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This collection features a selection of case studies, based on the global *Circularity Gap Reports*, that can mitigate climate breakdown by reducing virgin material consumption, waste and greenhouse gas emissions. The latest **[Circularity Gap Report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023#download)** reveals that the global economy is now only 7.2% circular and outlines how circular solutions across four sectors can bring global planetary boundaries back within safe limits. 

In the six years of the *Circularity Gap Report*, the global economy has extracted and used unprecedented amounts of materials. The first edition of the *Report *in 2018 found that global circularity was 9.1% and it has decreased every year since—leaving a Circularity Gap of over 90%. If this trend continues, we will have to find more and better solutions to combat the negative effects of climate change. This is why we have identified case studies from across the globe—based on the needs of society and planetary health—that serve as real-world examples of the circular economy in action.

Circle Economy is a not-for-profit organisation working to accelerate the circular transition. Through the *Circularity Gap Reporting Initiative*, our mission is to deliver an annual global Circularity Metric that measures the state of the world economy and identifies key levers to transition to global circularity. With nature as our guide, we work alongside cross-sector stakeholders from academia, businesses, NGOs and governments to provide a powerful combination of practical and scalable interventions that transform circular opportunities into realities. 


To learn more about these interventions to accelerate the circular transition, read the latest [Circularity Gap Report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023#download), as well as previous editions of the global [Circularity Gap Reports](https://www.circularity-gap.world/global).

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Global Circularity Gap Report 2023

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This collection is being created to regroup all case studies related to the packaging industry (CAT purpose)

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Packaging collection

Policy case

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

Increase Awareness

Reduced use of virgin materials and/or an increase of the use of secondary and bio-based materials

Reduce Material Consumption (SDG12)

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)

Providing public and private education and support services at any level or for any profession, and governmental and public administration services, including judicial, regulatory, and legislative activities, taxation, defence, public order and safety, immigration services, foreign affairs and the administration of government programmes

Education and Government Services

Producing basic and specialty chemicals, inks, agricultural chemical such as fertilisers and pesticides, plastics including packaging, and rubber

Chemical and Plastic

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

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

Use waste as a resource

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

Rethink the business model

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

Regenerative materials

Upgrade, repair, and maintenance while in-use

Maximise lifetime of products in-use

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

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste streams within other industries

Valorise waste streams - open loop

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

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs

Using materials that can be easily reused or recycled after use

Reusable, recyclable materials and inputs

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

Derive chemicals and fuels from organic waste matter, for example, wasted fats, grease and oils can be used for biodiesel production. Food waste such as corn starch and sugar cane can be used for PLA (Polylactic Acid) to replace plastic packaging, liquid fats and solid meat products can be used as raw materials in the rendering industry (animal food, cosmetics, soap, etc.).


Derive fuel and materials

Other

'Regulate' changes the rules of the systems to achieve compliance through enforcement. 


Regulate

Legislation

Bans

Raise awareness and run information campaigns about  strategies for and impacts of the circular economy in different contexts.

Communication and awareness

Labelling

The second biggest category in terms of resource use is the need for nutrition. Agricultural products such as crops and livestock require 21.8 billion tonnes yearly. Food products have short lifecycles in our economy, being consumed quickly after production.



Nutrition

- Replace animal feed with agricultural or food waste
- Less packaging on food products
- Food sufficiency (keep caloric supply per person to 2,700 a day)
- Decrease purchases of food product categories by households as a consequence of all (or a part of) population reducing overall caloric intake

Saving: 2.07 Gt emissions and 3.40 Gt material use

🍎 Reduce excess consumption

Slow strategies aim to keep materials in use for as long as possible, for example through design for durability and repairability. A more circular economy is also a slower one: materials, components, and products—and even buildings and infrastructure—that we lock in stocks are made to last. This will lower material demand in the long run, in essence also serving to narrow resource flows.

Slow

Regenerate strategies phase out hazardous or toxic materials and processes and substitute them with regenerative biomass resources. A circular economy aims to mimic natural cycles—by shifting to more regenerative farming practices, for example—while also maximising the share of circular biomass that enters the economy. Regeneration can happen both at the systems level (by designing regenerative processes) as well as at the product level (by switching synthetic to organic fertilisers, for example).

