The awareness of the finiteness of our natural resources as well as the fight against climate change make us look for an alternative development model. The Circular Economy could be part of the solution and has become increasingly successful in recent years : the concept has spread from a small circle of insiders to a growing number of companies and citizens.
However, defining the Circular Economy is not easy and there is no universal definition today. At Amundi, we consider that the Circular Economy is a change of economic model that allows producing sustainable consumer goods, while protecting nature - by giving it time to regenerate - and ensuring the well-being of individuals. There is an urgent need to promote a society in which natural resources are protected, in which nature has the time to regenerate, where consumption is reasoned, where the life of goods is extended to the maximum and where waste is treated to be recycled in new products.
The Circular Economy obliges to review each step of the production, lifespan and treatment of the goods produced. The Circular Economy is not reduced to the treatment and recycling of waste, contrary to a certain collective imagination. It therefore seemed necessary to study the reality of this concept and its operational translation by companies in their business-models. In 2020, we launched a campaign to engage four sectors, identified by the European Union as priorities in view of their environmental impacts but also their strong potential for circularity: Automotive, Construction & buildings, Electronics & ICT and Fashion. We have been in active dialogue with about thirty companies and have analyzed their strategies, policies and the solutions they are developing. This paper is the result of our research and presents our main conclusions for each sector.
The Circular Economy is multifaceted and the importance of some pillars can vary according to the sectors and sometimes even to the companies within a sector. The Circular Economy is under construction and with this engagement campaign, we hope to influence and help companies to define the priorities to preserve our planet's resources and fight against climate change. We discovered a myriad of exciting projects that bode well for the future. Companies have been willing and transparent to share some of the challenges they face, for example in moving from pilot projects to implementing a new business model.
However, if the development of a Circular Economy is desirable by companies, it cannot be considered as the only solution to the challenges we face. Consumers also have a role to play through a reasoned consumption of goods and products. Companies alone will not be able to find solutions; it is society as a whole that must agree to change its way of life.