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Switching Gear Enabling Network

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Article / Report

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

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

Fashion and Textiles

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

Rethink the business model

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

Use waste as a resource

Industries

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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

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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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United Kingdom

WRAP

This report looks at key developments in the markets for UK recovered textiles (clothing and non-clothing excluding carpets and mattresses), including trends in supply, demand and prices.

Textiles Market Situation Report

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

       by Deborah Drew, Austin Dickerson, Sam Gillick-Daniels and Eliot Metzger - September 2020
This guidebook aims to help companies identify the stakeholders in their supply chain and recognize the effects their transition to reuse business models may have on them. It is intended to be a guide, as part of a learning process, to ensure the transition to a reuse model, a component of the circular economy, is equitable and just. The guidebook takes companies through three steps of identifying who their stakeholders are, what effects are felt by these stakeholders, and target setting to mitigate risks to these stakeholders and identify partners to support a transition to an equitable reuse business model.
               by Elizabeth Reichart and Deborah Drew - January 10, 2019One garbage truck of clothes is burned or sent to landfills every second! This linear fashion model of buying, wearing and quickly discarding clothes negatively affects people and the planet’s resources.
  
   by Deborah Drew - September 12, 2017During Fashion Week, the apparel industry's sizeable impacts on people, land and water are a topic for concern. Making fashion sustainable begins with measurement and analysis of these impacts.
  
   by Deborah Drew and Genevieve Yehounme - July 05, 2017Growth of the multi-trillion-dollar apparel industry has been fed by "fast fashion," which makes clothing cheaply and quickly with a low price-tag. Six graphics show how this trend and others can add to water stress, pollution and other environmental impacts.
  
    
     

World Resources Institute 

This guidebook aims to help companies identify the stakeholders in their supply chain and recognize the effects their transition to reuse business models may have on them. It is intended to be a guide, as part of a learning process, to ensure the transition to a reuse model, a component of the circular economy, is equitable and just. The guidebook takes companies through three steps of identifying who their stakeholders are, what effects are felt by these stakeholders, and target setting to mitigate risks to these stakeholders and identify partners to support a transition to an equitable reuse business model.

Square Your Circle: How to Ensure a Just Transition to Reuse Business Models in Apparel

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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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Business case

Business

Providing recreational and cultural services, including hotels, resorts, casinos, sport and fitness centers, stadiums, golf courses and amusement parks, restaurants, bars, pubs, fast-food or take-out facilities, as well as libraries and museums

Hospitality and Tourism

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)

Food losses and waste

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

Provide guidance or professional training to educate employees to use circular economy principles

Training on the circular economy

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


Strengthen and advance knowledge

- 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

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

Agri/Food

Processing and producing food and beverages for consumption

Food and Beverage

Impacts

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Browse case studies by type of implementing stakeholder.

Implementing stakeholders

In a circular economy:

* Food is produced regeneratively and, where possible, locally; 
* Biomass is optimally used—from agricultural by-products to manure, rainwater or used water; 
* Food losses and waste and packaging waste are designed out entirely; 
* Healthy, planetary diets are promoted and easier to access; and 
* Environmental and economic benefits are balanced with benefits to people and animals.

This definition builds on those of the [Ellen MacArthur Foundation](https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/cities-and-circular-economy-for-food), [Wageningen University](https://www.wur.nl/en/Dossiers/file/Circular-agrofood-system.htm), the [Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy](https://pacecircular.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/circular-economy-action-agenda-food_0.pdf ) (PACE), as well as Circle Economy’s own work in analysing the climate mitigation potential of [circular food interventions](http://circularity-gap.world/2021).

Explore the different themes under this definition below.

Circular food themes

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Explore different themes under the concept of 'circular food'

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

  Dave, tenant and licensee at the Ship Inn, decided to try separating and measuring food waste at the suggestion of his Business Development Manager. The process appealed because of its potential as a cost saving, labour saving and food waste reduction project. Dave was aware of some waste coming back on plates and, although the primary driver was financial, he hoped to increase his gross profit on food. Dave also “doesn’t like to see waste on principle”.
Nick Burns, Robinsons Food Development Manager, briefed Dave on how to monitor food waste by separating it into three bins for ‘spoilage’, ‘prep’ and ‘plate waste’. Dave then briefed the kitchen and front of house staff.   While it was a little difficult getting buy in from the staff at first, once the process was underway he said they “really started to see the point”.
The bins were weighed and emptied at the end of each night by Dave who kept a note of the weights and entered them into the Food Waste Calculator developed through the Manchester Metropolitan University Greener Retailing project with Robinsons brewery. The calculator covers a four week measurement period and works out how much waste is in each category as well as the annualised cost and the difference between the first and four weeks of measurement.    Introduce changes one at a time. Use the Tracking Tools here           In the first week they measured waste, the pub threw away as much as 13.5 kilos of food per day worth an estimated £16.20. Over the course of a year this would amount to 2.8 tonnes with a value of £3,418. Taking into account the associated costs (e.g. energy for cooking and storage, staff time, water and waste disposal) the true cost of food waste to this pub per year was estimated to be £6,040

13% of food waste came from spoilage.
21% came from prep waste. The staff noticed a lot of peelings in this bin,
At 66% the largest category was plate waste which included large quantities of chips, garnish and sauces.