Regenerate

Cycle strategies aim to cycle and reuse materials at their highest value: they maximise the volume of secondary materials re-entering the economy, ultimately minimising the need for virgin material inputs and therefore also narrowing flows. Of course, virgin materials will always be needed to a degree: all materials degrade and can’t be cycled infinitely, use energy, and require blending with virgin materials to maintain strength and functionality.

Cycle

Impacts

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Industries

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A framework of policy instruments that enabled and encourage the transition to the circular economy

Policies

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A framework of policy instruments that enable and stimulate the transition to the circular economy

The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

Urban Opportunities

The framework consists of 21 complementary interventions, across six scenarios - one for each of the six societal needs we model. These interventions can mitigate climate impact by curbing GHG emissions

Note: interventions are currently focused on:
- 🏠 Housing 
- 🍎 Nutrition
- 🚗 Mobility
- 👚📺 Consumables
- 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️ Healthcare
-  🔊 Communication

These 21 interventions are spread across six societal needs and wants, with a set of solutions. Within these solutions are strategies on ’how to get there'.  

The framework moves beyond incremental action and provides solutions that will require behavioral change (dietary shifts towards less meat consumption, for example) and the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies in the industry to mitigate emissions in hard-to-abate sectors (such as steel manufacturing). It illustrates how continued globalisation can benefit from the uptake of digital solutions. The combined interventions showcase the mitigation potential that begins where the current country pledges end; illustrating the additional impact our interventions can bring to the NDCs. In short, the interventions provide input for a more profound fundamental transformation than the more current pathways that make up the vast majority of NDCs. 

Together, the combined interventions can almost double the current global Circularity Metric of 8.6%, bringing it to 17%. 

This results in:
• Shrinking global material use and extraction by 28%. 
• Cutting global GHG emissions by 39%—fully closing the Emissions Gap as defined in our report and taking into account the updated NDCs.
• Allowing the world to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping at 1.5-degrees of warming by 2032.

*This framework was developed in the Circularity Gap Report 2021. Read more about it [here](https://www.circle-economy.com/resources/circularity-gap-report-2021)*






Global Circularity Gap Report

An intervention-based framework for nations and stakeholders working towards circular countries

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Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

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    Read a limited number of articles each month You consent to the use of cookies and tracking by us and third parties to provide you with personalized ads       All-Access Digital  $6 every 4 weeks or just $78 $60/year    Subscribe now   Unlimited access to washingtonpost.com on any device Unlimited access to all Washington Post apps You consent to the use of cookies and tracking by us and third parties to provide you with personalized ads       PremiumEU Ad-Free  $9 every 4 weeks or just  $117 $90/year    Subscribe now   Unlimited access to washingtonpost.com on any device Unlimited access to all Washington Post apps No on-site advertising or third-party ad tracking      Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue.    The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website:      We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking “I agree” below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners  to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service.    

  Issued on: 31/12/2019 - 17:26        File photo of plastic waste in a container at a recycling park near Brussels, Belgium, November 20, 2018.  Reuters / Yves Herman     Starting January 1, three single-use plastic products will be banned in France: plates, cups, and cotton buds. More will be banned next year, marking the first steps toward the government’s goal of phasing out all single-use plastics by 2040.   They’re used just once, but stay in the environment for hundreds of years. Now France is taking first steps towards banning single-use plastics, starting with three products: plates, cups, and cotton buds. Plastic straws and cutlery will follow on January 1, 2021.       France will begin phasing out plastic products from 2020 in keeping with EU regulations. FRANCE 24 graphics studio   The ban was issued in a government decree, published on December 27, to bring France in conformity with European Union directives. It defines single-use plastics as those not designed to be reused “for a use identical to that for which it was intended”.Shops that carry the banned products will be allowed to continue selling them for six months after January 1, provided they were produced or imported beforehand.The decree includes a temporary exemption for compostable products containing at least 50 percent of organic materials, as well as for cutlery used in health and corrections facilities and on transport such as trains and airplanes. The exemptions will expire in July 2021.>> Biodegradable plastic: A false promise?This comes as French lawmakers continue to debate the details of a wider-ranging anti-waste law. A first version of the law, which aims to promote the “circular economy”, was passed by parliament earlier this month. It would set a 2040 target to phase out all single-use plastics, with the goal of recycling 100 percent of plastics by 2025. Specific plastic products would be phased out year by year, and recycling guidelines would be standardised throughout France by no later than the end of 2022.As of 2018, only 25 percent of plastic packaging in France was recycled, while the rest was incinerated or put in landfills. This puts France behind the European average of 30 percent. Sceptics say it will be impossible for the country to reach a 100 percent recycling rate by 2025 from this starting point.>> Plastic: Does France have a recycling problem? This fall, an investigation by the online magazine Quartz found that at most 9 percent of plastic produced worldwide is recycled. Meanwhile, global plastic production continues to climb rapidly, the investigation found.The last 15 years saw more than plastic produced than in all previous human history, and plastic production is expected to triple again by 2050.This article was adapted from the original in French   

