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Our Impact

We envision an economic system that ensures the planet and all people can thrive

Everything we do at Circle Economy Foundation is guided by the vision: an economic system that ensures the planet and all people can thrive. We are a global impact organisation founded in 2011, and to date have worked with over 120+ businesses, 51+ cities and 23+ nations around the world.
Our practical and scalable approach is focused on empowering decision-makers from the public and private sectors to develop and implement circular economy strategies and business models. We do this by combining research, data, and digital tools for the greater good.
Explore funding opportunities to help make the circular economy a reality.
Learn more

Our goal: doubling global circularity in the next 10 years

The current economic model is smashing through the planet’s safe limits. Today, the global economy is 7.2% circular—down from 9.1% only six years ago. It relies too heavily on virgin materials, causing environmental devastation across land, water and air. A global circular economy could reduce material use by one-third, leading to a world that is twice as circular and safer for the planet and all of its living beings.
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Learn more about the multitude of other benefits circular economy provides in the latest Circularity Gap report.
Photo credit: DIPAYAN BOSE / Climate Visuals Countdown

Wellbeing for people and the planet

We aim to drive a circular transition that delivers environmental, economic and social benefits. In doing so, we work to actively improve the link between the circular economy and wider global issues. These include greenhouse gas emissions, resource scarcity, resilient business models, labour and social equality. The global circular transition must be people-centric, resource-safe and climate-smart.

Why now and why the circular economy?

Our world's resource consumption has tripled in the last 50 years: we now consume more than 100 billion tonnes each year. Our latest flagship Circularity Gap Report highlighted that only 8.6% of these resources are cycled—or reused—and 70% of greenhouse gasses are directly linked to the extraction, handling, and consumption of materials. In other words, our out-of-control consumption patterns and systems are directly linked to the current climate crisis.

The circular economy offers solutions to drastically reduce material-related emissions, as well as to address other systemic flaws from biodiversity loss to global inequality.

Read more about the link between resources and greenhouse gas emissions in our Circularity Gap Report 2021
Photo credit: Abir Abdullah / Climate Visuals Countdown

our approach

A circular economy that is understandable, relevant, and actionable.

The 'why' of a circular economy is clear — but the how remains unknown.
When implementing the circular economy, key actors can struggle to find and unite the right partners, uncover the data and tools needed to identify and apply circular strategies, and measure progress. They lack the evidence needed to convince key stakeholders that the circular economy is the right way to go — and may have limited resources to drive action even once they have committed. Overall, our dominant linear systems—legal, cultural, financial, or technological — hinder efforts to bring about change.

Circle Economy Foundation works to overcome these barriers. We use hard data and facts to create roadmaps for action and inform decision making. We build digital products that can be tailored to specific contexts, making the circular economy understandable and actionable. And we do this across crucial topics and impact sectors.

OUR VALUES

COURAGE
‍Courage provides us the stamina and drive to live our values and work toward transformational change in the easy and hard times.
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TRANSFORMATION
‍In delivering impact, we aim to spur a global transformation of systems where all people and living beings can thrive within the safe limits of our planet.
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COLLABORATION
‍Global systems are highly interdependent and interconnected: we champion a systemic approach that actively rejects working in silos. 

BELONGING
‍The Circle Economy Foundation is where you will find your people, common ground and diverse perspectives—a place to be your true self.

Our impact at-a-glance

in the past 10 years
We have empowered:
124
Businesses
54
Cities
27
Nations
We have trained:
2700+
People
350
Organisations
And we have developed:
5
Digital
Products

Read our impact reports

Latest update
Read it here
Or check out our previous reports
2019-2020
2021
gender equality plan
Equality of opportunity is an integral value to Circle Economy Foundation to ensure fair access and equity for all of its employees. That is why Circle Economy Foundation does not tolerate any discrimination based on gender, religion, sexual orientation, nationality and ethnicity.

Download our Gender Equality Plan below.
Download
AN ECONOMIC SYSTEMTHAT ENSURES THE PLANETAND ALL PEOPLE CAN THRIVE
Circle Economy Foundation is an international team of 60+ experts from data, digital, industrial ecology, sociology and economics backgrounds aiming to drive a circular transition that delivers environmental, economic and social benefits.

Download our overview brochure below.
Download

MEET THE TEAM

martijn
lopes cardozo
CEO
ivonne
bojoh
COO and Director Digital
hatty
cooper
Director of Goverments and Institutions
matthew
fraser
Head of Research and Development
esther
goodwin brown
Circular Jobs Initiative Lead
See all our people

OUR SUPERVISORY BOARD

robert-jan
van ogtrop
Founder & Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Circle Economy Foundation, Board Member of PACE, “Going Circular” Executive Producer, Board Chairman of African Parks, Investor. Building the foundation for a circular society.
prof. dr.
louise E.M. VET
Former Director of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), em. Professor in Evolutionary Ecology, Wageningen University.
andrienne
darenberg
Executive in Residence at the Oxford Said Business School. Board Member and Trustee.
lorenzo
grabau
Technology Investor, Executive Director at Olympia Group, and Senior Advisor at Perella Weinberg and K Group. Formerly CEO of Kinnevik, Chairman of Avito, Global Fashion Group, Rocket Internet and Lazada, and Board Member of Millicom, Tele2 and Zalando.
Jules
Kortenhorst
Clean Energy Expert and Former CEO of Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)

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