# Reading: Progress in context
*Activity type: book*

## Chapter 1: Global progress

The global push towards a circular economy has gained significant momentum in recent years as nations, businesses, and communities recognise the urgent need for the sustainable management of our resources.

href="https://knowledge-hub.circle-economy.com/article/26047?n=The-Japanese-Circular-Economy-and-Sound-Material-Cycle-Society-Policies-Discourse-and-Policy-Analysis" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://knowledge-hub.circle-economy.com/article/26047?n=The-Japanese-Circular-Economy-and-Sound-Material-Cycle-Society-Policies-Discourse-and-Policy-Analysis) in 1999, but the European Union is leading the charge when it comes to momentum in this space. Most notably, they have adopted Thehref="https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en), which specifically aims to decouple economic growth from increased resource use through circular practices. The European Commission adopted their first circular economy action plan back in 2015, which has since been bolstered by all kinds of legislation on matters such as the right to repair, making claims about environmental benefits, and monitoring frameworks. Individual European countries are also making progress. For example, the href="https://www.government.nl/topics/circular-economy/circular-dutch-economy-by-2050" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.government.nl/topics/circular-economy/circular-dutch-economy-by-2050) and href="https://www.sitra.fi/en/projects/leading-the-cycle-finnish-road-map-to-a-circular-economy-2016-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.sitra.fi/en/projects/leading-the-cycle-finnish-road-map-to-a-circular-economy-2016-2025/) both adopted national circular economy plans and roadmaps in 2016.

##### Stocktake of circular economy roadmaps

href="https://circulareconomy.earth/publications/global-stocktake-of-national-circular-economy-roadmaps-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://circulareconomy.earth/publications/global-stocktake-of-national-circular-economy-roadmaps-2), with support from UNIDO, conducted the first global stocktake of national circular economy roadmaps in 2024. Their work offers insights into 75 national circular economy ‘calls to action’, ‘roadmaps’ and ‘operational strategies’, representing 2882 individual actions to progress the transition. As shown in the graph here, we’ve seen a significant boom in the number of these publications since 2016.

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Image: Number of Circular Economy publications over time. href="https://circulareconomy.earth/publications/global-stocktake-of-national-circular-economy-roadmaps-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://circulareconomy.earth/publications/global-stocktake-of-national-circular-economy-roadmaps-2)*

The growing global momentum in circular action is further catalysed by the href="https://www.sitra.fi/en/projects/wcef/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.sitra.fi/en/projects/wcef/). Organised annually by the Finnish Innovation Fund, Sitra, the Forum is hosted by countries all over the world to bring business leaders, policymakers and experts together to work on circular solutions. This includes Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, Rwanda, Belgium, and will be held in Brazil in 2025.
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But there is still more progress to be made.

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*Even though circular progress has accelerated enough forhref="https://www.circularity-gap.world/2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.circularity-gap.world/2024), there is still not yet sufficient coordination and collaboration across governments and systems on the transition. This is reflected by some key statistics, showing href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy_en), and our href="https://www.circularity-gap.world/updates-collection/global-circularity-rate-fell-to-6-9---despite-growing-recycling" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.circularity-gap.world/updates-collection/global-circularity-rate-fell-to-6-9---despite-growing-recycling).

The trend is pointing in the right direction, however. This is supported by bold action by the European Union: In 2022, the href="https://www.eumonitor.eu/9353000/1/j9vvik7m1c3gyxp/vlgjfy6bvmtu?ctx=vhsjgh0wpcp9#:~:text=The%20EU%20circular%20economy%20action%20plan&text=The%20proposals%20include%20boosting%20sustainable,EU%2Dwide%20rules%20on%20packaging" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.eumonitor.eu/9353000/1/j9vvik7m1c3gyxp/vlgjfy6bvmtu?ctx=vhsjgh0wpcp9#:~:text=The%20EU%20circular%20economy%20action%20plan&text=The%20proposals%20include%20boosting%20sustainable,EU%2Dwide%20rules%20on%20packaging) that promote reuse and recycling. In 2024, EU consumer rules were updated to ban greenwashing, and the href="https://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en) with circularity becoming a key part of the disclosure process. This trend is expected to continue, which will have an impact on the global market as well.*
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*Use the Table of Contents on the right to navigate to the next chapter - * "Australian progress"

