Out with the old throwaway society, in with the new circular economy. Policymakers, academics and businesses agree, a new model is needed to tackle some of the world's major environmental challenges. But transitioning to this new model is itself fraught with challenges.
Executive summary
Moving to a circular economy would help to address some of the world’s most pressing environmental problems by reducing waste and making better use of existing resources.
Yet businesses have been slow to embrace it, and global trends suggest things may be set to get worse, not better.
This study highlights six major problems with the circular model compared to the current linear system, and examines the policy actions that are needed to encourage market players to get on board.