Appendix 1: Methodology for the Chatham House–UNIDO survey
Below is a description of the steps taken for the Chatham House–UNIDO survey, some of the results of which are presented in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7 in this paper.
The purpose of the Chatham House–UNIDO survey was to gain an insight into how the circular economy (CE) is understood in developing countries and among international development actors. It was conducted in August and September 2018, and facilitated by UNIDO’s Global Network for Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECPnet) Secretariat. RECPnet aims to facilitate collaboration and North–South/South–North dialogue on resource-efficient production; and to support the development and scale-up of RECPnet concepts, including the CE, in developing and transition economies. The network’s members include cleaner-production centres, sustainable technology hubs, environmental funds and foundations, research institutes and consultancy firms.
Respondents were asked the following questions:
- How familiar are you with the circular economy concept?
- Which of the following do you most associate with the circular economy?(Please tick your top three)
- Recovery, repair and reuse
- Recycling
- Sharing and service models
- Prolonging lifetime of products
- Resource efficiency
- Industrial symbiosis
- Material substitution
- Design for disassembly
- Renewable energy
- Other
- Is the circular economy a strategic priority for developing countries?
- Which of the following outcomes is the circular economy most likely to help deliver?
- Better waste management
- Cleaner air, water and soil
- More and better jobs
- Poverty alleviation
- Reduced risk of resource-related shocks
- What are likely to be the most significant barriers to implementing circular economy approaches in your country? (Choose up to three)
- Institutional capacity
- Skills
- Access to technology
- Infrastructure
- Resistance from incumbent industries
- Access to finance
- Cooperation between different sectors/actors
- Other
- In your view, what is the most exciting sector, issue and/or opportunity for the circular economy?
- Are there any risks or problems that decision-makers should take into account?
Thirty-nine individuals from 28 economies responded to the survey:320
|
Emerging and developing economies |
Advanced economies |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Algeria |
Montenegro |
Austria |
|
Argentina |
Nicaragua |
Finland |
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
North Macedonia |
United Kingdom |
|
Cambodia |
Palestine |
|
|
Colombia |
Romania |
|
|
Costa Rica |
Russia |
|
|
El Salvador |
Rwanda |
|
|
Georgia |
Serbia |
|
|
Honduras |
Tanzania |
|
|
Hungary |
Uzbekistan |
|
|
India |
Vietnam |
|
|
Jordan |
Zimbabwe |
|
|
Laos |
||
Owing to the small sample size, the results of the survey cannot be taken as indicative of broader perceptions. Instead, they offer food for thought for those exploring the implications of a transition to the CE in developing countries and within the broader sustainable development agenda. Further efforts are needed to map real and perceived opportunities for, and barriers to, scaling up CE solutions in developing countries.
320 Country classifications based on the International Monetary Fund’s 2018 World Economic Outlook Database: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2018/02/weodata/groups.htm.