The government’s circular economy strategy is a landmark moment – Inside track

The government has just joined us at Green Alliance in convening its own circular economy task force, and we’re flattered, as well as excited about its potential.

When we heard, back in July, that this was in the works, we weren’t altogether sure whether we minded that the government would be using the same name (though it has convened a single word ‘taskforce’) as our long established, business led Circular Economy Task Force. This group has been around and working hard for over 12 years, with the current membership including SUEZ, PwC, INCPEN, WRAP and Zero Waste Scotland, with support from IOM3. Over that time we have been building a detailed evidence base and, together, we’ve shown why the UK must shift to a more resource efficient economy.

This is vindication of our work
In the end, we decided that the government’s imitation was more than flattery. It was a vindication of our work and the arguments we have been making. To see these ideas so enthusiastically adopted by the new government is nothing but good news and a real win.

The government’s work, meanwhile, is only just beginning. For a strategy that will achieve transformational change, it must avoid the pitfalls that tripped up previous government attempts to embrace circularity. Over the 12 years our task force has been in existence, we’ve seen many of those challenges first hand. Here’s a whistlestop tour of our experiences since 2012.

The task force’s first publication, Resource resilient UK, was a clear roadmap for businesses and the government. Over subsequent years we promoted its proposals, from reforming systems for resource recovery, to developing an ambitious resources strategy post Brexit. We were very pleased that our work influenced government thinking away from the narrow ‘waste management’ agenda, to look more widely at issues around resource use. Many of our proposals ended up in Defra’s 2018 resources and waste strategy and have already been acted on as the initial steps towards a more resource efficient economy. These included more consistent recycling collections and extended producer responsibility for product impacts.

In 2021, as concerns about plastic were rising, our task force stressed the need for holistic solutions. In Losing the bottle we showed that kneejerk replacement of plastics without careful consideration of other materials’ impacts would be a mistake, shifting rather than avoiding environmental harm. Our report Plastic promises revealed just how many grocery businesses were doing just that.

The piecemeal approach doesn’t work
This work, and our report showing the ineffectiveness of piecemeal action, helped us to win an Environment Act amendment allowing charges on single use items, regardless of material.

Another strong theme of our task force’s work has been the need to cut overall resource use. In Targeting success we proposed a target to halve UK resource use to bring it within planetary boundaries, an idea that has been adopted in Northern Ireland and Wales, considered by Scotland and backed by Labour in opposition.

In Critical point we surfaced debate around demand for critical raw materials for the first time, with some our recommendations – particularly around the need for circularity – featuring in the UK’s 2022 Critical Minerals Strategy (and we hope more will feature in the refresh due next year).

As a business-led task force, we haven’t ignored the business case for greater circularity, showing the experiences and benefits of early adopters, and identifying where government support was needed so others can follow. Our report Ready, steady, grow outlined the tax and fiscal levers required to mainstream circular practices. Our recommendations around carbon reporting particularly gained traction, and public procurement reforms have reflected some our proposals.

In 2024, our task force is still going strong. In recent reports, we’ve taken deep dives into those sectors that have the most impact on resource extraction and use. 2023’s Circular construction showed how the building sector is missing significant opportunities to cut its carbon emissions, save more resources and money. This year’s Changing fashion looked hard at an industry with an increasingly poor reputation for its practices, telling the positive story of how reusing items can be both profitable and popular. It emphasised the level of public backing for policies prioritising quality over quantity.

And, just last month, as the government was preparing to launch its taskforce, we dedicated an entire week to highlighting the many, many benefits to the wider economy, to businesses and  the public of delivering a transformational change.

What next?
As the government steps in at this critical moment, it will be building on this legacy of evidence we’ve established over more than a decade. Our head of resources, Libby Peake, has been appointed to the government’s taskforce and will be providing expertise during its expected 12 month tenure as it works out the strategy. She’s joined in that role by chair of our task force, IOM3’s Colin Church, as well as steering group members, Stuart Hayward-Higham from SUEZ and Keith James, from WRAP.

Back at the original task force, we will be supportive, ensuring this opportunity is not wasted and willing it to succeed. To kick things off, we have set out our five tests for the government’s strategy. Together, we want to make sure that this transformation is not just started, but finished, so we all get to see finally the positive results which we have spent so long arguing for.