DELIVERING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY A TOOLKIT FOR POLICYMAKERS

52 • DELIVERING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY – A TOOLKIT FOR POLICYMAKERS
• The ‘circularity potential’ dimension takes into account not only total resource
consumption and waste generation, but also the potential to avoid and/or valorise
that waste. For example, mining and quarrying has the lowest score since
initial analysis indicated that there is little dependence on other raw materials,
little intrinsic value of the materials handled (since mining is generally the first
stage in a value chain), limited avoidable waste generated, and a small potential
value to valorise the waste. In contrast, the construction sector has a high raw
material dependence and handles materials with high intrinsic value, while generating
significant volumes of waste that are deemed feasible to further valorise
through circular activities.
• The resulting matrix is only a guide to the sector prioritisation – there is always a
judgement call involved in the final selection.
• In addition to sectors, it is also possible to consider other important contributors
to resource consumption and waste in the economy, especially from a consumer
point of view. Packaging was included as a fifth focus sector 58 in the Denmark
pilot since it represents a formidable challenge in terms of reducing the resource
footprint of consumer and other goods.
While most data needed to assess the role in the national economy can be found in
national statistical databases, assessing the ‘circularity potential’ relies more heavily on
expert opinion and judgement. Assessing the ‘circularity potential’ will require a first
round of interviews with sector experts and consultation of previous reports (such as
the Denmark findings in this report, and the reports mentioned in Table 1 in Part 1). To
structure the assessment of the scope for improved circularity, inspiration can also be
taken from the ReSOLVE framework laid out in Chapter 1.1. Figure 12 in Section 2.2.2
provides an indicative overview of which ReSOLVE circularity action areas could be
worth further investigation in different sectors.
It is useful to consider the sectors as ‘anchor sectors’ for their respective value chains.
This means that subsequent opportunity analysis would also look at a focus sector’s
supply chain and customers. 59 For example, in the Denmark pilot, the selection of the
anchor sector ‘Food & Beverage processing’, also involved an analysis of the consumer
side to address the issue of avoidable food waste. An alternative to the selection of
‘anchor sectors’ is the direct selection of full value chains. The Netherlands Organisation
for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Circle Economy and MVO Nederland developed
an approach for such a value-chain selection mechanism, and is currently applying it to
the Dutch economy.
2.2 Assess sector opportunities
Once the focus sectors have been selected, the sector-specific assessment
can begin. This step can be conducted in parallel sector working groups, and
heavily relies on the involvement of businesses. The most relevant circular
economy opportunities need to be mapped (Section 2.2.1) and prioritised
(Section 2.2.2). For the prioritised opportunities, sector-specific economic
impact needs to be assessed (Section 2.2.3), barriers limiting their realisation
identified (Section 2.2.4) and policy options to overcome these barriers
mapped (Section 2.2.5).
The different sector deep dives can be conducted in parallel by one central project
team, or managed by individual project managers or small teams. The project team(s)
in this step should have disposal of strong business analysis skills and circular economy
expertise, including the ability to understand value chains, facilitate discussions with
businesses and perform sector-specific quantification of economic impact. Prior
experience in circular economy is an important success factor especially for the mapping
58 While not technically a sector, ‘packaging’ is referred to as a focus sector throughout the rest of the document.
59 This perspective also allows the evaluation of opportunities within ‘non-producing’ sectors, as part of the
anchoring sector’s value chain.