Title page
Contents
Summary 4
01. Introduction 6
What is the circular economy and how can the transition be financed? 7
What is circular economy finance? 10
Financing circular economy business models 12
Integrating circularity into sustainable finance 17
Circular economy investment funds 21
How large is the corporate circular economy in financial terms? 23
02. The SDGs and how circular economy finance can contribute 27
Financing the SDGs and circularity 29
How is the circular economy currently financed across the SDGs? 31
Financing circular technologies and innovations for the SDGs 35
Integrating the circular economy into renewable energy finance 38
03. De-risking financing for the circular economy 45
De-risking through policy development 46
Financial de-risking instruments 51
04. Financing a circular economy transition post-COVID-19 57
Circularity of pandemic stimulus packages 57
Just transitions for an inclusive recovery 60
05. Conclusions and recommendations 64
Appendix: Notes on methodology and data gaps 69
About the authors 72
Acknowledgments 72
Table 1. Selected circular economy investment funds by instrument category, sector and value (February 2021) 21
Table 2. Comparison of linear and circular corporate spending, 2019-21 25
Table 3. SDGs ranked by ODA allocations, 2012-17 32
Table 4. Leading donors and recipients of circular economy ODA, 2012-17 33
Table 5. Financial de-risking instruments to finance circular economy solutions 51
Table 6. Circular spending estimates of governments' green stimulus packages (multi-year) 59
Table 7. Summary of global spending by sector in 2019/20 64
Figure 1. Circular economy approaches and the 9R framework 10
Figure 2. Overview of sustainable finance instruments to support circularity 20
Figure 3. Circular economy investments: value share by sector 23
Figure 4. Circular economy solutions to reduce linear risks in renewable energy finance 42
Figure 5. De-risking instruments for circular economy solutions for the SDGs 55
Boxes
Box 1. Circularity and the 9R framework 9
Box 2. Financing circular business models: examples from Europe and the US 15
Box 3. Financing eco-industrial park development and industrial symbiosis in Vietnam 34
Box 4. Circular business models offering investment opportunities 37
Box 5. Bringing circularity into solar energy financing 43
Box 6. Blended finance for circular solutions and the SDGs 55
Box 7. Green and just transition processes in Welsh recovery funds 63