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SDG |
Extending the life cycle of a material or product |
Changing utilization patterns |
Looping a material or product through additional use cycles |
Introducing renewable, recyclable or biodegradable materials |
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1. No poverty |
Employment opportunities from new business models involving underutilized assets could boost incomes. |
Employment opportunities from scaled-up recycling and remanufacturing could boost incomes. |
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2. Zero hunger |
Reduced food waste will help combat hunger and malnutrition. |
Changes to agricultural value chains – e.g. distribution practices and sharing models for farm equipment – can help reduce post-farm food losses and increase agricultural productivity. |
Sustainable food production systems and agricultural practices, including closed-loop systems, will help reduce water and fertilizer use and increase agricultural productivity. |
Using more natural materials and biodegradable products can reduce contamination of foodstuffs. |
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3. Good health and well-being |
Better waste-management practices will reduce health impacts from pollution and waste. |
Fewer toxic materials in products, in particular in electronic devices, will improve health and safety for waste pickers. |
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4. Quality education |
Some CE approaches require a highly skilled workforce, necessitating additional investment in training. |
Existing initiatives link SDG 4 and SDG 12 with educational approaches to teach children about waste and how to better manage resources. |
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5. Gender equality |
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6. Clean water and sanitation |
Using water more effectively will reduce overall consumption and wastage. |
Increased recycling and scaling up safe reuse of wastewater can support manufacturing and other opportunities, and can close resource loops to reduce water wastage. |
Minimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials, treating waste and contaminated water, and replenishing aquifers can increase the health of waterways and oceans. |
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7. Affordable and clean energy |
Changing how we use products during the course of their lifetimes may reduce overall energy needs. |
Renewable energy initiatives can provide cleaner energy to more people. |
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8. Decent work and economic growth |
Employment opportunities can be created as new business models develop around underutilized assets. |
New employment opportunities around remanufacturing can provide more skilled jobs. |
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9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure |
Infrastructure can be made more resilient through more durable design, and through the use of novel, stronger and more environmentally friendly materials. |
Changes in how buildings are used or goods and people are transported could transform infrastructure needs. |
Closed loops in industrial processes, e.g. via industrial symbiosis, can transform heavy industries and reduce overall resource needs. |
Innovations in radical new materials will play a key role in changing the resource needs of economies. |
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10. Reduced inequalities |
As part of a broader policy framework, efficient management of resources should enable much greater access to modern services. |
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11. Sustainable cities and communities |
Better urban planning, focused on reducing consumption and waste production, would help create more resilient and sustainable urban spaces. |
How a building or part of a city is designed can influence how materials and people move around that building or location. |
Urban farming could make cities more self-sufficient, reducing waste production, improving waste management and reducing land use. |
Smarter decisions about what materials are used to build cities will increase the quality of life in cities over time. |
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12. Responsible consumption and production |
Extending the life cycle of a material or product through better design or choice of different materials will reduce consumption. |
Sharing a product between consumers increases the ‘utilization rate’ of the product – and also tends to decrease the total number of products consumed. |
Looping assets and materials through additional use cycles can improve their longevity and reduce virgin material needs. |
Introducing renewable, recyclable or biodegradable materials can help to reduce waste and pollution. |
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13. Climate action |
Using assets in different ways and increasing their utilization rates can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption. |
Policies and initiatives to improve resource efficiency could cut global greenhouse gas emissions by around 60 per cent, according to the International Resource Panel. |
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14. Life below water |
Better practices around fishing and food production could shore up already damaged ecosystems. |
Reducing the amount of waste that currently flows into oceans could reduce negative impacts on marine life. |
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15. Life on land |
Reusing resources could reduce the amount of land we need overall, e.g. through fewer buildings, less urban sprawl and more holistic urban planning. |
Lower resource demand should mean reduced environmental impacts – e.g. land degradation and loss of biodiversity – from resource extraction. |
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16. Peace, justice and strong institutions |
The enabling environment for CE relies on institutions able to promote longer-term investment strategies. |
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17. Partnerships for the goals |
CE approaches require partnerships and collaboration. Enhanced coordination via SDG channels is essential to accelerate CE adoption. |
Source: Authors’ own analysis.