What is the circular economy?
The way we create and consume products is predominantly linear. It’s using up our planet’s resources at an unsustainable rate.
Natural resources like minerals, gases, plants or animals are all taken from somewhere. They’re transported and turned into products. The products are transported for sale. They’re used by customers for a time. Some of them do another round or two as ‘recycling’. But almost all of them end up burned or buried as waste - a dead end. Then more natural resources are taken.
Our global economy, our well-being and our survival depend on Earth's air, landscapes, waterways and oceans. But every stage of this linear “take, make and waste” approach disrupts, degrades and pollutes them.
To continue to create the products we need and enjoy we have to change the way we do it. We have to shift from linear systems, to circular ones. This means redesigning our products and sustainably sourcing the resources they're made from. That way they're never abandoned as pollution and waste. And new products won't always need new resources, or the materials can be safely returned to the air, landscapes and oceans and contribute to their restoration.
Making this change will not be easy. But it's our best chance of reversing our negative impact on our world, making it positive.