Circular Value Creation: A Review of the Potential of R-Strategies to Contribute to the UK Economy

Paul Ekins; Teresa Domenech

doi:10.55845/joce-2026-41366

Authors

Paul Ekins University College London Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1975-434X
Teresa Domenech University College London Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55845/joce-2026-41366

Keywords:

Circular Economy, Circular Value Creation, Circular Strategies, Circular Microeconomics, Circular Macroeconomics

Abstract

A circular economy (CE) seeks to retain the value of materials in circulation for as long as possible, and then to add value to them when they become ‘wastes’ so that they continue to be useful. Ten circular economy strategies (the 10 ‘R’s) have been suggested through which policy makers can encourage a CE. This paper aims to estimate the value added to the UK economy by the activities that comprise these strategies, and also considers the overall contribution of CE strategies, policies and activities to the overall macroeconomy. Estimates of the values of each R-strategy are identified through a comprehensive search of mainly grey literature, while the projected maroeconomic impacts of moves towards a CE come from a review of mainly academic literature. The R-strategy estimates are partial because circular activities are not identified in a systematic or consistent manner, so that the estimates of the values of each R-strategy cannot be aggregated to get an overall estimate of their economic contribution. However, the estimates suggest that the value generated by circular activities in the UK amounts to tens of billions of pounds sterling and the provision of millions of jobs, as well as generating substantial social value. Macroeconomic estimates of the economic contribution of the circular economy vary greatly, but the great majority of the estimates suggest that circular economy activities generate economic growth, with the estimates in some cases being substantial. Overall, the estimates suggest that policy makers are justified in implementing circular economy policies for economic, as well as environmental and social reasons.

Author Biography

Teresa Domenech, University College London

Associate Professor at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources

References

Aguilar-Hernandez, G., Dias Rodrigues, J. and Tukker, A. (2021) ‘Macroeconomic, social and environmental impacts of a circular economy up to 2050: A meta-analysis of prospective studies’, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol.278, January, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123421. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123421

Boonman, H., Verstraten, P. and van der Weijde, A. (2023) Macroeconomic and environmental impacts of circular economy innovation policy, Sustainable Production and Consumption, January, Vol.35, pp. 216-228, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.10.025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.10.025

Burger, M.J., Stavropoulos, S., Ramkumar, S., Dufourmont, J. and van Oortd, F. (2019) ‘The heterogeneous skill-base of circular economy employment’, Research Policy, DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2018.08.015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.08.015

Cambridge Econometrics, Trinomics, and ICF (2018) ‘Impact of circular economy policies on the labour market’, European Commission, Luxembourg, https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/sites/default/files/ec_2018_-_impacts_of_circular_economy_policies_on_the_labour_market.pdf. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Campbell-Johnston, K., Vermeulen, W., Reike, D. and Brullot, S. (2020) ‘The Circular Economy and Cascading: Towards a Framework’, Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Volume 7, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcrx.2020.100038. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcrx.2020.100038

Chen, X., Dong, M., Zhang, L., Luan, X., Cui, X., & Cui, Z. (2022). Comprehensive evaluation of environmental and economic benefits of industrial symbiosis in industrial parks. Journal of Cleaner Production, 354, 131635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131635. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131635

Circle Economy (2023) ‘Circularity Gap Report: the United Kingdom’, Circle Economy, Amsterdam, https://www.circularity-gap.world/united-kingdom. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Defra (Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (2024). UK statistics on waste: 8. Waste from commercial and industrial (C&I) activities. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-waste-data/uk-statistics-on-waste#waste-from-commercial-and-industrial-ci-activities. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Dobbs, R., Oppenheim, J., Thompson, F., Brinkman, M. and Marc Zornes (2011), Resource Revolution: Meeting the world’s energy, materials, food, and water . McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey Sustainability and Resource Productivity Practice, https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/resource-revolution. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Domenech, T., Doranova, A., Roman, L., Smith, M., & Artola, I. (2018). Cooperation fostering industrial symbiosis: market potential, good practice and policy actions. European Commission: Brussels, Belgium. Available at: https://technopolis-group.com/report/cooperation-fostering-industrial-symbiosis-market-potential-good-practice-and-policy-actions/. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Durán-Romero, G., López-García, A. M., Ramírez-Carrera, D., & Negrín-de la Peña, J. A. (2025). Socioeconomic Impacts and Regional Disparities in Circular Economy Adoption: Insights from Europe and Beyond. Journal of Circular Economy, Vol.3, No.3, https://doi.org/10.55845/HOND7103 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55845/HOND7103

Ekins, P., Domenech, T., Drummond, P., Bleischwitz, R., Hughes, N. and Lotti, L. (2019), “The Circular Economy: What, Why, How and Where?”, Background paper for an OECD/EC Workshop on 5 July 2019 within the workshop series “Managing environmental and energy transitions for regions and cities”, Paris. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374740327_The_circular_economy_What_why_how_and_where. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) (2015). Growth Within: A Circular Economy for a Competitive Europe. Available at: https://content.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/m/3d4eba36b0311c08/original/Growth-within-A-circular-economy-vision-for-a-competitive-europe.pdf. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) (2022). The rise of single-use plastic packaging avoiders. Available at: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/articles/the-rise-of-single-use-plastic-packaging-avoiders. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Environmental Services Association, 2024. UK Recycling and Waste Treatment Market Overview. Available at: https://brandfolder.com/environmentalservicesassociationesa/esa-publications. Accessed February 25, 2026.

