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This collection was curated by the Circle Economy team from Knowledge Hub case studies for businesses, local and national governments around the world to find inspiration in practical examples of the circular economy. 

Visit the <a href="https://circle-economy.com" target="_blank">Circle Economy website</a> for more information and for more publications on the circular economy.

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Circle Economy

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This collection comes from the <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/circular-jobs-initiative/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Initiative</a>, an initiative of Circle Economy.

The workforce is an essential lever for transforming our economy from linear to circular. The Circular Jobs Initiative aims to maximise the employment opportunities offered by the circular economy. It provides practical support and insights to businesses and governments that want to adopt circular strategies that have a positive social impact.The Circular Jobs Initiative works through three focus areas: 

- Upskilling the workforce

- Quality of work

- Inclusive job opportunities 

CJI has defined circular jobs as any occupation that directly involves or indirectly supports one of the strategies of the circular economy. It distinguishes between three types of circular jobs: core, enabling and indirectly circular jobs.

**Core circular jobs** are all jobs that ensure the closure of raw material cycles, including jobs in repair, renewable energy, waste and resource management. 

**‍Enabling circular jobs** are jobs that remove barriers for and enable the acceleration and upscaling of core circular activities, including jobs that arise in leasing, education, design and digital technology. 

**Indirectly circular jobs** are jobs that occur in other sectors that do not play a direct role in furthering the transition to the circular economy but can still adopt circular strategies. They include jobs that provide services to core circular strategies, including jobs in information services, logistics and the public sector.

The Knowledge Hub Collection includes examples of circular jobs, publications, reports, case studies and policies different organisations, governments and businesses are already using to advocate for a person-centred circular economy. 

Visit the <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/circular-jobs-initiative/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Initiative</a>

Visit the <a href="http://jobsmonitor.circle-economy.com/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Monitor</a>

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Circular Jobs Initiative

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Policy case

Impact on increased knowledge and understanding as a result of the case study

Increase Awareness

Impact on the quantity or quality of jobs, and shifts in the labour market

Jobs

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

Minimise waste through diversion: Instead of sending waste to landfill, it is redirected into other industrial processes for handling, treatment, recycling, recovery, or reuse in various forms. 

Minimise waste through design: At the outset of a process of project, plan and design such that there is zero waste or minimal waste during production, use, and at end of life. 

Minimise Waste (SDG12)

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

Developing or utilising online platforms to enable circular economy opportunities through information, product or service offering

Online platforms

Other

Public-civil partnerships

Grow countries globally account for 55% of all raw material extraction and 52% of the material footprint, while housing around 37% of the global population.

These are larger Southeast Asian countries and countries in Latin America and Northern Africa, as well as those with an economy in transition in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Examples include :
- China
- Indonesia
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Vietnam
- Myanmar
- Egypt, ...

Large contribution to the overshoot of planetary boundaries—largely due to the consumptions of local materials in higher-
income (Shift) countries: these countries contribute 50% of climate change, 62% of nitrogen, 60% of phosphorus, 53% of freshwater use and 42% of land use change.

To find out what country profile your country belongs to, explore [this interactive story](https://circularity-gap.world) and search for your country on the final map.

Grow

Local government

Engaging in discussions with customers to educate and raise awareness of the circular economy and explore circular opportunities together

Customer dialogue, marketing 

Providing services where customers are charged only when they use it

Payment per use

Using materials that can be easily reused or recycled after use

Reusable, recyclable materials and inputs

Integrating circular economy thinking into employee evaluations that are tied to professional compensation

Financial incentives tied to circular economy

 Develop research, structure knowledge, encourage innovation networks and disseminate findings with integrity


Strengthen and advance knowledge

Extraction and reuse of parts from end-of-life products for use in new products

Part recovery

Designing products so they are able to be easily repaired

Design for repair

Give products and parts another life after their end-of-use

Maximise lifetime of products after use

Designing products to remove any barriers to recycling and enable easy recyclability

Design for recycling

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste streams within other industries

Valorise waste streams - open loop

Providing products through leasing, rental, or pay-per-use models instead of sales

Leasing, rental, pay per use

Marketplaces or services that enable the second hand sale of own-brand products

Own brand second-hand sale

Designing products of multiple parts that can be easily disassembled

Design for disassembly

Utilise bio-based, reusable, non-toxic and non-critical materials

Regenerative materials

Enacting measures that optimise material use such as 3D printing, etc.

Material efficiency

Employ online platforms to connect and improve information sharing between stakeholders

Digital platforms

Engage with the local community where facilities or offices are located

Community collaboration

Designing products that can easily breakdown and degrade in the environment

Design for bio-degradability

Replace energy sources with less impactful alternatives and enact energy efficiency measures

Regenerative energy

Using <a href="https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals" target="_blank">materials that are not toxic or hazardous</a>.

