Monday 1 February 2021
Ellen MacArthur Foundation publishes new goals to ease transition to a circular economy
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has published a set of goals to enable a faster transition to a circular economy.
The UK-based charity hopes the paper will provide solutions to global issues including climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and improve the UK’s economic state after the impacts of COVID-19.
It aims to stimulate more circular business models by eliminating waste and pollution, encouraging cleaner production techniques, sharing more sustainability information and improving durability.
It also aims to promote the development of business models and resource management systems that keep products and materials in the economy at their highest possible value.
Additionally, the NGO hopes to create economic incentives, such as reforming and deploying subsidies where relevant, to make a circular economy the norm.
It states investment in innovation, infrastructure and skills are highly important in scaling the transition and calls for collaboration between the public and private sectors to turn this into a reality.
In line with the latter, the Foundation is calling for a society-wide transition to a circular economy, with the cooperation of all businesses and policymakers involved.
Jocelyn Blériot, Executive Lead Institutions at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation said: “We have seen rapidly-growing recognition around the world that the circular economy is critical to meeting the SDGs, tackling climate change, and delivering better growth.
“To seize those opportunities and reach scale quickly, it is now crucial to foster far greater policy alignment. The universal circular economy policy goals have been created to support that alignment, setting a clear direction that can help governments as well as the private sector build healthier economic recoveries.”
