Circular Economy – Improving the Management of Natural

Resources Green Week Side Session 7 Brussels, June 5, 2014 Martin Lehmann World Resources Forum

Content

• Booklet Circular Economy for Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW)

• Success Factors for a CE

• Case countries China, Germany, Switzerland

• Short analysis and comparison

• Recommendations

Circular Economy - background

• One concept among many in the sustainability area

• A number of success factors (see next slide)

• Different approaches by different countries

• Not only about technology and waste management – economic, social, political, even cultural or ethical aspects

• Close collaboration of science, governments, economy and other stakeholders needed

Circular Economy – Success Factors

Circular Economy – most relevant success factors

• Non-restrictive governmental structure

• New business models

• Skills – specially educated experts

• Set of comparable indicators

• Reliable monitoring system

• International standards

Case country China – Township building

CE in China – Township building

• CE development strategy formally accepted by central government of China in 2002

• Concept of CE used to leapfrog into a more sustainable economic structure

• Efforts at different levels (macro, meso, micro)

“Leapfrogging” refers to a theory of development which may accelerate development by skipping inferior, less efficient, more expensive or more polluting technologies and industries and move directly to more advanced ones (Wikipedia).

CE in China – Structure of CE practices

Micro (single object) Meso (symbiosis

association)

Macro (city,

province, state)

Production area Cleaner production;

Eco-design

Eco-industrial park;

Eco-agricultural

system

Regional eco-

industrial network

Consumption

area

Green purchase and

consumption

Environmentally

friendly park

Renting service

Waste

management

area

Product recycle

system

Waste trade market;

Venous industrial

park*

Urban symbiosis

Other support Policies and laws; information platform; capacity-building; NGOs

Table 1: Structure of the CE practices in China *"Venous industries" refers to industries that turn solid industrial waste into reusable resources, which will then be used in production once again” (China Daily, 2007)

CE in Germany – Decoupling waste from economic growth

CE in Germany – Decoupling waste from economic growth

• Paradigm shift from waste management towards the model of CE took place

• Economic benefits; job creation

• EU provisions «Avoidance and Recovery»

• Waste seen as a resource

CE in Switzerland – Incentives and negotiation with international focus

• Waste management – polluter-pays principle

• High rate of separate collection of waste, especially for glass, aluminium and paper

CE in Switzerland – Incentives and negotiation with international focus

• 60% of impacts of goods in CH is impacting foreign countries due to import

CE in Switzerland – Incentives and negotiation with international focus

• Integrated Product Policy (IPP)

• Broadening the cost-by-cause principle to entire lifecycle of products

• Action Plan Green Economy 2010 by the Swiss Federal Council with 4 key areas: – Consumption and Production

– Waste and Resources

– Overall instruments

– Goal, measurements, information and reporting

• Revision of «Environment Protection Law» in 2013

CE in Switzerland – Incentives and negotiation with international focus

“Recycle to produce new goods, repair existing products as much as you can, focus on the benefit of a product instead of the product itself, and start to share products

and services wherever you can – like in the old days with the collective baking ovens”

(Expert of FOEN 2013).

Analysis and Comparison

• Different preconditions in China, Germany and CH to implement CE concepts

• China: huge economy, increasing demand for raw materials, still less per capita impact than Germany/CH

• China: intensified international cooperation in the global resource dialog

Analysis and Comparison

• Europe/Germany: good perspectives to implement CE, but rather slow process

• Germany: one of the forerunners in CE implementation in Europe

• Environmental indicators needed to measure progress

Analysis and Comparison

Analysis and Comparison

• IRIS*, MFA, LCA . . . what should it be?

• A meaningful set of CE indicators: – Integrates into mainstream policy mechanisms

– Aims at urban-industrial symbiosis

– Achieves absolute material and energy reduction

– Should be of prevention-oriented character

– Should not be too complex

IRIS = “Integrated Resource Efficiency Indicator Set” (Prammer&Schrack (2012)

Recommendations to reach a sound CE (1)

• Different approaches possible and required (China top-down, Germany mix of top-down and bottom-up, CH more bottom-up/participative way)

• The most important steps are:

– Effective policy measures, taxing resources and non-renewables

– Research and development to focus on resource productivity; less dependent on resource imports

(see past WRF conferences; Chairman’s summaries)

Recommendations to reach a sound CE (2)

• The most important steps are (cont.):

– Phasing out dependency on fossil fuels (oil&coal)

– Account for the scarcity of natural resources

– Strengthen education to increase awareness for resource limits

Recommendations to reach a sound CE (3)

• The most important steps are (cont.): – Rethink lifestyles and promote

sufficiency

– Technology transfer and investments in developing countries

– Township building; reintroduce former sustainable lifestyles

– Urgent attention for critical metals

– Annually report on resource- efficent economies with a

clear set of indicators

Recommendations to reach a sound CE (4)

• The most important steps are (cont.):

– Institutional changes and social innovation; PPP; capacity building programs

– Green Economy should become a worldwide priority strategy

– Better international resource governance needed; establish a

neutral intern. platform (like IEA)

Recommendations to reach a sound CE (5)

• The most important steps are (cont.):

– Provide incentives for recycling practices; BAT; Example: Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI*) by Empa/WRF

– Increase the sense of urgency; important role

for social sciences and humanities; formal and informal education

*SRI project to support small- and medium-sized recycling enterprises in developing countries with the recovery of end-of-life consumer goods, and in particular the critical metals/materials (urban mining).

Thank you for your attention!

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