## Chapter 2: Australian progress

Although Australian progress on the circular economy is somewhat lagging behind the European early adopters, we are quickly catching up. Especially in the last couple of years, Australia is experiencing a profound shift in embracing the opportunities enabled by a circular economy through better design, manufacturing, business models and consumption behaviours.

Prior to this, however, circular economy was a topic of discussion mainly in waste management departments and organisations. The href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/it-hit-rock-bottom-how-victoria-s-recycling-industry-ended-up-in-the-dumps-20210131-p56y53.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/it-hit-rock-bottom-how-victoria-s-recycling-industry-ended-up-in-the-dumps-20210131-p56y53.html), banning the export of certain wastes to Chinese markets. The required restructure of Australia’s waste management and resource recovery sector led many governments to consider circularity as a response. As a result, most of Australia’s first circular economy policies and strategies had a limited focus on waste management. Even today, many circular initiatives are still led by government waste departments and agencies.

##### Waste-focused circular economy policies in Australia

The circular economy landscape in Australia is changing rapidly but its roots lie in waste management, which is reflected by policy:

- Victoria’s circular economy policy evolved from a recycling-focused policy, called href="https://www.vic.gov.au/building-victorias-circular-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.vic.gov.au/building-victorias-circular-economy);

- Thehref="https://depws.nt.gov.au/programs-and-strategies/circular-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://depws.nt.gov.au/programs-and-strategies/circular-economy) is the NT Government’s plan to reduce, reuse and recycle waste into a valuable resource;

- Queensland is implementing circular economy principles through it’shref="https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/circular-economy-waste-reduction/strategy-plans/strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/circular-economy-waste-reduction/strategy-plans/strategy);

- The ACT started with ahref="https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2334499/ACT-Waste-Management-Strategy-2011-2025.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2334499/ACT-Waste-Management-Strategy-2011-2025.pdf), before developing a dedicated href="https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/2272331/ACT-Circular-Economy-Strategy-access.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/2272331/ACT-Circular-Economy-Strategy-access.pdf);

- Western Australia’s vision to create a circular economy is embedded in their href="https://www.wasteauthority.wa.gov.au/images/resources/files/2019/10/Strategic_Direction_-_Waste_Avoidance_and_Resource_Recovery_Strategy_2030.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.wasteauthority.wa.gov.au/images/resources/files/2019/10/Strategic_Direction_-_Waste_Avoidance_and_Resource_Recovery_Strategy_2030.pdf);

- Similarly, Tasmania is working to achieve a circular economy, as proposed in thehref="https://wrr.tas.gov.au/Documents/Tasmanian%20Waste%20and%20Resource%20Recovery%20Strategy%202023-2026.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://wrr.tas.gov.au/Documents/Tasmanian%20Waste%20and%20Resource%20Recovery%20Strategy%202023-2026.pdf);

- And NSW is evolving their circular economy policy, but still hints at the waste-focused roots of that work through the ‘href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/-/media/epa/corporate-site/resources/recycling/19p1379-circular-economy-policy-final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/-/media/epa/corporate-site/resources/recycling/19p1379-circular-economy-policy-final.pdf).

But policy developments over the last couple of years are showing a strong shift towards a more holistic interpretation of circularity. For example, Australia now has an official href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/circular-economy/framework" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/circular-economy/framework), providing clear guidance around our circular priorities This builds on the advice from the href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/circular-economy/ministerial-advisory-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/circular-economy/ministerial-advisory-group), created in February 2023. Australia’s Circular Economy Framework and href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/circular-advantage-final-report-cemag.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/circular-advantage-final-report-cemag.pdf) both push for ambitious action such as creating national targets and indicators, developing circular design principles, and supporting a workforce capable of building our circular future. 