      The last straw: single-use plastic straws, plates, cups and other products were banned in France as of 1 January 2020. Gettyimages/Isabel Pavia    Disposable plastic plates, cups, straws and other products were banned in France as of Wednesday as part of legislative measures coming into effect with the New Year. The ban applies to some of the most common polluting products but does not concern plastic packing material.  The ban aims to put an end to some of the most recognisable single-use products for anyone familiar with summer picnics – not to mention the littered parks, trails and beaches that can result.Plastic plates, cups, cutlery, drinking straws all fall under the ban, as do cotton buds used for cleaning and hygiene.“The most important thing is that the ban concerns emblematic products,” says Flore Berlingen, director of the campaign group Zero Waste France.Without law, St Denis has trouble banning plastic bags“It’s not just symbolic, because these are also objects we’re used to seeing littered all around: they’re light, they’re easy to carry pretty much anywhere, and we often see them in nature.”Consumers may continue to see such products for a six-month period that has been allowed for stocks of previously manufactured products to deplete.Packaging material still allowedAccording to the decree announcing the ban, single-use plastic products are those “not conceived, created or marketed to be reused for the same use for which they are intended”.That means the ban is wide ranging, but does not apply to cases when disposable plastics are used as packaging material.“You won’t find them anymore in a supermarket for example, in the sorts of things you’d buy for a picnic,” Berlingen says. “But if you’re sold food or drink in plastic wrappers or cups, that’s unfortunately still allowed.”The ban is actually being applied somewhat late, because it follows a law that was promulgated in late 2018.French lawmakers have just approved another waste reduction bill aiming to take things further and oblige restaurants, including fast-food chains, to offer only reusable cutlery for customers dining in the establishments.Other environmental measuresAs per tradition on the first day of January, the plastic ban was part of a swath of new laws and adjustments affecting taxation, purchasing power, the cost of living and health and social benefits.Other environmental measures include a ban of some additives used to alter the appearance of food products.The use of pesticides in the vicinity of residential buildings has also been banned in a move hailed by environmental groups and controversial among many farmers.There are also extending financial bonuses and penalties with the purchase of vehicles, aiming to favour the purchase of vehicles with lower levels of carbon emissions and discouraging the more polluting models.Changes to wages and taxesIn terms of finances, the minimum wage increased by 1.2 percent, representing a net monthly salary increase from 1,204 to 1,219 euros, or 15 euros more per month for the 2.3 million people who earn it.The government also maintained a tax-exempt bonus of up to 1,000 euros intended to boost purchasing power of salaried workers, a measure introduced a year ago in response to the Yellow Vest movement. It was only available to participating employers and reserved for employees earning less than three times the minimum wage.Also announced in response to the Yellow Vests, the year 2020 brings reduced rates for two income tax brackets, aiming to provide tax relief averaging at 350 euros for 12 million households and 180 euros for five million others.In health care, the public health service is going to start full reimbursements of some eyeglasses and dentures, reduce reimbursements for homeopathic remedies and provide full coverage of contraceptives for minors.Other changes include a 10 percent increase in the cost of the most common type of postage stamp, slight increases in banking fees and a 0.9 percent reduction in gas bills. 

