The Value of Circularity: Why It’s Still Not Being Realised — And How Businesses Can Lead the Change

Despite growing awareness of sustainability, the global economy remains overwhelmingly linear. According to the Circularity Gap Report, less than 7% of the materials used in 2021 came from recycled or reused sources — down from just over 9% in 2015.

Even with ambitious recycling initiatives, material consumption is outpacing our ability to recover or reuse resources. As Forbes Business Council reflected earlier this year, the problem isn’t a lack of innovation or ambition — it’s that circularity is still treated as an “add-on” rather than embedded into the core structures of trade, finance and business strategy.

The Problem: A System Built for Throughput, Not Regeneration

• Waste is still treated as a liability, not an asset. Most industries see waste purely as a cost to minimise rather than a resource to recover and monetise.

• Circular systems depend too heavily on consumer behaviour. Current models often require consumers to actively change their habits, rather than presenting them with seamless, attractive alternatives.

• Growth is outpacing reuse. Material consumption and product turnover are accelerating faster than our ability to reuse or recover resources. 

  
  

Recycling alone can’t close the loop. If businesses want to thrive in a resource-constrained future, circularity has to move from the margins to the mainstream.

Three Ways Businesses Are Leading Ahead of Policy

1. Design for Circularity NowDon’t wait for regulation. Embedding repair, reuse, and resource recovery into product and service design now can give your company a competitive edge.

   • Create products built to last and be repaired.

   • Integrate take-back schemes, refurbishment, or resale models.

2. Make Circularity Easy for Customers Systems succeed when they don’t rely on consumers changing behaviour dramatically.

   • Offer seamless repair, rental or return options.

   • Build partnerships with local repair cafés, reuse centres, and logistics providers to make circular options as simple as buying new.

3. See Waste as a Resource, Not a Cost Move from cost-avoidance to value creation.

   • Identify secondary markets or inputs for your waste streams.

   • Pilot closed-loop systems at a local level to prove commercial viability.

These steps aren’t just compliance measures; they’re growth opportunities. Businesses that rethink their models now can reduce costs, strengthen customer loyalty, unlock new revenue streams, and future-proof their operations.