"Only 8.6% of 100 billion": the important numbers in the Circular Economy and where we can start

The Circularity Gap Report 2021 presents many numbers on the current reality of our environment's status - most of those stats being rather grim.

Following these grim numbers, however, is a detailed circular roadmap for businesses, government, and society. There is a solution! More than that, they have broken down the kinds of transformations necessary based on a nation's level of development. As a country's circular economy will vary depending on its level of economic development, material use, and infrastructure, there are different approaches needed in order to be successful.

One of the first numbers we are introduced to in the gap report is that "100 billion tonnes of materials enter the global economy every year. However, of this massive amount, only 8.6% is cycled back into the economy."

Our world is currently only 8.6% circular.

In order to drive the transformation that's needed to close the circularity gap even more, we need to look at systemic change - not just innovations in technology. The gap report presents those systemic transformation strategies that are needed.

But even when we look into systems, there are so, so many layers. Not only do we need to look into disruption and systemic change within the economy or government, we also have to look into systemic change for human behaviors - the "society" part of this problem.

There are so many parts of this challenge that we need to unpack and visualize in order to find tangible ways of approaching it. Often, the high-level solutions and information gets lost in translation as we try to break it down and create tangible ways to figure out what to do. Not to mention, there's just so much to be done.

How do we help businesses to see the potential revenue value of the circle economy? How do we convince governments to instate policies to force change? How do we get humans to dig deeper into the surface-level sustainable habits that we are use to?

And even further than all that, where does your country's level of development play a role in how or where you would begin tackling those questions?

Which area of systemic disruption do you think is easier to achieve? Is that just for your nation specifically, or does it apply globally?

Leave a comment below, we want to hear your thoughts!