Dave says the staff were “gobsmacked” when he reported back the figures after the first week of measuring and they started to put changes into place every week after that.   Spoilage reduced by 84% as waste awareness among kitchen staff was raised and working practices improved as a result.
Prep waste was down 80%, mainly as a result of switching to pre prepared vegetables and pre cut chips.
Plate waste was reduced by 67% by offering smaller portion sizes, particularly chips and putting out smaller portions of sauce. Customers are welcome to more sauce if they want it and only have to ask. The kitchen also stopped putting garnishes on sandwiches, burgers and other meals. The changes have gone down well with customers who are happy to have lighter options.   At the end of week four there was a very substantial reduction in waste across the three categories. Between week one and week four, the total amount of waste reduced by a massive 72% with an estimated annual saving of £2,454.
  


 
 
 
 



 
  



Producing food requires significant resources including land, energy and water. Globally, 25–30% of total food produced is lost or wasted, and food waste is estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to contribute 8-10% of total man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter after China and the USA.
   




Great progress has been made in the UK, but food waste from households and businesses is still around 9.5 million tonnes (Mt), 70% of which was intended to be consumed by people (30% being the ‘inedible' parts). This had a value of over £19 billion a year, and would be associated with more than 25 Mt of GHG emissions. The food that could have been eaten (6.4 Mt) would make the equivalent of over 15 billion meals – enough to feed the entire UK population 3 meals a day for 11 weeks. There is no comparable estimate for food waste pre-farm gate in the UK, but WRAP has estimated food waste levels from primary production at 1.6 Mt.    



  The GHGs associated with the 9.5 Mt of food waste in the UK is around 25 million tonnes CO2e – which is equivalent to c.5% of UK territorial emissions and the same as 10 million cars (or 1 in 3 cars on UK roads).









In addition to food ending up as waste, around 700,000 tonnes of food surplus from manufacturing, retail and hospitality and food service is either being redistributed via charitable and commercial routes (56,000 tonnes in 2018 ) or being diverted to produce animal feed (around 660,000 tonnes in 2015). Both of these are classed as waste prevention according to food material hierarchy. Around 2 Mt of food surplus may also be arising on farm. 
The UN's Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 is to halve food waste by 2030. To achieve this in the UK, further reductions in food waste of 1.8 Mt are needed, 1.3 Mt from homes and over half a million tonnes from across the supply chain.
   


  Using WRAP's tools and guidance, organisations can work out what types of waste to measure and how to measure it. By working with WRAP your organisation can improve processes, find new techniques and implement best practice in your supply chain.
    








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By cutting food waste the average UK household can save £500 each year and positively contribute to the UK's waste reduction targets. In 2018 WRAP research showed we threw away 6.6 Mt of household food waste. Whilst attitudes towards food waste have improved, research shows that 70% of people in the UK believe they have no food waste.     








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WRAP has launched a bold new brand aimed at driving home the message that wasting food has a huge impact on climate change, and that we can all help reduce our CO2 emissions by being more conscious of not wasting food. Called Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date, the new brand has been created to communicate the simple message that wasting food is now as socially unacceptable as littering or not wearing a seatbelt.
The brand will partner WRAP’s existing Love Food Hate Waste campaign, but use more direct and harder-hitting messaging to reach those people who may not yet be aware of the connection between wasting food and climate change. It will show that we all have the power to help to reduce the UK’s CO2 emissions, and halve our food waste by 2030. It will put initial focus on 18–34-year-olds through social media to show that, like plastic pollution, wasting food has a huge impact on the environment.
In addition, WRAP will trailblaze a new week of action in March 2021 to wake the nation up to the environmental consequences of wasting food. The inaugural Food Waste Action Week will run from Monday 1 to Sunday 7 March 2021, and will bring together organisations from retailers to local authorities, restaurants to manufacturers, and beyond. WRAP will work with a variety of partners to show that wasted food is an issue that affects everyone – and the planet. Wasted food contributes 8–10% of total man-made GHG emissions, and roughly one third of food produced around the world is wasted.
   
 
  

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The Ship Inn

Through planning, raising awareness and monitoring, the Ship Inn was able to cut its food waste by 72%. [1]

The Ship Inn: Food waste monitoring and prevention

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Circular food systems entail that the food is produced regeneratively and, where appropriate, locally. Food and packaging waste are designed out entirely, while healthy, low-impact diets are promoted and easy to access. 

[Circle Economy](https://www.circle-economy.com/) 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. 

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Circular Food

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Limes and lemons - Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Policy case

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

'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

Information campaigns

Awareness raising events

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

Ecological Impact

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

Policy Instruments

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


 
 


 



  Love Food Hate Waste has created a new toolkit for local authorities in the UK and our international partners, designed to support you with your citizen facing communications about food waste prevention.
In this toolkit you’ll find the theory behind the development of our campaigns, insights, and a suite of engaging, ready-to-use assets which will help educate and motivate citizens around the world to reduce food waste by making the most of the food they buy. 
Please download the toolkit to find out more about running your own 'Make your food go further' campaign. The toolkit and all assets are available in English and in Welsh. 
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In high-income countries, food waste at the consumption level amounts to roughly 79 kilograms per person per year on average. In the UK, 70% of all the food that is wasted is wasted by citizens in their own homes: 4.5 million tonnes of food that could have been eaten, thrown away every year.&nbsp;To raise awareness for the issue and to provide citizens with tools to reduce their own food waste, multiple local authorities in the UK have run ‘Love Food, Hate Waste’ campaigns—a tried and tested citizen-facing campaign model developed by WRAP. Love Food, Hate Waste provides municipalities with resources and guidance on how to run citizen-facing communications about food waste prevention (for example, through local public relations, road shows and cookery demonstrations). Between 2007 and 2018, past campaigns have successfully helped deliver a 15% decrease in the amount of food wasted by UK households.