KYKLOS MANIFESTO
The demand for resources is growing but nature´s capacity to satisfy it is far exceeded
Human activity and survival depends on the use of natural resources such as water, air, land, soil, fossil fuels, minerals, food, wood, etc. It should be no surprise that 50% of GHG emissions and over 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress are linked to the consumption of those resources. Demand for natural resources is at an all-time-high and growing, having already exceeded the planet´s capacity to regenerate them by a factor of 1.75. Therefore, stopping the growth of, and significantly decreasing global demand for natural resources is necessary and urgent for achieving sustainable development.
Incremental change is not enough. We must reduce drastically the consumption of resources
Optimisations in product design (e.g. light-weighting), improvements of production efficiency (e.g. zero production waste), and the use of renewable resources (e.g. recycled or bio-based materials) are promoted as solutions to this problem. However, even when deployed at a large scale, they cannot outweigh a continuously growing demand for products. Take for example steel, one of the most recyclable materials on earth: Although steel is recycled more than any other material globally (85% recycling rate in the EU) the consumption of virgin (i.e. non-recycled) steel continues to increase, driven by the growing demand in the construction and other sectors. Other materials, less recyclable than steel or not recyclable at all (e.g. plastics, including bio-plastics, paper, wood, cement, etc.), face the same problem or worse. We must therefore promote and prioritise changes in our production and consumption patterns that will drastically reduce the demand for new products and components.
Recycled, bio-based and light-weight products will not solve the problem.
Circular Economy, which gained significant traction in the past decade, offers quite a few strategies for reducing the demand for new products (e.g. reuse, repair, renovate, remanufacture, etc.). Despite this, it seems that recycling is the only thing we know how to do (and even this, not very well). In the EU for example, while recycled materials currently represent 8.6 percent of raw material input, the share of remanufactured products is estimated at just 1.9 percent, deep renovation rate is a mere 0,2% of construction activity, while reuse and repair are not even measured. Even worse, there is no indication that this will change in the short or mid-term: most people today still think that the circular economy is all about recycling and most resource-related policies and efforts are directed to recycling rates, recycled content and product recyclability. On the other hand, strategies that would actually reduce resource demand and should have been prioritised, are absent, both in practice and in the policy mix.
We must prioritise strategies that reduce the consumption of natural resources
The consumption of materials, regardless of their origin (virgin, recycled or bio-based), must be drastically reduced if we are to achieve any kind of sustainable development. Circular strategies that do this best (e.g. reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, renovate, share, etc.) must not only be brought out of the closet and promoted, they must also be prioritised against and substitute strategies that don´t work, such as the use bio-based and recycled materials. Additionally, new strategies for reducing the demand for natural resources, that have not as of yet been considered as part of the Circular Economy, need to be added and adopted at large scale. Case in point, the redistribution of resources from individuals and societies with the highest material footprint to those with the lowest one.
We must prepare for and mitigate consequences of reduced demand
But reducing consumption will not be without consequences. Lower material throughput means disruptions for industries, jobs, and fiscal systems that currently rely on ever-growing consumption. Ignoring these risks would only create resistance and instability. To manage the transition fairly, we must promote policies, business models, and ways of living that can thrive with less material use - ensuring that this shift strengthens wellbeing and equality instead of undermining them.