Facts on circular economy in the EU & worldwide: what, where, who & how

2. What does « circular economy » mean?

In general terms, "circular economy" refers to the reduction and optimization of the use of less or lesser renewable natural resources through more efficient production and use of goods and services and by reducing waste, with the aim of increasing their resilience or sustainability of these resources. This concept is inspired by natural ecosystems which function primarily in loops known as "closed systems" in the sense that they contribute to their own resilience by optimizing the recycling of non-renewable resources such as mineral substances, which are reused in particular by plants, their primary producers.

For UNEP, sustainable consumption and production are defined as "the use of services and related products that meet basic needs and provide a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and materials Toxic and waste and pollutant emissions over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to compromise the needs of future generations."

The Environment Group of UNEP³ adopted in this context the 1994 vision of the Norwegian Ministry of Environment for which sustainable consumption and production are “the use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimising the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations.” On this basis, the PNUE- IRP report on Decoupling⁴ addresses four main classes of materials resources to be prioritized: construction minerals, ores and industrial minerals, fossil fuels and biomass.

However, the Report also observes⁵ that the rapid growth of international trade is generally enhancing energy use and resource flows and thus, overall, impeding rather than promoting decoupling and blurs the responsibilities for resources consumption and their impact on the environment.

³ http://drustage.unep.org/resourceefficiency/what-we-do/overview 
⁴  www.gci.org.uk/Documents/Decoupling_Report_English.pdf
⁵ Preface, page IX