As per the 2023 Global Circularity Gap Report of the Circle Economy Foundation, if we switch to a circular economy, we will only need 70% of the materials we currently extract and use to satisfy people’s needs. The circular economy offers many benefits, such as tackling waste management challenges, inspiring innovation, and creating new jobs and business practices.
Making this systemic change requires reevaluating a variety of elements, including policy, financing, digitalization, trade, and traceability, particularly in sectors with high potential for circularity, like agri-food and textiles. This underscores the urgency of forming new partnerships and communication channels between all stakeholders.
“The circular economy model strives to optimize the use of natural resources and cut down on the generation of waste, pollution, and environmental damage. Nevertheless, the world is only 7.2% circular today, and we must ask why?” – said Mr. Bojan Vranjković, State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia, while addressing attendees of the inaugural in-person meeting of the Circular STEP stakeholder engagement platform, held in Belgrade, Serbia.
Organized by UNECE and the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia, the meeting brought together government representatives from Eastern and South-East Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, and connected countries that are already implementing circular economy solutions with those that are just starting out.
The meeting also brought together circular economy actors from academia, civil society, and the private sector, such as the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE), the One Planet Network, the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, Cambridge University, Exeter University, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Chatham House, and the Chamber of Commerce, Circular Change, and Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra.
The circular economy transition is a priority in the Republic of Serbia, where UNECE is aiding the development of the national roadmap on the circular economy transition in the country’s agri-food sector – a sector with great potential for circularity.
The United Nations Office in Serbia estimates that 770,000 tons of edible food are discarded or lost in Serbia, 90% of which end up in landfills. By embracing the circular economy, agricultural waste can be turned into bio-products, such as fertilizers, energy, and materials.
“We are devoted to incorporating circular economy principles in the agri-food sector, which has a special place in Serbia’s culture”, said Ms. Sandra Dokic, State Secretary from the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia.
Note to editors
UNECE launched its stakeholder engagement platform Circular STEP in April 2022 to speed up the transition to a circular economy in member States. Since then, the platform has helped to move forward circular economy by connecting knowledge, expertise, and circular solutions.