The key conclusion of the report is that a more CE can make deep cuts to emissions from heavy industry – in an ambitious scenario, as much as 296 million tons CO2 per year in the EU by 2050, out of 530 Mt in total – and some 3.6 billion tonnes per year globally. Making better use of the materials that already exist in the economy can take EU industry halfway towards net-zero emissions. Moreover, doing so often is economically attractive. Initiatives for a more CE therefore deserve a central place in EU climate and industrial policy.

The report identifies a list of demand-side measures that contribute to reducing CO2 emissions. The demand-side measures can be divided into three categories: materials recirculation opportunities; product materials efficiency; and new circular business models. The first category helps cut CO2 emissions and requires much less energy than new production. Still, the current practice must be set up to facilitate these high recycling rates. Materials are sometimes downgraded because material specialisation requires it, but this could be avoided or reduced. The second category shows that total materials input should be reduced, such as ensuring the material is preserved in production and using more advanced materials and construction techniques to cut material use. The final category is implementing new circular business models in mobility and buildings by using a sharing business model to use vehicles and buildings better. Sharing cars and offices ensures that fewer materials are needed to create new ones as sharing enables much more intensive use of the existing buildings and vehicles. Public authorities can draw inspiration from the suggested demand-side measures to develop Circular Systemic Solutions that can help cut CO2 emissions in material intensive sectors.