Supporting the Circular Economy Transition

What will the world look like in 2040 if vital natural resources become scarce? What would stimulate a shift from the current linear “Take-Make-Dispose” consumption model that relies on the availability of abundant natural resources, to a circular economy based on the principle of “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle”? Recent research examined this question within the context of the Netherlands which consumes more than three times what the Dutch ecosystem can produce (globally, consumption is 1.7 times what the Earth can produce). The research identified a range of solutions, which the financial sector can use to accelerate the circular transition—including where institutional investors could increase their portfolio allocation to venture-capital or private-equity funds with a sustainability mandate.