Opinion piece by Ben Goodwin, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, IEMA

There are a range of issues in the environmental space that the next government will have to grapple with and make speedy progress on. We have of course our long-term commitment to put in place a net zero economy by 2050, alongside other long-term environmental targets that we must meet in areas like air quality, biodiversity and water. Developing and implementing policy in each of these will continue to be an iterative process that demands the full attention of government.    

An underpinning factor that will impact our success in delivering policy that ultimately leads to better outcomes for the natural environment, will be the extent to which we can put the UK’s economic operating model onto a more sustainable and circular footing. In achieving this there is of course a huge role for businesses and organisations, but the next government must also get behind this and in a big way.

The case for action is clear.

Leading research conducted by the Circle Economy Foundation has found that over 90% of the UK’s material use comes from virgin sources and only 7.5% of materials are circled back into the UK economy after use. This means large volumes of preventable emissions entering the atmosphere as more and more new products are made. In many cases it also means that harmful products are wasted and left to perish, contributing to avoidable environmental degradation.

Our conventional economic model is no longer fit for purpose and shifting to one that incorporates circular practices and thinking is now a policy imperative. The ‘throughput economy’ (take, make, use, dispose) is no longer viable and only by moving towards a circular economy can we achieve maximum resource efficiency and, as a direct consequence, least damage to the environment.

At IEMA we have published a range of guidance in the circular economy space that urges organisaitons to adopt the R-ladder in their approach to resource management. Moving beyond the traditional conceptualisation of the waste hierarchy, the R-ladder priorities design practices that keep products in their highest value for longer, such as, repair, remanufacture and reuse, with recycling further down the hierarchy.

Embedding the R-ladder into operating models is certainly something that IEMA would encourage businesses to do in order for them to play their part in the shift to a more circular economy.

But government must act too and as we approach a general election that will shake up who has the keys to Number 10 – regardless of which party wins – there are some very specific things that we’ll need to see in policy terms.

Firstly, the next government must focus efforts on achieving absolute decoupling of resource use from GDP incorporating consumption-based measures, not those that are solely production based. Measuring circularity and rewarding its value to the economy will help to drive behaviour change.

Secondly, there remains a requirement for government to establish a resource productivity target (specifically in England) that will increase efficiency in this respect and that will also add to efforts to get businesses behind the shift to a circular way of thinking. This is particularly the case in areas like procurement, for example.

Finally, and overall, the next government should develop a national circular strategy to pull all the thinking on developing a circular economy into one place. This will help to ensure that all the materials and products needed for our transition to a more sustainable way of working and living are reused, remanufactured and recycled.

It would be remiss as a final thought not to recognise the skills and jobs challenge in all of this. Moving towards a truly circular economy will require significant investment in training and re-skilling the workforce. In doing so it’s important to recognise that this must extend beyond bringing on stream more sustainability professionals. Undoubtedly, we need more professionals if we are to deliver, but it is increasingly a necessity that all job roles can help contribute to delivering greener outcomes.

With YouGov polling data highlighting that 65% of British adults believe they do not have access to green skills training through their employer,  there is clearly a need to act speedily on policy interventions to create a greener workforce. We will be aiming to continue to work with government on this both before and after the forthcoming election.