The world's economy is only 9% circular. We must be bolder about saving resources

Nov 11, 2019

A tyre recycling workshop in Sanaa, Yemen.

Upcycling used tyres at a workshop in Yemen. Image: REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

Janez Potocnik

Former European Commissioner for Environment, Co-chair, International Resource Panel

Antonia Gawel

Head, Climate; Deputy Head, Centre for Nature & Climate Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum

Our Impact

The Big Picture

Explore and monitor how Circular Economy is affecting economies, industries and global issues

A hand holding a looking glass by a lake

Crowdsource Innovation

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Circular Economy

Bar chart showing the overuse of resources by various countries

How many Earths do we really need?

Have you read?

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

More on Circular Economy
See all

Aluminium demand will rise 40% by 2030. Here’s how to make it sustainable

Jelena Aleksić and Daniel Boero Vargas

November 28, 2023

What is urban mining – and why do we need to do more of it?

Charlotte Edmond

November 22, 2023

1:50

These sustainable hair extensions are made from banana fibres

1:31

Indian start-up revolutionizes menstrual waste management

5 ways to join the circular economy and make your home more sustainable

Ewan Thomson

October 31, 2023

‘Reuse’ needs to be the new ‘recycle’ when it comes to packaging, says TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky

Johnny Wood

October 6, 2023

The world's economy is only 9% circular. We must be bolder about saving resources

Janez Potocnik

Antonia Gawel

Share:

Explore and monitor how Circular Economy is affecting economies, industries and global issues

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Circular Economy

Have you read?

How the circular economy drives a healthier future in the built environment

Can the circular economy transform the world’s number one consumer of raw materials?

Don't miss any update on this topic

Related topics:

Share:

The Agenda Weekly

More on Circular Economy
See all

Antonia Gawel

Share:

.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;color:#2846F8;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{font-size:1.125rem;}}Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Circular Economy

Have you read?

How the circular economy drives a healthier future in the built environment

Can the circular economy transform the world’s number one consumer of raw materials?

Don't miss any update on this topic

Related topics:

Share:

The Agenda .chakra .wef-n7bacu{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-weight:400;}Weekly

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

The Agenda Weekly