Towards the Circular Economy Vol.2:
opportunities for the consumer goods sector, a new report, featuring analysis from McKinsey, which builds on last
year’s report and makes the case for a faster adoption, quantifies the economic
benefits of circular business models, and lays out pathways for action.
The
report focuses on fast-moving consumer goods, which currently account for about
60 per cent of total consumer spending, 35 per cent of material inputs into the
economy, and 75 per cent of municipal waste. Importantly, the consumer goods
sector absorbs more than 90 per cent of our agricultural output – possibly our
most embattled resource in the future.
Key Findings
Analysis shows that the adoption of the circular economy could
be worth as much as USD 700
billion in consumer goods material savings alone, and also highlights added
benefits in terms of land productivity and potential job creation. The report
features specific examples in product categories that represent 80% of the
total consumer goods market by value, namely food, beverages, textiles, and
packaging. Of the many tangible examples across these sectors, highlights
include:
·
Household
food waste: An income stream of $1.5 billion could be generated annually in the
UK alone for municipalities and investors by collecting household food waste
and processing it to generate biogas and return nutrients to agricultural soils
·
Textiles:
Revenue of USD 1,975
per tonne of clothing could be generated in the UK if [collected, remade, and]
sold at current prices, comfortably outweighing the cost of USD 680
required to collect and sort each tonne
·
Packaging:
A cost reduction of 20 per cent per hectolitre of beer sold to consumers would
be possible across all markets by shifting from disposable to reusable glass
bottles, which would lower the cost of packaging, processing, and distribution
Download full report here
