What is the link between Circular Economy (CE) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
- Bjarne Jensen
- 7. okt. 2024
- 2 min læsning
What is the link between Circular Economy (CE) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? The answer is discussed in the article below for combined efforts...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been described as “the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all” by 2030 [1]. The seventeen goals and associated 169 targets are increasingly being adopted by both public and private sector actors across the globe, as a framework for organising and pursuing sustainability initiatives.
In parallel, the notion of a Circular Economy (CE) as an alternative economic framework has been gaining significant momentum over the last few years, also seen as offering an “approach for achieving local, national, and global sustainability” [2]. This growing CE interest is reflected in numerous actors including governments, cities and not least many large multinational companies [3] actively exploring ways to shift to circular economy practices.
While the overall aim of CE and SDGs appear roughly the same (interpreted here as social and economic prosperity within the natural capacity of our planet), the linkages between these two agendas are not immediately obvious. In fact, the term ‘circular economy’ does not even occur once in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, where the SDGs and associated targets are set forth.
A recent study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology [2] sheds some light on the possible interlinkages between the CE and the SDGs. The study, which is based on broad literature review, explores the extent to which CE practices are relevant for implementing the SDGs in a developing country context. ‘CE practices’ as defined in the study, comprise a broad range of practices and business models such as reuse, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, recycling, industrial symbiosis, biomimicry, product sharing and supporting design practices.
The study concludes that “CE practices can be applied as a ‘toolbox’ and specific implementation approaches for achieving a sizeable number of SDG targets” [2, p. 77] and thus highlights the importance of the CE transition for successfully achieving the SDGs.
CE practices can be applied as a 'toolbox' for achieving a sizeable number of SDG targets
Below I summarise and explore 5 key relationships between CE practices and SDGs based on the mentioned study.
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