This national progress is further supported by research from various organisations. The not-for-profit Australian Circular Economy Hub href="https://acehub.org.au/documents/circularity-in-australian-business-2023-perceptions-knowledge-and-actions" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://acehub.org.au/documents/circularity-in-australian-business-2023-perceptions-knowledge-and-actions), for example. And Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, engages in cutting-edge research to develophref="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/natural-environment/Circular-Economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.csiro.au/en/research/natural-environment/Circular-Economy) for a circular future, href="https://aspiresme.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://aspiresme.com/), and even a comprehensive href="https://research.csiro.au/circulareconomy/material-flow-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://research.csiro.au/circulareconomy/material-flow-report/).

The CSIRO’s calculations reveal that the Australian economy is 4.6% circular, with a target to double that by 2035. In line with the global situation, momentum towards more circular action is clearly building, but the statistics haven’t quite caught up yet. We’ll likely see this number shift as collaboration and coordination improve over the years to come.

##### Positive action in Australia

Australia is quickly catching up to the circular pioneers in Europe, developing more holistic policy and going all-in on circular initiatives. 

Watch this video from Global Australia to see how Australia is investing in the circular economy to achieve a more sustainable economy in the future.

https://youtu.be/L0m22Ib3xH8?feature=shared

*Use the Table of Contents on the right to navigate to the next chapter - * "Victorian progress"

## Chapter 3: Victorian progress

Like other jurisdictions in Australia, Victoria’s first movement towards a circular economy was initiated with a focus on waste and resource recovery. Partially due to the Operation National Sword policy initiative, Victoria’s recycling sector found itself in dire straits in 2018. As a response, the Victorian Government launched thehref="https://www.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/02032020%20Circular%20Economy%20Policy%20-%20Final%20policy%20-%20Word%20Accessible%20version%20.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/02032020%20Circular%20Economy%20Policy%20-%20Final%20policy%20-%20Word%20Accessible%20version%20.pdf)policy in February 2020. Supported by more than $300 million in investment, the policy includes a plethora of initiatives to grow the Victorian economy, create 3,900 jobs and protect the environment towards 2030.

The policy includes waste-focused initiatives such as a new household waste and recycling system, a container deposit scheme, and investment in priority recycling infrastructure. But over time, this policy has evolved more and more into a circular economy policy, banning the use of certain single-use items, creating regional circular economy plans, and laying the foundations for Victoria’s transition to a circular economy.

Read abouthref="https://www.vic.gov.au/building-victorias-circular-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.vic.gov.au/building-victorias-circular-economy) , including more than a million tonnes of new waste and resource recovery capacity and $84 million in grants for more circular solutions.

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Image: Timeline of circular economy developments since 2018*

Looking ahead, the Victorian Government is increasing its focus on our transition to a circular economy. Circular economy is one of the five priority sectors flagged by the Economic Growth Statement. The term circularity is now also a key part of the strategic directions of the href="https://www.deeca.vic.gov.au/our-department/deeca-corporate-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.deeca.vic.gov.au/our-department/deeca-corporate-plan), the href="https://www.vic.gov.au/strategic-plan-2023-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.vic.gov.au/strategic-plan-2023-2026), as well as href="https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-strategy). In early 2024, Sustainability Victoria refreshed its Strategic Plan, outlining how Victoria will be the leading circular economy in Australia by 2027.

This growing focus on the transition towards a circular economy is supported further by departments and agencies outside of the environment portfolio, such as href="https://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/topics/circular-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/topics/circular-economy) , the href="https://www.vic.gov.au/clean-economy-workforce-development-strategy-2023-2033" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://www.vic.gov.au/clean-economy-workforce-development-strategy-2023-2033) , and many others. This is indicative of the Victorian Government’s commitment to transition to a circular Victoria, and the growing level of support that is being made available to support this transition.