France

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Official website of the government of France

Government of France

France has become the first country in the world to fully ban single-use plastic items, with a sweeping measure on disposable cutlery, tableware and plastic bags. While other countries have some measures in place, none are as extensive as France’s new law, which was fully enacted in 2020. Lawmakers aim to instil values of the circular economy in all facets of the value chain—from product design, to use, to recycling. In doing so, President François Hollande hopes to make France ‘an exemplary nation in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, diversifying its energy model and increasing the deployment of renewable energy sources.’

French government programme to ban single-use plastic

Impact on the availability of resources as well as their effect on living organisms, ecosystems, and components of the environment.

Ecological Impact

Impacts on the social fabric of the community and well-being of the individuals and families.

Social Impact

Impacts on the financial condition of a company, as well as the the economicconditions of its stakeholders and on economic systems at local, national, andglobal levels.

Economic Impact

Producing agricultural products and processing them into food and beverageproducts for consumption

Agri/Food

Producing and providing business and consumer goods and services

Goods and Services

Societal Services

Producing building materials and providing services to create residential and non-residential infrastructure and real estate


Construction and Infrastructure

Collecting waste from households and businesses by means of refuse bins, wheeled bins, containers, etc., and providing treatment, incineration, materials recovery and reclamation, and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste

Waste Management

Producing textile and leather products and processing them into apparel and accessories

Fashion and Textiles

Providing goods on the Internet, through mail order, or television, or providing goods in stores, including apparel, electronics, furniture, food and drug, etc.

Retail

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

Work together throughout the supply chain, internally within organisations and with the public sector and communities to increase transparency and create joint value

Team up to create joint value

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

Maximise lifetime of products after use

Providing repair services or maintenance services for products or parts

Product maintenance, repair

Activities to clean, decorate, and restore products back to working condition for original or new purposes

Refurbishment, remanufacturing, renovation

Buildings are where we live, work and play, and also where we store machinery and goods for later consumption. Buildings are but one component of the greater built environment which includes urban infrastructure such as roads, bridges and utilities. 
Current construction techniques have buildings consuming the bulk of materials globally. With increasing urbanisation and therefore demand for buildings of every kind, we drastically need to re-imagine how we design, utilise and decommission buildings.

BUILDINGS

Waste is often the entry point for discussing a circular economy. However, in a fully circular economy, waste does not exist as it has  been designed out of the system from the outset, either through avoidance (reduction of materials) or because outputs are such that they can be re-used as inputs into other production and consumption processes. Studying existing waste streams allows us to trace the problem back to its source and design an appropriate intervention. 

WASTE

The organics opportunity space refers to biological systems, organic products and materials, and the processes that relate to conserving and circulating organic materials at all stages of the value chain. Organics form part of the biocycle (as opposed to the technical cycle which includes metals and other non biodegradable materials) and requires different solutions to preserve nutrients at their highest value for re-entry back into the system. 


ORGANICS

The Value Chain opportunity space covers the activities of businesses across the whole value chain in the creation of a circular city that aids circular consumption. Municipalities create enabling conditions for businesses to offer circular products and services, and can become familiar with the range of solutions available to businesses that will encourage circular consumption and production in their locale. 

VALUE CHAINS

The French anti-waste law for a circular economy was launched in late 2017—resulting from broad political consensus throughout parliament. In its development, broad consultations took place with stakeholders ranging from local authorities to businesses to NGOs. The law establishes fifty measures that can be ascribed to the following three categories: obligations for producers to include new products groups in the circular economy, further prohibitions on single-use items, unnecessary food waste and unsold non-food items, new tools to control and punish environmental offenses as well as tools to support corporations in eco-design and assist citizens in changing consumption behaviours. The law sets out bold ambitions—such as achieving zero disposable plastic by 2020—and outlines measures for how to meet such goals.&nbsp;

A French act of law against waste and for a circular economy

Producing electronics products for businesses and consumers, including cellular phones, personal computers, printers, servers, electronic computer components and peripherals, TVs, audio equipment, as well as household appliances, such as refrigerators, washing machines, etc.

Electronics and Appliances

Engage with the government on circular policies and programmes

Government collaboration

'Inform' increases the overall levels of awareness and builds the necessary skills and knowledge around the circular economy to foster long-term change.

