Our Five-Pillar Framework
Economic and Financial Reform
Align taxation and trade with circular principles by reviewing taxes on virgin materials, reducing VAT on repair and reuse services, and embedding circularity standards in public procurement and trade agreements.
Strategy and Regulation
Sector roadmaps should align with UK-wide industrial and infrastructure plans and should be supported by binding resource productivity targets and product standards prioritising durability and repairability. Harmonised approaches across UK devolved administrations as well as our closest international partners are essential to avoid creating barriers for businesses.
Investment in Research, Development and Innovation
Support circular businesses from start-up through to scale-up by reforming end-of-waste regulations, integrating circular economy requirements into public procurement, and prioritising R&D funding for material recovery in strategically significant sectors like critical minerals needed for our net zero transition like solar panels and batteries.
Skills and Jobs
The circular economy could create over 200,000 jobs in Britain by 2030. A national Circular Skills Plan would support this transition through apprenticeships for repair and remanufacture, targeted bursaries for career changes, and micro-credentials linked to recognised standards. These opportunities should span skill levels and regions, from industrial designers to local repair technicians.
Enabling Infrastructure
Strategic planning and investment in infrastructure for critical raw material recovery, scaled anaerobic digestion capacity for food waste, and sustainable transport systems supporting reverse logistics. Harmonized data collection and sharing systems like Digital Product Passports compatible with EU standards would provide seamless material tracking and break barriers for businesses working across borders.
Circular Economy: Benefits Beyond Economic Goals
The circular economy addresses multiple challenges simultaneously. It creates quality jobs across regions, enables cost savings for families through resource efficiency and longer-lasting products, and protects business sectors from supply chain disruptions by building domestic capacity for material recovery and remanufacturing.
With 45% of greenhouse gas emissions connected to everyday products, and 90% of biodiversity loss linked to resource extraction, circular economy policies can contribute significantly to environmental goals while supporting economic resilience.
Next Steps
The forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy must deliver regulatory certainty, financial incentives, facilitate critical skills within the workforce and help secure infrastructure investment that businesses and communities need. Our recommendations provide a framework for achieving this, drawing on international evidence and UK experience.
The policy tools exist and the business case is established. What's needed now is coordinated implementation across government.
