corporations coloured in red). This does not only emphasize the immense influence the companies can exercise but also the responsibility, difference and guidance companies can embody in a shift towards a more environmentally friendly and sustainable economic system. Walmart Inc., for example, had a higher yearly revenue in 2016 than countries such as Spain, Sweden or Russia.

Besides consumers and businesses, policy makers can drive change towards CE. One example for a policy maker acting on the need for a systematic shift is the European Union. In 2015 the EU published their “Closing the loop – an EU action plan for the circular economy”. This states that a circular economy will “save energy and help avoid the irreversible damages caused by using up resources at a rate that exceeds the Earth's capacity to renew them” (EC, 2019, 2, p. 2). The action plan presents the regulatory framework for an EU-wide transition to circular economy including guidance for circular solutions supporting production, waste management, consumption and renewable energies.