Non-toxic materials and inputs

Integrate principles of circularity into primary, secondary and tertiary curriculum and conduct workplace trainings

 Education and Curriculum

Account for the systems perspective during the design process, to use the right materials, to design for appropriate lifetime and to design for extended future use

Design for the future

Selling parts of modular products that can be exchanged or replaced

Sale of exchangeable parts

Enacting measures that optimise energy use

Energy efficiency

Working together with stakeholders and parties in other unrelated industries to implement circular economy strategies and opportunities

Cross-industry projects, pilots

Recover waste energy or generate fuels and energy from waste streams

Energy recovery from waste

Converting fossil fuel based operations to electric

Electrification

Collection programmes that process products and parts for reuse or recycling within the same industry

Closed loop collection

Designing to enable multiple uses and lifecycles of a product and its materials

Design for cyclability

Engaging in discussions with government bodies and policymakers to push for regulations that support the circular economy

Advocacy for circular economy policy

Using renewable energy like solar, wind, etc. or renewable fuels like biomass, etc.

Renewable energy, fuels

Selling high quality, long-lasting products

Sale of durable, long-lasting goods

Designing products of multiple parts that can be easily exchanged

Design for modularity

Employing artificial algorithms and robotics to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Advanced robotics, artificial intelligence

Working together with industry peers to engage in business activities or exploratory projects that advance the circular economy

Joint industry ventures, projects, pilots

Connecting products and services into the internet of things to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Internet enabled, connected operations

Utilise waste streams as a source of secondary resources and recover waste for reuse and recycling

Use waste as a resource

Providing products through sharing between consumers, customers, etc.

Peer to peer sharing

Transforming waste products into materials and lower value products within other industries

Open loop downcycling

Putting in place purchasing guidelines for procurement departments and evaluating suppliers on circular economy principles

Circular procurement

Providing DIY repair kits or spare part programmes for enabling self-repair

Self-repair, spare part service

Providing upgrade programmes or upgrade services for products or parts of products

Product upgrade

Transforming waste products into materials and lower value products within the same industry

Closed loop downcycling

Engage and guide customers and consumers to ensure circular use of products

Customer / consumer collaboration

Designing products to increase consumer’s emotional attachment and ensure longer use

Design for product attachment, emotional durability

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within the same industry

Closed loop upcycling

Designing to reduce waste during production and use

Design out waste

Allowing customers to alter and modify certain features of the product

Customisation

Facilitate discussions and meetings between internal team members to identify circular opportunities

Dialogue with internal stakeholders

Generating energy from waste through processes such as anaerobic digestion, gasification, incineration, etc.

Generating energy from waste

Use digital, online platforms and technologies that provide insights to track and optimise resource use, strengthen connections between supply chain actors, and enable the implementation of circular models



Incorporate digital technology

Replace freshwater with less impactful alternatives and enact water efficiency measures

Regenerative water

While resources are in-use, maintain, repair and upgrade them to maximise their lifetime and give them a second life through take back strategies when applicable

Stretch the lifetime

Industry peers to industry peer collaboration to create joint value and identify synergies

Industry collaboration

Preserving and conserving biological products such as food, forests, etc.

Preservation, conservation

Working together with the community and engaging them in the company operations

Joint product development

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste streams within the same industry

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

Providing repair services or maintenance services for products or parts

Product maintenance, repair

Ensure renewable, reusable, non-toxic resources are utilised as materials and energy in an efficient way

Prioritise regenerative resources

Ensure that biological products are properly managed and preserved

Maximise lifetime of biological products

Consider opportunities to create greater value and align incentives that build on the interaction between products and services

Rethink the business model

Replacing freshwater use with rainwater, fogwater, seawater, etc.

Alternative water use

Developing or utilising online marketplaces to enable the peer-to-peer exchange of products and services

Peer-to-peer online marketplaces

Initiatives with disadvantaged communities, minorities, people distanced from the labour market

Give-back programmes

Processing waste streams into fuels such as biogas, biofuels, pellets, etc.

Processing waste into fuel

Using bio-based materials such as bioplastics, mushroom-based materials, etc.

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs

Engaging in discussions with industry stakeholders to share circular economy best practices and push the industry towards greater circularity

Guidance, dialogue with industry stakeholders

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within other industries

Using open loop recycled materials

Employ technologies to gather and analyse data to provide insights on resource use

Data and insights

Designing products so they produce as little waste as possible during production

Design for minimal waste

Takeback and return of products from customers after end-of-use

Takeback programmes

Recovering and reusing waste heat, gas, etc. for energy

Recovery and reuse of waste energy

Selling parts of modular products that can be refilled

Sale of refillable parts

Designing products to be reused for the same or different purposes in multiple lifecycles

Design for reuse

Designing products to resist damage and wear, and serve a long and useful life.

Design for physical durability

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within other industries

Open loop upcycling

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within the same industry

Using closed loop recycled materials

Upgrade, repair, and maintenance while in-use

Maximise lifetime of products in-use

Using <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-interest/critical_sv" target="_blank">materials that are not considered critical</a>.

Non-critical materials and inputs 

Key elements of the circular economy

<p>The Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Program (WISP) is a government program ran by the non-profit organisation GreenCape, with support of the city of Cape Town, to connect businesses around the Cape Town area. The program led workshops and created an online database to incentivise and train companies to use synergies in waste streams. Over five years, it has created 143 jobs and diverted almost 27'500 tons of waste. The program has been widely considered a success and catalysed development of similar programmes across South Africa.</p>