The document discusses the relationship between circular economy and sustainability. It explains that the current linear "take-make-waste" economic model is unsustainable and that a circular model is needed where resources are continually reused and recycled. The document then examines how companies are incorporating circular economy into their sustainability strategies and reports. It also analyzes research showing that circular economy practices can help achieve many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially around clean water, clean energy, economic growth, sustainable consumption and production, and life on land.

1. Circular economy a key lever for achieving sustainable
development goals?
D.Sc. Malgorzata Koszewska
Assistant Professor
LODZ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Faculty of Management and Production Engineering
malgorzata.koszewska@p.lodz.pl
4th International Conference
„Contributing to sustainable development. CSR Trends IV”
Łódź, Poland, June 14-15, 2018

2. 2malgorzata.koszewska@p.lodz.pl
 Why we need do move towards circular economy model?
 What is the relationship the Circular Economy and Sustainability?
 How companies incorporate the Circular Economy concept in their
sustainability agenda?
 How do companies link CE and sustainability in their CS reports?
 To what extent circular economy (CE) practices are relevant for the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
Questions

3. 3malgorzata.koszewska@p.lodz.pl
For many years, we have been following a so-called
linear economic model
What does it mean?
Linear economy

4. 4malgorzata.koszewska@p.lodz.pl
Linear economy
cheap, easily accessible,
non-renewable
resources
Creating new
consumer
needs
We are producing and consuming at an increasing rate!
We are becoming wealthier, so can buy more!
http://www.vision.org/environmental-sustainability-use-reuse-recycle-5669

5. WHY we need to change it?

6.  We are using up more and more natural resources,
 We are generating more and more waste,
 We are creating more and more serious
environmental and social threats
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the
present linear (take-make dispose) model of
economy has slim chances of effectively
adopting sustainable development principles

7. What are the limits of the current linear model?

8. We’re sitting on a consumption time bomb
2010-2025
perspective
SOURCE: World Bank.
Ellen MacArthur
Foundation circular
economy team

9. We are reaching a tipping point,
where over the next several
years the global middle class
will expand dramatically.
Source: Homi Kharas, The Emerging Middle
Class in Developing Countries, Brookings
Institution, June XX, 2011

10. Culture of waste and consumersim
• In Europe, the average car is parked 92% of the time
• 31% of food is wasted along the value chain
• the average office is used only 35–50% of the time, even during
working hours.
Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation circular economy team
• From 2000 to 2014, and the number of garments purchased each year
by the average consumer increased by 60%
• Across nearly every apparel category, consumers keep clothing items
about half as long as they did 15 years ago.
• We often treat the lowest-priced garments as nearly disposable,
discarding them after just 7 or 8 wears.
Source: Remy, N.; Speelman, E.; Swartz, S. Style that’s sustainable: A new fast-
fashion formula; McKinsey & Company.: 2016.

11. American Life-style for the World – Need five
Planet Earths
Source: Arun Aneja, TOWARDS CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN TEXTILES, 12th Joint International Conference CLOTECH 2017 Lodz,
PolandOctober 11-14, 2017

13. 13
Years remaining until the known reserves are exhausted
(based on the current extraction rate)
Source: Professor James
Clark, Green Chemistry,
The University of York

14. 14
Current recycling rates
Source: Professor James Clark, Green Chemistry, The University of York

15. In Europe, material recycling and waste-based energy recovery captures only
5 percent of the original raw material value
Source: PULSE OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY, 2017 Copyright © Global Fashion Agenda and The Boston Consulting Group, Inc.

16. Concequences?
 Economic losses and structural waste
 Price risks- volatile resource prices and supply
disruptions- uncertainty, discouraging
businesses from investing
 Supply risks - the European Union imports six
times as much materials and natural resources
as it exports.
 Natural systems degradation - climate change,
loss of biodiversity and natural capital, land
degradation, and ocean pollution.

17. The CE model is based on the principle that resources
should be used rationally so that:
1. the value of raw materials, materials, and finished
products could be retained as long as possible and waste
could be minimized;
2. raw materials from the waste already generated could
be recovered and recycled, and we could perceive useless
garbage as valuable resources.

18. renewable
resources
eco-design,
human centered design
zero-waste design,
product-life extension
A share of fossil fuels in primary
energy supply in Poland
http://www.vision.org/environmental-sustainability-use-reuse-recycle-5669
Hard to achieve

19. Biological cycle: Products return
harmlessly to nature through
decomposition
Industrial cycle:
Non‐degradable products
are recycled continuously
Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

20. This paradigm shift requires the commitment from all market
participants. It presents very specific challenges to manufacturers,
innovators, regulatory bodies, as well as consumers
Business
models
Consumption
models
CIRCULAR
ECONOMY
Legal framework,
regulations
Values, attitudes,
cultural influences

21. 21malgorzata.koszewska@p.lodz.pl
Products that are design, made, redesigned or reused for a more circular life
 New products that are designed for long-lasting style and quality
 New products that are made of recyclable and/or recycled materials
 New products that are made of biodegradable and compostable materials
 Used products that are redesigned or upcycled
 Used products that are resold as secondhand or vintage
Services that are provided to promote a more circular product life
 Products that can be rented or leased (instead of being purchased)
 Products that can be repaired by an in-store or external tailor
 Products that can be ordered “on-demand”, in the form of made-to-order, made to-
measure, bespoke or similar service
Circular products – products for circular economy
Source: https://circularfashion.com

