Circularity holds vast business and sustainability opportunities: supply chain integrity, cost and resource efficiency, product innovation. But, over 70% of global organisations are yet to implement a circular economy initiative. The global Circularity Gap Report 2024, a collaboration between Deloitte and Circle Economy Foundation, presents a roadmap for ambitious change to unlock capital, drive transformation and close the skills gap.
→ 100 billion tonnes of materials are consumed annually
→ 7.2% of the world was circular, down from 9.1% in 2018
→ 5 of 9 key ‘planetary boundaries’ have been crossed
In the past six years, the global population consumed more than 500 billion tonnes of materials—nearly as many materials as were consumed during the entire 20th century.
While discussion and debate surrounding circularity have almost tripled in the last five years, this has not resulted in a decline in virgin material use. In fact, the vast majority of extracted materials entering the economy are virgin, with the share of secondary materials declining steadily. As a higher-income ‘Shift’ country, Belgium must radically reduce its material consumption while upholding wellbeing.
The decline in circularity continues despite the concept of a circular economy—one that aims to help reduce consumption of virgin materials and keep materials in circulation—growing in popularity, with the volume of discussions, debates and articles on the topic almost tripling in the past five years.
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