European Circular Economy Monitoring Framework (ECEMF), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD%3A2023%3A306%3AFIN&qid=1684144015777, accessed February 25; database at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/circular-economy/database. Accessed February 25, 2026.

European Commission (2015) ‘Closing the loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy’, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, COM(2015) 614 final, Brussels, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:8a8ef5e8-99a0-11e5-b3b7-01aa75ed71a1.0012.02/DOC_1&format=PDF. Accessed February 25, 2026.

European Parliament, 2024. Deal on new rules for more sustainable packaging in the EU. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240301IPR18595/deal-on-new-rules-for-more-sustainable-packaging-in-the-eu#:~:text=Less%20packaging%20and%20restricting%20certain,to%20help%20prevent%20food%20wastage. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Figge, F., Stevenson Thorpe, A. and Gutberlet, M. (2023) ‘Definitions of the circular economy: Circularity matters’, Ecological Economics, Volume 208, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107823. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107823

Horbach, J. and Rammer, C. (2020) ‘Circular economy innovations, growth and employment at the firm level: Empirical evidence from Germany’, Journal of Industrial Ecology, 24: 615–625, DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12977. Knäble, D., de Quevedo Puente. E, Pérez-Cornejo, C. and Baumgärtler, T. (2022) The impact of the circular economy on sustainable development: A European panel data approach, Sustainable Production and Consumption, Vol. 34, November, pp.233-243, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.09.016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.09.016

Laubinger, F., Lanzi; E. and Chateau, J. (2020) Labour Market Consequences of a Transition to a Circular Economy: A Review Paper, International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, Vol.14, No.4, pp.381–416, https://doi.org/10.1561/101.00000120 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1561/101.00000120

McCarthy, A., R. Dellink and R. Bibas (2018), “The Macroeconomics of the Circular Economy Transition: A Critical Review of Modelling Approaches”, OECD Environment Working Papers, No. 130, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/af983f9a-en. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/af983f9a-en

Morseletto, P. (2020) ‘Targets for a circular economy’, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 153, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104553. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104553

Plastics Engineering, 2024. Growth Trends in the Single-Use Plastic Packaging Market. Available at https://www.plasticsengineering.org/2024/07/growth-trends-in-the-single-use-plastic-packaging-market-005370/#!. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Potting, J., Hekkert, M., Worrell, E. and Aldert Hanemaaijer (2017), ‘Circular Economy: Measuring Innovation in the Product Chain’, January, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague, https://www.pbl.nl/uploads/default/downloads/pbl-2016-circular-economy-measuring-innovation-in-product-chains-2544.pdf. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Rashid, A. (2026). How Circular is the Linear Economy? Analysing Circularity, Resource Flows and Their Relation to GDP. Journal of Circular Economy, Vol.4, No.1, pp.442-453. https://doi.org/10.55845/joce-2026-4179 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55845/joce-2026-4179

Rodríguez, O. Rudas, G., Nieves, E., Roa, J., & Rivera, M.P. (2023). Modelamiento de los efectos macroeconómicos de la transición a la economía circular en América Latina. Los casos de Chile, Colombia, México y Perú, CEPAL, https://repositorio.cepal.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/4c226212-90a2-457f-aea8-117283004fbb/content

Royal Society (2023). Climate change economics: Summary report. Available at: https://royalsociety.org/news-resources/publications/2023/climate-change-economics/. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Sassanelli, C., Rosa, P., Rocca, R. and Terzi, S. (2019). Circular Economy performance assessment methods: a systematic literature review. [online] Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol.229 pp440-453, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.019

Snyder, H. (2019). ‘Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines’, Journal of Business Research, Vol.104, pp.333-339, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039

Stern, N. (2007) The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pre-publication report available at: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20100407172811/https:/www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/stern_review_report.htm. Accessed February 25, 2026.

UNIDO and Chatham House (2024) National Circular Economy Roadmaps: A Global Stocktake for 2024’ (Barrie, J., Schroder, P., Salminen, I. and Stucki, J.), UNIDO, Vienna https://www.unido.org/sites/default/files/unido-publications/2024-05/UNIDO_National%20circular%20economy%20roadmaps_v07.pdf. Accessed February 25, 2026.

von Kolpinski, C., & Kratzer, J. (2024). Zooming Out: Circular Economy Development in the European Union and its Implications on the Economy and Society. Journal of Circular Economy, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.55845/LJOD3552 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55845/LJOD3552

Walzberg, J., Lonca, G., Hanes, R., Eberle, A., Carpenter, A. and Heath, G. (2020). Do We Need a New Sustainability Assessment Method for the Circular Economy? A Critical Literature Review. [online] Frontiers in Sustainability, Volume 1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2020.620047

Wiebe, K. S., Harsdorff, M., Montt, G., Simas, M. S., and Wood, R. (2019).

Global circular economy scenario in a multi-regional input–output framework.

Environ. Sci. Technol. 53, 6362–6373. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.9b01208 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01208

Zero Waste Scotland and Circle Economy (2023) ‘The Future of Work: Baseline Employment Analysis and Skills Pathways for the Circular Economy’, February, https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/future-work#:~:text=We%20need%20to%20keep%20on,oil%20rigs%20and%20wind%20farms. Accessed February 25, 2026.

Zero Waste Scotland (2025) State of the circular economy in Scotland. Economic study. September. https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/state-circular-economy-report. Accessed February 25, 2026.