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  • May 27, 2025

LoopedIn: May 2025

Updates from CELC’s Managing Director, Paul Shorthouse

Too often, conversations about the circular economy fail to go further than waste diversion and environmental impact. While these are important benefits of the circular economy, they only scratch the surface of what circularity offers. By continuing to silo the circular economy as an environmental issue rather than an economic strategy, we risk missing out on billions of dollars in new business and investment, and the ability to create a more resilient, competitive economy.

Countries similar to Canada, including Finland and Australia, are seizing the opportunity to view the circular economy through an economic and competitive advantage lens—and beginning to reap the benefits.

Australia’s recent Circular Advantage report asserts that embedding circular economy principles across industries can drive economic resilience, boost innovation, and secure critical supply chains. For example, Australian manufacturers adopting circular practices are becoming less dependent on volatile global material markets, creating more stable and competitive operations at home. The Australian Productivity Commission’s interim report on the circular economy further emphasizes how system-wide circularity can enhance economic performance. These reports outline how embracing circularity is essential for boosting economic performance through creating jobs, fostering regional development, and strengthening national productivity.

Meanwhile, Canada continues to fall behind in areas such as material productivity (i.e., the economic value generated per unit of material used). According to OECD data, Canada ranks near the bottom among OECD nations, with a material productivity level significantly lower than the OECD average. This isn’t just an environmental inefficiency—it’s an economic handicap, and a missed opportunity.

 

Circular value creation provides an alternative approach that allows us to get the most out of our resources; however, it must be approached strategically and systemically. During the Circular Value Creation: Driving Competitiveness & Productivity through the Circular Economy session at CCES 2025 last month, Heather Stevens from Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) stressed that value flows across traditional boundaries, necessitating new forms of partnerships and governance.  Dr. Maya Ezzeddine from Schneider Electric added the importance of adopting a “use better, use longer, use again” mentality.

Dr. Henning Krassen from the German Federal Ministry of Education & Research emphasized the need to fundamentally rethink to genuinely achieve circular value creation, rather than just adding circular elements to existing linear systems.

As an upcoming opportunity for Canadian organizations to get more involved, the Eureka Program (the world’s largest inter-governmental network for European and international cooperation in research and innovation), will be launching a call for projects on June 12th (learn more about this initiative here). The focus for this call, co-developed by Germany and Canada (led by the National Research Council) will be on “circular value creation”.

Canada has the talent, the resources, and the policy capacity to lead—but we need a shift in mindset. From reduced input costs and increased supply chain resilience, to productivity enhancements and innovation, the circular economy needs to be treated not as an eco-niche, but as an industrial strategy and core to economic policy. It’s time for Canada to think beyond waste—and start designing for competitive advantage.

 

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