Highlights the Global Circularity Protocol, appealing to businesses interested in sustainability, improving visibility in searches related to global circular economy initiatives.
1. A Global Circularity Framework Is Here and It’s Big
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and One Planet Network have launched the Global Circularity Protocol (GCP) — the world’s first global voluntary framework for measuring and reporting circularity impacts. This could mean:
- Saving 120 billion tonnes of materials globally
- Avoiding 76 gigatons of CO₂ by 2050
- Setting a common measurement language for circular businesses
- Most likely influencing reporting rules for industries like automotive, electronics, textiles
Expect OEMs, suppliers, and service ecosystems to adopt circularity KPIs → an opportunity to build analytics, reporting, and data-ops solutions around it
2. Europe Announces Its Most Ambitious Circular Economy Push Yet
The EU is preparing its Circular Economy Act, aiming to double the continent’s circularity rate by 2030. Details reported by ESG News here.
Key policies under consideration
- A unified Secondary Raw Materials market
- Big push for critical minerals reuse/recycling
- Stronger e-waste targets
- Design norms for repairability and reusability
EU policy almost always sets global standards — including for Indian exporters.
If you sell to Europe, or operate in industries linked to Europe (auto, electronics, apparel), these standards will shape your business.
3. Heavy Industry Could Cut 231 Million Tonnes of CO₂ Through Circularity
A new EU Joint Research Centre (JRC) study shows circular approaches in heavy industry could cut 231 million tonnes of CO₂ every year.
Full summary here. Some of the big opportunities identified are:
- Steel
- Aluminium
- Chemicals
- Cement
- Industrial heat systems
Circularity isn’t just a climate idea — it’s an economic advantage:
- Reduced raw-material imports (= lower costs, stronger currency)
- Lower energy use
- Higher manufacturing competitiveness
4. Circularity Needs Partnerships, Not Solo Heroes
At Climate Week NYC 2025, companies like Colgate-Palmolive, Smurfit Westrock, and Nest Climate Campus emphasised that no sector can achieve circularity alone. 🔗 Full story here.
- Packaging needs cross-industry loops
- Investors are demanding circular design
- Product lifecycles must be shared — not siloed
- Collaboration between design, logistics, recycling and policy is essential
Circularity can start with simple cross-functional partnerships — facilities, sourcing, HR, and operations can all drive small loops that cumulatively matter.
5. Sustainable Fashion Under Scrutiny: When “Green” Backfires
A new analysis warns that sustainable fashion can still worsen environmental impacts if it over-produces or mismanages take-back programs.
Full report on sustainable fashion backfire here. Few reasons below:
- Increased “eco-product” consumption
- Inefficient repair/reuse loops
- Over-collection of clothes that never actually get recycled
- Greenwashed marketing
6. The Rise of the Repair Economy
Insurer NN Group is promoting repair-before-replace models especially for damaged household goods, electronics, and furniture. Some of the reasons listed below. Full story here
- Extends product life
- Reduces resource demand
- Cuts waste dramatically
- Creates local jobs in repair networks
This trend can create entire micro-industries in India: mobile repair, auto-part refurbishment, appliance repair, textile repair-as-a-service.
7. India: Circular Manufacturing Gets Policy Attention
India’s Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals has highlighted that circular manufacturing is now essential for the country’s global competitiveness in plastics and chemicals. Coverage here.
- Stronger push for recycling infrastructure
- Encouraging chemical recycling tech
- Circular plastics for exports
- Policy support for redesign + standardisation
This is a big moment for Indian startups building recycling tech, materials innovation, or reverse-logistics models.
🧭 What These Global Signals Mean for Businesses in 2025
Circularity is moving beyond mnaufacturing – sectors such as Insurance, retail, logistics, tech, real estate are also starting to assess circular loops. Here are the top 3 things:
Circularity is becoming measurable – With frameworks like the GCP, businesses will be forced to move from “we’re sustainable” to “show the data.”
Supply chains will be redesigned – Repairability, recyclability, and secondary materials will become compliance requirements — especially for automotive, electronics, packaging, and apparel.
India’s opportunity is enormous – As the EU tightens circularity laws, global supply chains will look to India for secondary materials, recycling capacities, refurbished automotive parts, circular textiles and reverse-logistics hubs.
🌱 New to the Circular Economy? Start here
🇮🇳 India Spotlight: Circular Economy Trends to Watch (2025)
1. Policy Momentum Is Rising
- The Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals (DCPC) organised a summit in Dehradun on recycling, plastic waste management and the circular economy in the petrochemicals/plastics sector.
- DCPC’s “Circular Chemistry” initiative outlines framework for industrial wastes, hazardous wastes and reuse/valorisation of materials.
- According to a government response in Parliament, India has finalised Circular Economy Action Plans for 10 waste categories (Li-ion, e-waste, tyres, etc.) under the leadership of NITI Aayog and relevant ministries.
2. Manufacturing Shifts: From Linear to Circular
- The Indian chemical industry is formally recognising circular-economy principles: reuse, redesign, waste-minimisation are being adopted in sectoral policy.
- A PwC-India study shows that circular manufacturing (for chemicals/petrochemicals) is becoming a strategic business model – not just compliance.
3. The Rise of India’s “Repair Economy”
- While specific links to large-scale national repair policy aren’t cited here, the ecosystem of secondary materials, refurbishment and repair in India is growing rapidly (implied via circular-economy case studies).
4. Startups in Circular Innovation
- A notable player: Recykal, an Indian digital-platform company in the circular-economy/waste-recycling space.
5. India’s Big Strategic Advantage
- India is developing policy & institutional frameworks (see DCPC & “Circular Chemistry”) that signal the move toward a service/supply-chain role in global circularity.
6. What India Needs Next
- Implementation gaps still remain: e.g., conversion of policy into practice, full-scale reverse-logistics, standardized secondary materials markets. The “Draft Final Report on Implementation of Circular Economy in Toxic and Hazardous Industrial Waste” outlines these challenges.
🚀 Founders & Operators: Go Deeper
Track B distills how circular models scale profitably—from factory floors to funding rounds. Learn how global policies, data loops, and design choices turn into competitive advantage.
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