Research and Recommendations
Building an evidence base for a circular economy
Tailored research services to help understand your organization's opportunities through benchmarking studies, policy analysis, and research case studies.
Circular Innovation Lab supports organizations in their research on circular economy based on best practices and accurate scientific data.
If you are looking for new insights, comprehensive research and findings, or assessments, we are here to help you on a variety of topics.
Computable General Equilibrium Modelling for Circular Economy
To create an evidence base for a circular economy we employ Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Modelling as one of our services.
Circular economy policies and strategies require comprehensive data analytics to understand the various nuances involved in decision-making at various stages.
A few examples of how analytics can support circular economy policy stakeholders include:
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the identification and calibration of appropriate incentives to promote a circular economy;
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the design and development of Pareto optimal circular economy policies that consider all socio-economic agents;
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the increased effectiveness in the regulation of circular economy stakeholders while ensuring a fine balance between competition and scale-dependent innovation; and
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the examination of complementarities and trade-offs between other economic and climate change strategies and the circular economy.
Similar examples and use cases also exist in the context of business strategies. Using both granular private data from stakeholder organizations and aggregated public datasets allow examining a diversity of circular economy challenges and decision-making issues.
Therefore, data science and analytics can be deployed as a tool to promote circular economy innovation. In particular, stakeholders may be able to examine the macro-level impact of different circular economy interventions based on forward and backward linkages in sectoral changes. This is where CGE is valuable to evaluate alternative circular economy policy and strategy scenarios, based on their macro level and sectoral implications. Using various assumptions on future forecasts, the implications of different circular economy paths can be examined with specific timelines while factoring in the complexities of the real world.
Recent Projects
This program tackles critical environmental challenges in the fashion and construction industries by promoting sustainable supply chains and circular business models. Supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in conjuction with UNDP, UNIDO and FAO, the initiative drives innovation to eliminate hazardous chemicals, substitute resource-intensive practices and advance regenerative and transparent solutions for a healthier planet.
The project, led by partners Nordic Circular Hotspot, Natural State, Hringrasarsetur, FundForward, Centre for Circulær Økonomi, and Circular Innovation Lab, aims to identify and scale successful local initiatives to create a cohesive Nordic market for circular construction materials while overcoming current barriers and promoting sustainable building practices.
This pre-project, funded by the Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak programme, aims to create a specific economic, legal and technological basis for Scandinavian companies in workwear to enter into a binding collaboration with producers in selected countries in the south on circular solutions in the overall textile value chain.
Circular Innovation Lab, represented by our COO Arpit Bhutani, has been invited to join the Circularity Assessment Framework Advisory Group as a key member of the project "Accelerating Sustainability through Circularity in the Buildings and Construction Sector and Supporting developing and emerging economies for implementation." The project will develop and implement a set of indicators at national level on Circularity in the Buildings Sector.
Commissioned by UNEP, two reports are being produced as part of the Global Construction Value Chain project. The Baseline Report provides a Stakeholder Mapping of leading actors, a global priority problem analysis, and key information on the global construction sector and the co-financing partners. The Gender Action Plan outlines the next steps toward gender equality through a Gender Analysis of the construction sector.
Commissioned by GIZ India, the Outcome Report analyses market opportunities for EU-based businesses in India, assesses possible business development strategies, explores future growth opportunities, and measures the impact of current business and partnerships established by EU-based companies operating in India.
This Outlook Report will analyse and offer a comprehensive overview of China’s bioeconomy landscape. Based on comparative research and policy analysis, the report seeks to foster effective knowledge exchange and offer opportunities for Sino-Danish collaborations to support China’s bioeconomy transition.
Apoorva Arya, co-founder and CEO of Circular Innovation Lab, has been nominated as a Coordinating Lead Author of the Circularity Transformation Pathways chapter of the Seventh Edition of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7). The GEO is the independent expert-led assessment of the environment and the flagship report of UNEP, providing an assessment of the state of the global environment.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy approach in which a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s life cycle. This study researched and put forward associated policy recommendations targeting the upcoming revisions of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV), Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Waste Framework (WFD) directives.
We have worked with the Government of Vietnam to produce a Benchmarking Study of Circular Economy Roadmap practices. The project was led by the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE).
To develop a comprehensive and tailored circular economy development plan for India, we have been commissioned to conduct a study that combines the local context and policy framework with national visions. It will cover circular economy practices, the utilisation of Global Circular Value Chains (GCVC) for a faster circular economy transition, and an analysis of opportunities and challenges for India.
We are working with the Government of Senegal to conduct a baseline study to assess the circularity of the current economy in Senegal. It will be accompanied by a mapping of the involved stakeholders, aiming to identify the existing gaps and propose related recommendations for stakeholder mobilisation to address those gaps.
We have supported Sanghi Cement in the development and implementation of their circular economy vision. We further assisted them in the development of their Annual Sustainability Report 2021-2022.