Inform

Data, knowledge & information sharing

These countries are home to around a quarter of the global population, yet consume over one-third (34%) of raw materials. Shift countries’ material footprint per capita is 4.6 times that of Build countries (largely due to the overconsumption of consumer goods imported from Grow counties) and 1.6 times that of Grow countries.

These are high-income countries in the Global North, as well as in the Gulf, Australia, and Oceania. Examples include:
- Member States of the EU
- the US
- Japan
- the UK
- Canada
- Argentina, ...

While much of their infrastructure is already built, they still contribute heavily to the overshoot of planetary boundaries: they contribute 42% of climate change, 27% of nitrogen, 18% of phosphorus, 16% of freshwater use and 38% 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.  


Shift

Consumables are a diverse and complex group of products - such as mobile phones, refrigerators, clothing, cleaning agents, personal care products and paints - that generally have short to medium lifetimes in society. Textiles including clothing also consume many different kinds of resources such as cotton, synthetic materials like polyester, dye pigments, and chemicals.




Consumables

- Less and more efficient paper use
- Less and more efficient and natural textile use
- Less and more efficient plastic use
- Less and more efficient furniture use
- Less and more efficient electronic goods use

Saving: 0.30 Gt emissions and 0.80 Gt material use

👚📺 Efficient design and use of consumer products

- Impose a minimum duration for consumables before which the sellers are obliged to remanufacture, refurbish, repair, or upgrade for free the product. 
- Repair
- Maintenance
- Sharing
- Secondhand use of textiles, appliances, furniture, machinery and equipment

Saving: 0.18 Gt emissions and 0.27 Gt material us

👚📺 Durable consumer products

Whilst no two countries are the same, there are still obvious similarities between some of them, with discernible development patterns and parallels in evidence. Common problems and shared solutions help place unique country identities and individual issues in context.

Whilst this classification is far from clear-cut and exhibits some overlap, it does underline how the discourse on transitioning to a circular economy needs to account for both differences and commonalities, if we are to arrive at a more strategic and instructive analysis. It also allows to highlight a set of key themes that are likely to be central to the countries that fall under the respective profiles. 

Country profiles (Build, Grow, Shift)

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A framework to distinguish between different country profiles and their circular transition needs.

[1/2] FILE PHOTO - - Automobiles are shown for sale at a car dealership in Carlsbad, California, U.S. May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are introducing "Right to Repair" legislation this week to ensure consumers can get vehicles, electronic devices and agriculture equipment serviced by independent outlets.Representative Bobby Rush, a Democrat, said Thursday he had introduced legislation to ensure vehicle owners and independent repair shops have equal access to repair and maintenance tools as automakers' dealerships.Representatives Mondaire Jones, a Democrat, and Republican Victoria Spartz introduced separate legislation Wednesday dubbed the Freedom to Repair Act to reform copyright law to make it easier for consumers to get repairs.Public Knowledge Policy Counsel Kathleen Burke said the bill would allow "consumers to repair their own devices without needing to get the Copyright Office’s permission every three years."As part of a wide-ranging initiative to boost competition, President Joe Biden has made ensuring people can repair their own products a priority.Last month, Biden said in too many cases "if you own a product, from a smartphone to a tractor, you don’t have the freedom to choose how or where to repair that item you purchased."Rush's bill would require all tools and equipment, wireless transmission of repair and diagnostic data and access to on-board diagnostic systems needed for repairs be made available to the independent repair industry.Rush said it would "end manufacturers’ monopoly on vehicle repair and maintenance and allow Americans the freedom to choose where to repair their vehicles."The U.S Federal Trade Commission in July voted to make it a priority to address the issue of manufacturers pushing consumers to use licensed dealers to repair items ranging from smartphones to farm equipment.Rush's bill would create a committee to provide recommendations to the FTC on addressing barriers to vehicle repairs.A group representing major automakers has sued to try to block a Massachusetts voter-approved measure that would expand access to vehicle data and allow independent shops to repair increasingly sophisticated automotive technology.Reporting by David Shepardson
Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

