How the circular economy can revive the sustainable development goals

A global transition to a circular economy is essential for achieving the majority of the SDGs and for the post-2030 development agenda.

The economic, social and environmental case for shifting to a ‘circular’ global economy as a sustainable alternative to current wasteful and polluting models of production and consumption is increasingly clear, and supported by an extensive academic literature. But the global mechanisms for getting there largely remain lacking. This is partly because the concept of the circular economy, despite rapid uptake in many countries, is in its relative infancy and the new institutional frameworks and market structures to support its development and expansion have yet to be established. It is also because circular economy principles are insufficiently recognized in a formal way in the existing multilateral system, particularly in the realm of sustainable development.

However, the prospect of change is emerging. The type of development model and global approach required for the post-2030 development agenda is receiving increasing attention from the international community and policymakers. This reflects the world’s lack of progress towards meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the fact that only six years remain before the 2030 deadline for the SDGs is reached. Given widespread concerns about this issue and the additional anxiousness of many policymakers to decide what should come after the SDGs, there is an emerging opportunity to embed the circular economy more fully in the sustainability debate at a multilateral level. This paper aims to contribute to UN-led discussions on ‘the circular economy’, outlines important principles that need to inform collective work on the circular economy as a catalyst for SDG realization, and proposes an indicative, SDG-linked blueprint for the future of the circular economy to 2050 to inform wider policy deliberation and negotiations.

In simple terms, a ‘circular economy’ is a system that seeks to deliver social and economic prosperity without requiring unsustainable levels of raw material extraction, consumption and pollution. To achieve this, it combines three design principles: eliminating waste and pollution; extending the lifetime of products and materials for as long as possible; and regenerating natural systems. Achieving a circular economy is not simply about recycling more, although recycling is a well-known part of such a model. Rather, the transition requires reorienting and redesigning the underpinning goals and structures of societal provisioning systems (food, transport, energy, shelter) in a way that dramatically reduces raw material and energy consumption.

source :

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/09/how-circular-economy-can-revive-sustainable-development-goals