Circular Jobs Initiative - Circle Economy

Adoption of circular economy strategies can help tackle climate breakdown, protect biodiversity and our finite resources. It can also help to secure livelihoods and wellbeing for all.

We know the workforce is an essential lever for transforming our economy from linear to circular. The Circular Jobs Initiative helps businesses and governments ensure that the transition to the circular economy positively impacts work and workers.

We deliver practical support and insights to businesses and governments that want to adopt circular strategies that have a positive social impact.

We work through three lenses:

Upskilling the workforce

We define what skills are needed in the circular economy, and how education and training programmes can be used to upskill and reskill the workforce.

Quality of work

We advocate for fairly-paid, decent and secure jobs, through multi-stakeholder participation and championing high quality labour standards.

Inclusive job opportunities

We strive for a labour market that gives opportunities to everyone, including people that are distant to the labour market or at risk of being left behind by changes in the economy.

We define and identify circular jobs based on strategies businesses and governments can use to implement the circular economy. Learn more about how we define circular jobs below.

Learn more

Our tools and services

Circular Jobs Monitor

This tool provides our partners with the data and evidence they need to tap into the employment potential of the circular economy.

Which jobs are already part of the circular economy? Where are they located? How are these jobs distributed across sectors and how are they related to circular strategies?

The Circular Jobs Monitor provides answers to these questions by gathering and displaying data on the number and range of jobs that are part of the circular economy around the world.

Explore what jobs are already contributing to the circular economy.

Explore the Circular Jobs Monitor

Circle Scans

Our Circle Scans for businesses, cities and nations help our clients to attain an employment baseline, identify which circular economy strategies provide the most potential for jobs, and the skills needed to implement them. The method also defines training requirements and highlights the policies and interventions required to maximise social and economic impact.

Do you want your workforce to thrive in the circular economy?

Get in touch to explore how
we can collaborate.

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client feedback

Measuring the state of the circular economy is difficult, but it has been crucial for understanding the progress Scotland is making towards the circular economy. The Circular Jobs methodology has helped us get a sense of where Scotland’s labour market is now and how we can measure progress in the future. The Circular Jobs Monitor makes our results accessible to an international audience and enables us to see regional variations that can support policy development.

– Leonore te Bokkel, Assistant Economist, Zero Waste Scotland

The Circular Jobs Monitor provided Cornwall Council with the opportunity to make decisions that will further enhance the development of a sustainable and circular economy for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

– Peter Lefort, Cornwall Council's Carbon Neutral Cornwall Sector and Partnerships Lead