  Planned obsolescence is when manufacturers design an existing version of a product to become ‘dated or useless’ within a given time frame.
In technology circles, the replacement cycle for smartphones has historically been two to three years, as their underlying components are designed to wear down, or to stop receiving software updates.
Smartphones, televisions, washing machines and vacuum cleaners all are used on average for shorter periods than both their designed and desired lifetimes, according to a recent European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing.
Extending the lifetime and delaying obsolescence of electronics can significantly reduce their environmental and climate impacts and contribute to meeting the European Union’s (EU) environment, climate and circular economy objectives, according to the EEA.
Under the French Government’s plans, products such as smartphones and electronic and household appliances will have a new sticker on their packaging, indicating how long their estimated “life” will be.
The stickers will identify the durability of the product, and its repairability, on a scale of 1 to 10, according to The Connexion.
Repairability
From January 1, the repair rating will be compulsory for smartphones, televisions, laptop computers, front-loading washing machines and lawn mowers, according to reports by The Sunday Times.
The list will be expanded and the ‘repair’ label will become a ‘durability rating’ in 2024, Barbara Pompili, the environment minister, said.
The plan also intends to create QR codes, allowing consumers to compare labels, to see how much the product in question – including its manufacturing process – impacts the environment.
Alongside this, the French Government is also seeking to introduce a network of electronic device repair workshops, that would offer repair packages.
60% of personal electronics and household appliances are thrown away or recycled when they break down because of the difficulty around repairing items.
The government aims to reduce that to 40% within three years as part of its push to develop a “circular” consumer economy over the “linear” model of “take-make-use-discard”.  

