Blog Series: COVID-19 and the Circular Economy

Which direction are we going from this turning point?

 

Conclusively, it can be said that the way we are handling the current challenges is crucial for the health and future of our global society. The question is whether we will focus on short-term symptom treatment or on long-term solutions that address the roots of both crises.

Even in times of global health and safety threats, we should not forget about the biggest challenge of our era, the climate crisis, which is already putting many lives at risk with an upward trend. With regard to tackling climate change, the current crisis bears the potential of a turning point that has not existed to this extend before. We have the opportunity to make use of the disruption to accelerate the shift to a safe and sustainable future.

At this point, the circular economy is more relevant than ever as it represents an effective measure to combine this shift with economic regeneration. Applying circular economy measures will have positive impact on the European economy by increasing the GDP and creating new jobs.[1] Moreover, it has the potential create greater resilience by establishing flexible and stable supply chains and processes.

As we will get a better understanding of the consequences of the pandemic, we will also get more concrete ideas of the potential contribution to the economic recovery. However, it becomes clear that the circular economy has the capability to tackle the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and simultaneously create more resilience against future crises. The implementation of circular economy strategies accelerates the shift to a resilient system and results in positive impact on environmental, social and economic sustainability by prioritising stability over growth. Let’s bring this change together!

 

 

Sources:

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_20_419