€25.4 trillion. Every year. Gone

That’s not a rounding error. That’s 31% of global GDP – leaking out of the economy because of how we design, use, and discard things.

I read the Circularity Gap Report 2026, summarised it, and attached it below – because more people need to see what it actually says.

This year the report stops asking “how circular are we?” and asks something sharper:

How much value are we destroying by staying linear?

The answer shows up in five places:
→ Processing inefficiencies – value lost before products even reach market
→ Energy systems that leak more than they deliver
→ Food grown but never eaten
→ Products destroyed at end-of-life instead of recovered
→ Buildings and infrastructure that fail long before they should

But here’s what the report also makes clear :

There are four specific mechanisms driving every single one of those losses:
1️⃣ Mismanagement of materials and products
2️⃣ Premature obsolescence
3️⃣ Premature deterioration
4️⃣ Shadow costs that never show up in market prices

These aren’t abstract forces. They show up in procurement decisions, product design, maintenance budgets, and disposal contracts. Every day. In organisations of every size.

The report’s recommended actions aren’t about perfection. We need to:
🍀 Design products that hold onto value longer
🍀 Extend the life of what already exists
🍀 Measure value leakage the way we measure emissions
🍀 Prioritise high-value recovery over low-value recycling
🍀 Align finance and policy with long-term value creation

For small businesses, this doesn’t mean overhauling everything. Small shifts in design, procurement, or maintenance can stop real value slipping through the cracks.

We’re not just wasting materials. We’re wasting 31% of everything the world produces.

That’s not a sustainability problem. That’s an economic emergency, and the opportunity it creates is enormous.

A few months ago, I spoke at the 3rd Talk: Eco‑Leaders of Tomorrow: Green Horizons and Future Skills about exactly this – why smaller businesses need to think and operate more circularly. I also gave real-world examples and a simple, practical Circularity Implementation Roadmap to get SMEs started.

🎦 You can watch the full webinar here:
https://lnkd.in/e42pKqMy

📃 I am also sharing the post with the Circularity Implementation Roadmap attached here: https://lnkd.in/eRYMaYZd

Please feel free to download and use freely.

Which part of the Value Gap hits closest to home in your sector?

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/karenformosa_the-circularity-report-2026-ugcPost-7451930857570861056-76Bm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAtGGkQBsxwMBmX3lEJO8btihnfBCaHqTz4