 Bakker, C.A. and Schuit, C.S.C., 2017, The long view exploring product lifetime extension. UN Environment, Nairobi, Kenya. Baldé, C.P., Forti V., Gray, V., Kuehr, R. and Stegmann,P., 2017, The Global E-waste Monitor – 2017. United Nations University, Bonn, Germany; International Telecommunication Union, Geneva, Switzerland; and International Solid Waste Association, Vienna, Austria. Boyano, A., Cordella, M., Espinosa, N., Villanueva, A., Graulich, K., Rüdenauer, I., Alborzi, F., Hook, I. and Stamminger, R., 2017, Ecodesign and Energy Label for Household Washing machines and washer dryers. EUR 28809 EN. Publications Office of the European Union, Brussels, Belgium. CECED, 2017, Material flows of the home appliance industry. European Committee of Domestic Equipment Manufacturers, Brussels, Belgium. http://www.materialflows.eu/#p=1 (accessed 29 Jan. 2020). Cooper, T. 2016 Longer lasting products alternatives to throwaway society. ISBN: 9781315592939, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315592930 Cordella, M., Alfieri, F. and Sanfelix, J., 2019. Guidance for the Assessment of Material Efficiency: Application to smartphones. Draft version of final report. Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy. EC, 2018a, Behavioural Study on Consumers' Engagement in the Circular Economy - Final report. European Commission, Brussels, Belgium. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/ec_circular_economy_final_report_0.pdf (accessed 24 March 2020) EC, 2018b, Special Eurobarometer 462: E-communications and Digital Single Market Report. European Commission, Brussels, Belgium. https://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/data/dataset/S2155_87_2_462_ENG (accessed 24 March 2020). EC, 2019, Review study of ecodesign and energy labelling for vacuum cleaners. European Commission, Brussels, Belgium. https://www.review-vacuumcleaners.eu/ (accessed 24 March 2020). EC, 2020, Circular economy action plan. For a cleaner and more competitive Europe. European Commission, Brussels, Belgium. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/new_circular_economy_action_plan.pdf (accessed 21 April 2020). EEB, 2019. Cool products don’t cost the Earth. Full report. European Environmental Bureau, Brussels, Belgium. www.eeb.org/coolproducts-report (accessed 24 March 2020). Eurostat, 2019a, ‘Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) by waste management operations’. http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=env_waselee&lang=en (extracted 19 Feb. 2020). Eurostat, 2019b, ‘Annual detailed enterprise statistics for industry (NACE Rev. 2, B-E)’. https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=sbs_na_ind_r2&lang=en (extracted 4 Nov. 2019). Eurostat, 2019c, 'Final consumption expenditure of households by consumption purpose - COICOP 3 digit, nama_10_co3_p3' http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=nama_10_co3_p3&lang=en (extracted 13 Nov. 2019). Eurostat, 2019d. Eurostat Comext databased of trade statistics, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/international-trade-in-goods/data/focus-on-comext (extracted Nov. 2019) Huisman, J Magalini, F., Kuehr, R. and Maure, C., 2007,2008 Review of directive 2002/96 on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Final report. United Nations University, Bonn, Germany; AEA Technology, Didcot, United Kingdom; GAIKER, Bilbao, Spain; Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Szentendre, Hungary; TU Delft - Design for Sustainability, Delft, The Netherlands. Kalyani, N., Swart, H. and Dhoble, S., 2017, Principles and Applications of Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, UK. King County, 2008, Flat Panel Displays: End of Life Management Report. King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, Washington, US. https://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/takeitback/electronics/documents/FPDReport.pdf (accessed 22 Nov. 2019). Manhart, A., Blepp, M., Fischer, C., Graulich, K., Prakash, S., Priess, R., Schleicher, T. and Tür, M. 2016. Resource Efficiency in the ICT Sector. Final report. Greenpeace, Hamburg, Germany. Rames, M., Hansen, P., Gydesen, A., Huang, B., Peled, M., Maya-Drysdale, L., Kemna, R. and van den Boorn, R., 2019, Review study on Vacuum cleaners. Viegand Maagøe A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark; VHK, Delft, Netherlands for the European Commission, DG Energy, Brussels, Belgium. http://www.energimyndigheten.se/globalassets/energieffektivisering_/jag-ar-saljare-eller-tillverkare/dokument/produkter-med-krav/dammsugare/vacuum-cleaner-review_final-report_june2019.pdf (accessed 28 May 2020). Statista, 2018, ‘Smartphones industry: Statistics & Facts’. Statista, Hamburg, Germany. https://www.statista.com/topics/840/smartphones/ (accessed 18 Oct. 2019). Statista, 2019a, ‘Number of smartphones sold to end users worldwide from 2007 to 2020’.   Statista, Hamburg, Germany. https://www.statista.com/statistics/263437/global-smartphone-sales-to-end-users-since-2007/ (accessed 18 Oct. 2019). Statista, 2019b, ‘Televisions - Europe outlook’. Statista, Hamburg, Germany. https://www.statista.com/outlook/15010100/102/televisions/europe (accessed 17 Feb. 2020). Statista, 2019c, ‘Televisions - Global outlook’. Statista, Hamburg, Germany. https://www.statista.com/outlook/15010100/100/televisions/worldwide Watson, D., Gylling, A.C., Tojo, N., Thorne-Holst, H., Bauer, B. and Milios, L. 2017. Circular Business Models in the Mobile Phone Industry. Nordic Council of Ministers 2017, TemaNord 2017:560. Wieser, H., Tröger, N. and Hübner, R., 2015, Die Nutzungsdauer und Obsoleszenz von Gebrauchsgütern im Zeitalter der Beschleunigung. Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Vienna, Austria. https://www.arbeiterkammer.at/infopool/wien/Bericht_Produktnutzungsdauer.pdf (assessed 24 March 2020). World Economy Forum, 2019, A New Circular Vision for Electronics Time for a Global Reboot. World Economic Forum, Cologny, Switzerland. https://www.weforum.org/reports/a-new-circular-vision-for-electronics-time-for-a-global-reboot (accessed 8 Oct. 2019). 

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France launches a repairability rating for consumer electronics.

France repairability rating: A new tool to extend product lifetimes

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This collection features a selection of case studies, mainly based on the [2024 Circularity Gap Report](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2024). 

In this year’s Report, we shift from exploring the what to the how: exploring the different ways that we need to ‘change the rules of the game’ and create a set of conditions that discourage the overshoot of planetary boundaries and ‘undershoot’ of human development. This process has resulted in us spotlighting 12 of the original 16 solutions, highlighting the country profile that they are most relevant to, as well as placing people at the centre of this story for the first time. Based on extensive interviews and desk research, this Report aims to show governments and industry leaders that if they want to turn theory into action and scale an economy that delivers on needs within the safe limits of the planet, they need to dismantle harmful entrenched processes and align enabling elements. 