23. Source: Towards The Circular Economy, Opportunities for the Consumer Goods Sector, 2012, Ellen
MacArthur Foundation

24. What is the relationship between the
Circular Economy and Sustainability?
The authors based on the extensive literature review, bibliometric analysis and
snowballing techniques identified similarities, differences and relationships
between both terms/concepts.
M. Geissdoerfer et al. The Circular Economy - A new sustainability
paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production 143 (2017) 757e768

25. 25malgorzata.koszewska@p.lodz.pl
conditional relationship – CE is considered as a condition for
reaching sustainability
beneficial relationship means that CE is considered as one way,
among others, to progress toward sustainability
trade‐off relationship means that CE is considered to lead to
sustainability trade‐offs (both benefits and negative outcomes).
Relationship types between the Circular Economy and
sustainability.
Source: M. Geissdoerfer et al. The Circular Economy - A new
sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production 143 (2017)
757e768

26. Number of reviews and articles per year with the topic
circular economy on Web-of-Science.
Source: M. Geissdoerfer et al. The Circular Economy - A new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production
143 (2017) 757e768

27. What were the most common geographical
locations of authors with the topic circular
economy that have more than three
publications?

28. Source: M. Geissdoerfer et al. The
Circular Economy - A new
sustainability paradigm? Journal of
Cleaner Production 143 (2017)
757e768

29. How do companies link CE and sustainability
in their CS reports?
Raphaëlle Stewart and Monia Niero, Circular economy in corporate
sustainability strategies: A review of corporate sustainability reports in
the fast‐moving consumer goods sector, Business Strategy and the
Environment. 2018;1–18.
The results of systematic review of 46 corporate sustainability reports
in the Fast‐Moving Consumer Goods sector

30. 30malgorzata.koszewska@p.lodz.pl
Different linkages between CE and sustainability based on the
categories introduced by Geissdoerfer et al. (2017)
Source: Raphaëlle Stewart and Monia Niero, Circular economy in corporate sustainability strategies: A
review of corporate sustainability reports in the fast‐moving consumer goods sector, Business Strategy and
the Environment. 2018;1–18.

31. Temporal evolution of corporate sustainability reports included in the Corporate
Register database mentioning the term “circular economy” (CE.
Source: Raphaëlle Stewart and Monia Niero, Circular economy in corporate sustainability strategies: A
review of corporate sustainability reports in the fast‐moving consumer goods sector, Business Strategy and
the Environment. 2018;1–18.

32. How companies incorporate the Circular
Economy concept in their sustainability
agenda?

33. Main conceptual elements used by companies to introduce and/or define circular
economy in their corporate sustainability (CS) Reports.
Systemic change related to CE:
“lead the fashion industry away from the make, use, dispose economy to one that allows us to
keep resources in use for as long as possible” (C&A, 2016)
“resources and products should be designed and used in continuous loops” (Carlsberg, 2016)”
General statement:
“circular economy is thus an immanent part of our business activity” Mayr‐Melnhof Karton (2016)
Source: Raphaëlle Stewart and Monia Niero, Circular economy in corporate sustainability strategies: A review of corporate
sustainability reports in the fast‐moving consumer goods sector, Business Strategy and the Environment. 2018;1–18.

34. 34malgorzata.koszewska@p.lodz.pl
Aspects of sustainability that are mentioned in CS reports
in relation to CE
in relation to:
 resource scarcity,
 climate change
 or more generally environmental pressures.
Source: Raphaëlle Stewart and Monia Niero, Circular economy in corporate sustainability strategies: A review of corporate
sustainability reports in the fast‐moving consumer goods sector, Business Strategy and the Environment. 2018;1–18.

35. To what extent circular economy (CE) practices
are relevant for the implementation of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
Schroeder et al., 2018, The Relevance of Circular Economy Practices
to the Sustainable Development Goals: Circular Economy and SDGs,
Journal of Industrial Ecology, DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12732
The authors have taken the 17 goals and 169 targets set out in the
document “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development” (UN 2015) and matched these targets with CE practices
as identified from the emerging academic and nonacademic literature
on CE.
Through this analysis, they have identified the potential contributions
of CE practices to these specific SDG targets.

37. Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and
production patterns.
Can we achieve this goal in the present linear
model?

38. Achieving, Goal 12 will require a complete
overhaul of our linear, take-make-waste patterns
of production and consumption in favor of a
circular system
We need a radical shift in business models ,
policies, and consumers’ behaviour around the
world.

39. However, the authors of the article argue that CE
practices and principles are transversal and the adoption
of CE practices will be necessary to achieve many targets
outlined under several of the SDGs, not only for SDG 12.
Source: Schroeder et al., 2018, The Relevance of Circular Economy Practices to the Sustainable
Development Goals: Circular Economy and SDGs, Journal of Industrial Ecology, DOI:
10.1111/jiec.12732

40. CE practices can directly contribute to achieving
21 of the targets and indirectly contribute to achieving an
additional 28 targets.
The strongest relationships and synergies (high scores both
for direct and indirect contributions) between CE practices
and SDG targets lie within:
 SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation),
 SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy),
 SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth),
 SDG 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production), and
 SDG 15 (Life on Land)

41. Source: Schroeder et al., 2018, The Relevance of Circular Economy Practices to the Sustainable Development Goals:
Circular Economy and SDGs, Journal of Industrial Ecology, DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12732

42. Thank you for your attention
Koszewska M.,2018, Circular economy a key lever for achieving sustainable development
goals? Plenary session, 4th International Conference „Contributing to sustainable
development. CSR Trends IV” Łódź, Poland, June 14-15, 2018
D.Sc. Malgorzata Koszewska
Assistant Professor
LODZ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Faculty of Management and Production Engineering
malgorzata.koszewska@p.lodz.pl