👕📱 Consumer goods

Manufactured goods, such as vehicles, textiles, appliances and equipment and their associated production processes are big employers but: production processes often rely on fossil fuels and currently drive one-third of the overshoot on the climate change planetary boundary due to its GHG production, material- and energy-intensive industrial activities are linked to deforestation and drive 15% on both the land use and freshwater planetary boundaries, manufacturing goods results in substantial amounts of hazardous industrial waste and leaks chemicals into the environment. Here, circular solutions must tackle the full value chain, but material demand must also shrink: this will necessitate a societal shift to favouring sufficiency over excess and reducing consumption to sustainable levels. Our four key solutions for manufactured goods are: Mainstream industrial symbiosis and efficiency : Achieve process improvements, scrap diversion and reduction in yield losses through greater industrial symbiosis and efficiency. Foster tighter collaboration within and between industries to deliver powerful material and emissions savings. Extend the lifetime of machinery, equipment, and goods: Maximise the lifetime of goods that serve our daily needs to bring a number of environmental benefits. Buy what's needed: Reduce the number of purchases of common electronic goods, appliances, and other equipment to sufficiency levels. Eschew fast fashion in favour of sustainable textiles: Drastically reduce new clothing purchases. All used clothing should go on to be repaired, reused or, if needed, recycled appropriately. Prioritise natural and local textile manufacturing, as well as higher-quality and more durable garments.

🍏 Food Systems

The food system nourishes populations and employs 50% of the global workforce, but: it currently drives a quarter of the overshoot on the climate change planetary boundary due to its greenhouse gas (GHG) production, animal farming alone uses over one-quarter of all land, equivalent to the size of the Americas, nearly a quarter of freshwater resources are lost due to rampant food waste, and it is the single largest driver of biodiversity loss. A circular food system must address the whole value chain, from production to consumption to waste management. The four key solutions for the food system are: Put healthier, satiating foods first: Prioritise satiating and healthy foods with a lower environmental impact—ideally shifting calories from meat, fish, and dairy towards cereals, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Go local, seasonal, and organic: Prioritise the production and consumption of local, seasonal, and organic produce (sometimes in combination with GMO to reduce pests and disease loss on crops), which can lead to a significantly reduced need for chemical inputs, fuels, and processing services that contribute to environmental impacts. Mainstream regenerative agriculture: Scale up agricultural practices that regenerate ecosystems, recirculate nutrients and sequester carbon by design. End avoidable food waste: Minimise food loss and valorise waste following the food waste hierarchy along the supply chain and at the consumer level through better management of transport and storage, more refrigeration and smart planning, and technology at the consumer and food service levels.