Dr Dominic Hogg from Eunomia sets the scene for Circular Economy thinking, the current policy landscape and the drivers for organisations to adopt a Circular Economy approach to their business.

1. Circular Economy:
Policy Setting and Drivers
Go Green Breakfast Meeting
Dr Dominic Hogg
Chairman
Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd
2nd December 2015

3. The Hierarchy
Prevention
Preparation for Reuse
Recycling
Other Recovery
Disposal
Design
as Viewed by Designers

4. Commodity Prices as a Driver

5. The Case
• ‘the costs of making stuff are becoming
unpredictable & expensive’… ‘resource
scarcity and tighter environmental standards
are here to stay’
Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2012
• ‘In a world of high and volatile resource
prices, a CE offers huge business
opportunities’
Source: Chatham House briefing paper

6. Is the Economy ‘Linear’? - Disposal
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
LandfilledWaste('000tonnes)
Standard Rate Lower Rate

7. Is the Economy ‘Linear’?
£0.00
£10.00
£20.00
£30.00
£40.00
£50.00
£60.00
£70.00
0
10,000,000
20,000,000
30,000,000
40,000,000
50,000,000
60,000,000
LevelofStandardRateTax(£pertonne)
TonnesofWasteLandfilledatStandardRateofTax
Total Landfilled at Standard Rate Non-LAC Waste Landfilled at Active Rate Tax Rate (right hand axis)

8. Commodity Prices as a Driver?

9. Why?

10. An Alluring Identity?
Rising demand + increasing
volatility
=
high commodity prices + a circular
economy
What if prices fall?

11. José Antonio Ocampo (2013) Super-cycles of Commodity Cycles of Commodity
Prices Since the Mid-nineteenth Century, Presentation at the IMF, March 20 2013.

12. 0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
140.00
160.00
180.00
200.00 1991M01
1991M06
1991M11
1992M04
1992M09
1993M02
1993M07
1993M12
1994M05
1994M10
1995M03
1995M08
1996M01
1996M06
1996M11
1997M04
1997M09
1998M02
1998M07
1998M12
1999M05
1999M10
2000M03
2000M08
2001M01
2001M06
2001M11
2002M04
2002M09
2003M02
2003M07
2003M12
2004M05
2004M10
2005M03
2005M08
2006M01
2006M06
2006M11
2007M04
2007M09
2008M02
2008M07
2008M12
2009M05
2009M10
2010M03
2010M08
2011M01
2011M06
2011M11
2012M04
2012M09
2013M02
2013M07
2013M12
2014M05
2014M10
Energy Non-energy Agriculture Precious Metals
Source: World Bank
2
0
0
5

13. Source: IMF (Index, Jan 2005=100)

14. Iron Ore Prices Since Jan 05 ($/ton)
Source: IMF

15. Do we Need Policy to Drive us
Circular?
• If markets are ‘volatile’, can they drive the
behaviour we want to see?
• Policy intervention is likely to help…
• … and it’s justified
DG Env – waste targets review; DG Env – potential for
ecological tax reform in EU-28; GLA / LWARB - Route map to
a circular economy for London.

16. The Commission Package

17. Eco-design
Working with key OEMs and contract manufacturers in the
EU, US, Korea and China on handset eco-design
requirements, taking into account WEEE and RoHS
requirements and best practice for durability, repair and reuse

18. EMAS
Member of JRC
Technical Working
Group on EMAS for
waste management

19. Repair / Reuse
WRAP - Product
returns;
ZWS - Reverse
logistics study

20. Ecolabel / GPP
JRC - Revision of ecolabel for
paper ; OECD – sustainable
materials management; ZWS –
specifications for reuse, repair and
remanufacture

21. Plastics / Marine Litter
0.25 -
15% plastic bottles*
77
Enough to
make
*@13g each
billion
DG Env – MSFD – sources of
microplastics and policies; strategies
for port reception facilities

22. Revised Waste Targets
DG Env – development of reference model on
MSW management; support to impact assessment
on 1st and 2nd CE packages

23. Other
• Food
• Improve likelihood of donation
• Labelling
• Critical raw materials
• Improved recovery through design and recovery
technologies
• C&D
• Pre-demolition guidelines
• Indicators for env performance of buildings
• Biomass and related products
• Cascading
• Sustainability of bioenergy

24. www.eunomia.co.uk
@Eunomia_RandC
mail@Eunomia.co.uk