State of the international circular economy

However, the message of the latest report from 2023 is alarming, as the circular economy rate is falling worldwide instead of rising. The current rate is 7.2 %, which corresponds to 7.1 billion tonnes of valuable resources such as non-metallic minerals, metal ores, fossil fuels and biomass. In 2018, when the first report was published, the rate was still 9.1 %. Overall, global resource consumption remained unchanged from previous years at around 100 billion tonnes. Half of this is accounted for by aggregates, which are mainly needed by a booming construction industry to provide housing and infrastructure for the growing population in many parts of the world.

The potential of the circular economy: How resource-efficient construction can reduce emissions and raw material consumption

In its 2022 report, the Circularity Gap Initiative had already presented 21 solutions for reducing resource consumption. With regard to mineral consumption, for example, the list included more resource-efficient living and construction, reducing floor space, natural living solutions, increasing the service life of buildings and using recycled building materials. The use of secondary construction materials alone has the potential to reduce mineral extraction by 3.5 billion tonnes and increase the circular economy rate by 3.5 %. This would also lead to emission savings of 1.1 gigatonnes.

The Circularity Gap Reporting Initiative is an initiative of Circle Economy, an organisation dedicated to accelerating the transition to a circular economy.