[Circle Economy](https://www.circle-economy.com/) is a global impact organisation with an international team of passionate experts based in Amsterdam. We empower industries, cities, and nations with practical and scalable solutions to put the circular economy into action. Our vision is an economic system that ensures the planet and all people can thrive. To avoid climate breakdown, our goal is to double global circularity by 2032. 

Through the *Circularity Gap Reporting Initiative*, our mission is to deliver an annual global Circularity Metric that measures the state of the world economy and identifies key levers to transition to global circularity. 

To learn more about these interventions to accelerate the circular transition, read the [latest Circularity Gap Report 2024](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2024), as well as previous editions of the global [Circularity Gap Reports](https://www.circularity-gap.world/global).

Global Circularity Gap Report 2024

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Manufactured goods, such as vehicles, textiles, appliances and equipment and their associated production processes are big employers but:
- production processes often rely on fossil fuels and currently drive one-third of the overshoot on the climate change planetary boundary due to its GHG production, 
- material- and energy-intensive industrial activities are linked to deforestation and drive 15% on both the land use and freshwater planetary boundaries, 
- manufacturing goods results in substantial amounts of hazardous industrial waste and leaks chemicals into the environment.

Here, circular solutions must tackle the full value chain, but material demand must also shrink: this will necessitate a societal shift to favouring sufficiency over excess and reducing consumption to sustainable levels. Our four key solutions for manufactured goods are:
- Mainstream industrial symbiosis and efficiency : Achieve process improvements, scrap diversion and reduction in yield losses through greater industrial symbiosis and efficiency. Foster tighter collaboration within and between industries to deliver powerful material and emissions savings.
- Extend the lifetime of machinery, equipment, and goods: Maximise the lifetime of goods that serve our daily needs to bring a number of environmental benefits. 
- Buy what's needed: Reduce the number of purchases of common electronic goods, appliances, and other equipment to sufficiency levels. 
- Eschew fast fashion in favour of sustainable textiles: Drastically reduce new clothing purchases. All used clothing should go on to be repaired, reused or, if needed, recycled appropriately. Prioritise natural and local textile manufacturing, as well as higher-quality and more durable garments. 




👕📱 Consumer Goods

**Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns**

![12..JPG](https://goldilocks-images.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/12_ff44598f2b.JPG)

The world is seriously off track in its effort to halve per-capita food waste and losses by 2030.The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on consumption and production patterns, with disruptions to global supply chains and changes in consumer behaviour. 

Responsible consumption and production must be an integral part of the recovery from the pandemic. 
But the global economy also needs to speed up the decoupling of economic growth from resource use by maximizing the socio-economic benefits of resources while minimizing their negative impacts. 

Reporting on corporate sustainability has tripled since the beginning of the SDG period, but the private sector will need to significantly improve reporting on activities that contribute to the SDGs. 

This primarily entails environmentally sound management of "toxic chemicals" A substantial use of chemicals is essential to meet the social and economic goals of the world community, and these can be used with a high degree of safety when best practices are followed.  Gross chemical contamination, with grave damage to human health, genetic structures reproductive outcomes, and the environment, has been continuing within some of the world's most important industrial areas, and restoration will require major investment as well as the development of new techniques.
Effective control of the generation, storage, treatment, recycling and reuse, transport, recovery and disposal of hazardous wastes is another similar challenge. 
In addition,  solid wastes include all domestic refuse and non-hazardous wastes such as commercial and institutional wastes, street sweepings construction debris, and, in some countries, human wastes. As hazardous waste is frequently intermixed with other waste, this poses particular management challenges.
Finally, this target ensures that radioactive waste is safely managed, transported, stored and disposed of, with a view to protecting human health and the environment. 

To deliver SDG12, it is crucial to implement policies that support the shift to sustainable practices and decouple economic growth from resource use.

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/chemicals-and-waste](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/chemicals-and-waste)

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12. Responsible consumption and production

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Policy—such as the EU’s Right to Repair legislation—can be leveraged to make repair the new normal.