State of the
Circular Economy 2025

This is an emerging field that integrates financial, environmental, and social metrics to measure circularity in business operations. Comparable to sustainability reporting concerning scopes of emissions and energy source measurements, this accounting used value stream mapping tactics to assess physical material resource use, efficiency, asset and product lifecycle management or extension, and waste reduction. In one example, refurbished or second use product aftermarket margins are proven to exceed new equipment sales by up to 250%.

As water scarcity worsens, microwater solutions are small-scale, distributed systems that operate independently from or in orchestration with the utility infrastructure. Solutions aim to manage water sourcing, delivery, and storage, eliminate local pollution and contaminants, promote efficiency, maintain water use on-site through generation, purification, capture, and storage technologies, and include nature-based solutions. Industries like data centers and manufacturers face increasing pressure due to dwindling water supplies, their impact on utilities, and local water systems.

Circular economy innovation in metals centers on material design simulation to utilize recycled inputs or plan for recyclability, advanced manufacturing like 3D printing to reduce resource use and support product lifetime care, and engineering software that minimizes material waste or recommends alternatives. Enhanced recovery methods, traceability, and networks for repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing help extend product life. Urban mining for batteries and e-waste is growing rapidly, while next-gen mining robotics enable targeted, less harmful extraction.

The liquid chemicals industry is shifting to green chemistry with bio-based alternatives like biodegradable solvents and plant-derived feedstocks. Innovations focus on reducing hazardous chemicals and using biomass or algae to create sustainable products, such as in surface coatings. Plant-based alternatives are gaining popularity in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals due to consumer awareness of harmful carcinogens.

Enterprises and entrepreneurs are establishing Circularity Centers to collect, sort, and process materials for reintegration into the supply chain through recovery, reuse, refurbishment, repair, and remanufacturing. These centers also serve as hubs for community education, training, and innovation.

The polymer industry is moving toward bio-based and biodegradable options like PLA and PHA. Soft polymers are used in fabrics, consumer goods, electronics, and medical devices, while hard bio-polymers are replacing petrochemical plastics in infrastructure, equipment, and the built environment. While the industry faces challenges with field-grown feedstocks, advancements in cell programming for soft polymer production and lignin research for hard polymers are helping scale production.

Standardized, reusable, and refillable containers are emerging to reduce packaging waste. This extends beyond final packaging to shipping and logistics, including palettes. Designed for cross-industry use, they rely on network or community collection and cleaning facilities. Public-private collaboration is essential to establish these systems.

The fashion industry is embracing circular fashion with upcycled materials, sustainable fibers like hemp, biodegradable bio-fabrics, digital product passports, and circularity centers. Quality control is a major issue blocking trust in the supply chain, with machine vision or chemical detection solutions emerging to verify. Efforts to reduce water use, adopt natural dyes, and recycle textiles align with growing sustainability demands. Vegan products that avoid fossil fuel-based materials are rising, while the "Slow Fashion" movement challenges Fast Fashion and promotes human rights in supply chains.

Co-use of space and equipment models, along with gig work platforms, allow entrepreneurs to share assets and experts to extend their services across a wider audience. However, business models for flexible work are under legal scrutiny for contractor rights issues. Be sure to enable workforce agency and fair wage through any solution.

Sustainability in food and beverage is driven by regenerative agriculture and plant-based proteins. Climate instability affects crop yields, making supply security a priority. Innovations include biodegradable packaging and lab-grown and fermented products (meat, chocolate, dairy), while circularity principles turn food waste into biofuels, animal feed, and new revenue streams.

Traditionally focused on final delivery, last-mile logistics now includes micro-mobility, robotics, and circular economy principles, aiming to reduce waste. The concept is expanding to include product return, recovery, and rethinking homes or offices as "warehouse" points for inventory pickup and redistribution in reuse models.

Produced from organic waste, biochar enhances soil fertility, water retention, and carbon sequestration. It supports sustainable agriculture and carbon-negative strategies and is being explored for water filtration and renewable energy.