Gandhinagar, India

Markets, Jobs and the Wider Economy: New Evidence on the Circular Economy at WCEF2026

On 18 September 2026, PAGE shared key messages from three global flagship studies on the circular economy at an Accelerator session of the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF2026) in Gandhinagar, India. Developed by UNIDO, ILO and UNEP, they examine secondary-material markets, circular jobs and economy-wide impacts of circular economy. Experts from policy, finance, business and implementation then discussed the practical implications of the findings for advancing circular economy transitions.

India, this year’s host of the WCEF and the first host country in South Asia, has been a PAGE partner since 2018. Over the past years, PAGE has supported the country’s transition to a circular economy through policy and institutional work with several ministries. This includes support to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the 2024 update of the Eco-mark Rules, which made the scheme more extensive, and to the Ministry of Finance on sustainable public procurement, as well as a framework for a national Centre of Excellence on Circular Economy. At WCEF2026, PAGE, through UNIDO, also released a Technology and Innovation Roadmap for India’s textile sector, developed with guidance from the Ministry of Textiles.

Three studies, one picture

Interest in the circular economy has grown fast, but evidence on its economic and social effects, benefits and barriers remains thin. The session was built around a practical question: how can circularity deliver tangible economic and social benefits, and what evidence do policymakers, businesses and investors need to act? Each study answers part of it, moving from markets to jobs to the economy as a whole.

A UNIDO-led study, combining a global assessment with case studies on textiles in Ghana, PET plastics in South Africa and e-waste in India, finds that recycling capacity alone does not create a market for secondary materials. Technology and processing still hold back some value chains, but the wider challenge is helping recycled materials compete. Prices can be volatile, demand for recycled inputs is uncertain, recovered materials do not always meet manufacturers’ quality requirements, and standards, traceability and market information remain underdeveloped.

The study therefore treats secondary materials as an industrial and economic policy issue, not just a by-product of waste management. It calls for action on both supply and demand: more predictable demand for recycled inputs, well-designed extended producer responsibility (EPR), the right economic incentives, quality standards and traceability, investment in collection and processing, and the inclusion of informal workers in more formal and productive value chains. Stronger markets for secondary materials would in turn reduce dependence on virgin inputs and make economies and supply chains more resilient.

On jobs, the global baseline developed by the ILO, the World Bank Group and Circle Economy shows that 121–142 million people already work in the circular economy across 177 countries. Repair and maintenance account for by far the largest share, at 46 percent. More than half of these workers, over 74 million people, work informally, particularly in the Global South, often with low and unstable incomes, limited social protection and unsafe conditions. For many, circularity is not a choice but a way of making a living.

The challenge is therefore not only to create more circular jobs, but to make existing ones safer, more productive and better paid, with wider social protection and routes to formalization. There is also significant room to expand circular employment and skills where circular practices are still underdeveloped, such as construction, and to deepen circularity in manufacturing and other productive sectors.

At the economy-wide level, UNEP’s system dynamics modelling shows that scaling up circularity could bring measurable economic, social and environmental gains. In the most ambitious scenario, which combines economy-wide resource and energy efficiency measures with circular interventions in vehicles, buildings, clothing and plastics, global GDP in 2050 is 8.18 percent higher than under business as usual, while material intensity is 42.9 percent lower and energy demand 37.3 percent lower.

These are scenario-based simulations, not forecasts, and the results depend on the policies and investments assumed. The transition also brings structural change: employment shifts between sectors, and important benefits such as cleaner air, less environmental damage and avoided costs are not fully reflected in market prices. Realizing these gains therefore depends on policies that enable and steer the transition.

Read together, the studies suggest that the economy-wide gains from circularity depend on several enabling conditions: functioning markets for secondary materials, workers able to move into safer and more productive jobs, and policies and investment that steer the wider structural transition.

Beyond the reports: the business and finance case

Moderated by UNDP, the panel brought together Slendy Katalina Díaz Méndez of Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Massimo De Santis of Free Pack Net, Satyaki Rastogi of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Chuttree Phurat of the Thailand Environment Institute and Kartikeya Sarabhai of India’s Centre for Environment Education (CEE). Much of the discussion turned to finance and the business case.

Ms. Díaz Méndez emphasized that companies adopt circular practices when they see a return. Colombian businesses report savings, higher productivity and new business opportunities, and find it easier to comply with regulations and meet mandatory targets. According to her, this engagement explains the 72% achievement rate recorded against the voluntary 2030 targets of Colombia’s National Circular Economy Strategy, launched in 2019, at its mid-term assessment.

Mr. De Santis made the same point: compared with single-use packaging, its rented, reusable packaging cuts costs for appliance manufacturers and retailers and reduces packaging-related CO₂ emissions by 77%.

But even a sound business case does not guarantee finance. Mr. Rastogi explained that lenders need to see value in predictable cash flows, backed by secure feedstock, committed buyers and clear unit economics.

EPR schemes, as already introduced in Colombia, reduce uncertainties by setting clear roles and targets, giving companies and investors confidence to invest. They also push producers to use recycled materials, which still cost more than virgin ones because the environmental cost is not built into their price.

Panellists also brought the discussion back to people and communities. Mr. Sarabhai explained that materials recovery facilities the CEE runs with municipalities and informal workers are still operating two years after their external funding ended and cautioned against one-size-fits-all solutions. Ms. Phurat also noted that ecolabel criteria can include labour law and occupational safety requirements, and that meeting them builds a reputation that helps smaller enterprises reach new markets.

India: host and long-standing PAGE partner

WCEF2026 was the first edition of the forum held in South Asia, co-organised by India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Central Pollution Control Board, and the Government of Gujarat. PAGE’s Accelerator session was hosted by the National Institute of Design, on whose campus it took place, and the Centre for Environment Education partnered in the session.

India joined PAGE in 2018, with National Stocktaking Study on Inclusive Green Economy as its entry point, and MoEFCC as the lead Ministry for PAGE India.The partnership now works with several ministries and state governments. Much of this work focuses on the demand and policy levers the studies highlight. PAGE supported the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in developing the Eco-mark Rules 2024, which overhaul India’s ecolabelling scheme , and worked with the Ministry of Finance on sustainable public procurement, with recommendations piloted on the Government e-Marketplace. It has also supported a framework for a national Centre of Excellence on Circular Economy and, with the Ministry of Textiles, a roadmap for sustainable textile manufacturing to 2047.

The UNIDO and UNEP studies will be published in the coming weeks, joining the employment report already online. UNEP designed its modelling framework to be customized at regional and country level, opening a route for PAGE partners such as India to turn global evidence into national policy and investment decisions.

Watch the full event here

Markets, Jobs and the Wider Economy: New Evidence on the Circular Economy at WCEF2026

Three studies, one picture

Beyond the reports: the business and finance case

India: host and long-standing PAGE partner

Conference Host

Host Partners

Funding partners

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