In 2017, Circle Economy recognised the urgent need to accurately measures towards achieving a circular economy across all sectors. Until then, there was no global baseline measurement on the circular state of our world or data available to truly understand how we can effectively move towards circularity and monitor its progress.
That is why, in January 2018, the first Circularity Gap Report was published during the World Annual Forum in Davos. This first report established that our world is only 9.1% circular, establishing that we are dealing with a substantial circularity gap. It also provided a framework and fact-base to measure and monitor progress in bridging the global circularity gap. In January 2019, the second edition of the Circularity Gap Report was also launched, reaffirming that our global economy is still unsustainable.
Today, the efforts to measure the circular economy have grown into the Circularity Gap Reporting Initiative. The Initiative delivers an annual global circularity metric that measures the state of the world economy and identifies key aspects to transition to global circularity.
The Circularity Gap Report Initiative highlights the urgent need to transition to a circular economy. The report aims to empower key decision makers in both government and business sectors to coordinate their actions to accelerate the circularity transition. The report measures the current states of circularity and by bringing together stakeholders from businesses, governments, academia and NGOs to input and evaluate the findings on the state of the transition based on the latest scientific evidence.
The new Circularity Gap Report released in 2021, concludes that circular economy can cut 39% of total global emissions and 28% of virgin resource use. Meaning that if enacted globally, a circular economy can close the Emissions Gap. Furthermore, the report highlights that combining the twin agendas of circular economy and climate mitigation gets us on a path to a well below 2-degree world by 2032. This could be achieved through following the laid out circular roadmap with 21 solutions for businesses, politicians and citizens to steer action to protect and repair our planet and reach our end goal of a socially just and ecologically safe space for all.
This roadmap provides leaders with the necessary compass to update their climate pledges (NDCs): by integrating circular strategies with existing NDC commitments, leaders have an opportunity to bring us closer to the low levels of emissions that the world needs to drop to and to keep us on a path well below 2-degrees.
Explore the full report: www.circularity-gap.world/2021