From 'growth will clean it up again' to regenerative by design. Ecological degradation is the result of degenerative industrial process. The economy needs to move from a linear to a circular system. Our current economy is predominantly linear. It takes resources from the ground, turns it into products we use sometimes only ones and then we throw it away (take-make-dispose). It is an outdated model that is under lots of pressure around resources, urbanization, changing consumer trends and growing negative externalities.
Looking beyond the current take-make-waste extractive industrial model, a circular economy aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. It entails gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, and designing waste out of the system. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural, and social capital. It is based on three principles: