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PAGE at the World Circular Economy Forum

Global Experts Call for Economic Overhaul to Power Circular Transition

The global economy is in urgent need of rewiring—from its current linear “take-make-waste” model to one that is regenerative, inclusive, and built for the future. The PAGE Accelerator Session on “Economic drivers for circularity: Secondary materials and beyond” at the 2025 World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) São Paulo, Brazil emphasized this.  

The session explored the critical macroeconomic and policy enablers needed to drive the global transition to circular economies by bringing together different voices ranging from policymakers, UN agencies, private sector, and finance institutions. The key takeaway was that fixing the broken system of resource consumption will take more than good intentions—it demands bold macroeconomic reform, targeted policies, and serious market creation for secondary raw materials (SRMs). 

The PAGE Accelerator Session began with the sharing of some early findings of a PAGE-supported, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) led global study on tackling the chronic underdevelopment of SRM markets. The study points to the urgent need for coordinated fiscal, financial, and trade policies, as well as the right infrastructure, to unlock the potential of SRMs. Currently, these markets are crucial for building circular economies, yet they remain poorly structured and inadequately supported. The stakes are high as global material extraction has reached as high as 100 billion tons per year, straining ecosystems and consuming resources at a pace equivalent to 1.6 Earths annually. 

This was followed by the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) intervention on how macroeconomic modeling can guide nations through the transition. By quantifying costs, benefits, and potential emissions reductions, their global modeling efforts aim to help governments prioritize policies grounded in hard evidence. This ensures that evidence-based policy choices do not only sound good on paper but also work in practice. 

The discussion then moved into the social dimension. The International Labour Organization (ILO) underscored the importance of a people-first approach to the circular economy, calling for a Just Transition that ensures decent work. Through its PAGE-supported “Jobs in the Circular Economy Initiative,” efforts are underway to globally define and measure circular jobs. The need for coordinated policies to promote formalization was emphasized, with country case studies offering insights on job potential, skills gaps, and working conditions in emerging circular sectors.  

The spotlight was then put on national progress with PAGE countries Uruguay and Argentina sharing their national plans. In April 2024, Uruguay launched a National Circular Economy Strategy unifying initiatives, and identifying five priority flows. Argentina, through a Round Table of Circular Economy, addressed challenges including simplifying material imports, reducing recycler costs via proposed Extended Producer Responsibility bills, formalizing informal recovery (tax issues), and redefining waste for by-product use. Both efforts were supported by PAGE and currently these two countries are integrating circular economy into national plans.  

 

The private sector is also pivoting hard toward circular economy models.  

Leading organizations came forth to share how they’re pushing boundaries. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation emphasized that the shift to circularity begins with design. Whether it’s rethinking plastic, food, or fashion, aligning business innovation with policy levers is key to unlocking scale. Invest-NL, the Dutch national financing and development institution, acknowledged that circular economy ventures still carry a “high risk” label. Their Circular Risk Scorecard aims to bring transparency and confidence to investors, especially in frontier sectors like circular textiles and waste-derived bioplastics. They highlighted the need for a holistic system approach and addressing regulatory complexity. 

In the agri-food space, FAO Latin America spoke about the twin crises of plastic and food waste. Regionally, they support initiatives like ACTO members prioritizing bioeconomy value chains for the Amazon. They argued for programmatic, and not just project-based, approaches that support bioeconomy value chains. Collaboration across the value chain and robust multi-stakeholder dialogue were central.

Tech giant Lenovo stressed that scale only comes with supportive policies and industry-wide coordination while it shared its experience with reengineering its products for repairability and implementing closed-loop recycling. Amazon echoed this sentiment and shared about its efforts around minimizing packaging. Particularly interesting was the development of new biopolymers to replace food packaging, an effort that hinges on regulatory clarity and the involvement of Material Recovery Facilities. 

The session closed with a shared recognition that fragmented regulations, weak infrastructure, and low investment remain persistent barriers. Yet the opportunities are equally compelling: circular economies promise more jobs, reduced environmental footprints, and greater resilience. Evidence-based policymaking, adequate financing, and integration of circular goals into broader national strategies will be key to realizing this vision. 

 

About the WCEF 
The WCEF is an annual event that helps advance circular economies. In 2025, it was held for the first time in South America, making Brazil a meeting point for leading experts to explore solutions for sustainable growth, the power of regenerative economy, and the indispensable role of the production sector. 

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