CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS IN ACHIEVING THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND 2030 AGENDA

Abstract

The research paper entitled “Circular Economy and Its Implications in Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda” is basically a study on the concept and definition of circular economy including its implementation in the advancement of the UN SDGs and the 2030 agenda. The concept of circular economy is very intricate and a complex phenomenon and hence the difficulty in its implementation. In fact, many researchers have defined and studied circular economy in the context of study of business models in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The research study dwells into the concept and definition of circular economy, review of literature on circular economy, methodology adopted in designing and formulating the circular economy for its implementation in achieving the UN SDGs. The study covers aspects such as circular economy as a field, circular economy in the COVID-19 era, adoption of circular economy in business models so as to reduce and recycle waste management, management of sustainable and effective environmental systems, EU legislation and the circular economy and its action plans, circular economy strategies adopted in EU countries, projects implemented on circular economy in EU Member States and the monitoring framework for the circular economy etc., As the Circular Economy (CE) moves up in the agenda of research, policy and businesses, understanding its impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) becomes more important and assumes paramount importance. However, in order that circular economy is effectively implemented, CE strategies must follow one or more of the seven pathways that have been identified: (i) reduced, traceable extraction; (ii) regenerative, bio-based production; (iii) human inclusive industries; (iv) shareable longevity; (v) consumers at the center, not consumerism; (vi) clean and effective end of life, and (vii) reduced and clean energy and transport. Among them, pathways 2, 4, and 6 proved to be the most influential, accounting for the major potential contributions to the SDGs. It is also observed that the CE mostly focuses on products and materials, while the SDGs emphasize on people and places and the environment.