G20 countries launch coalition to promote circular economy

India’s G20 Presidency received a major boost on Thursday with the launch of the Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Industry Coalition (RECEIC), a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at promoting resource efficiency and circular economy practices with participation from 39 global companies.

The circular economy is a system that lays much emphasis on the reuse and regeneration of materials, in a bid to reduce waste. The coalition, which was conceived under the Indian Presidency, will facilitate knowledge-sharing, best practice sharing, and sustainable practices among the participating industries.

The 39 companies are headquartered in 11 countries, including India, and the number is likely to increase in the coming months with RECEIC focusing on areas such as power, beverages, steel, FMCG, fashion, cement, polymer, electronics, packaging, and automobiles. Some of the companies that have joined the coalition are Coca-Cola, Tata Motors, Aditya Birla Group, Tata Power, Luthra Group, and Unilever.

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“It has been decided that the headquarters of RECEIC will be located at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi,” Mahendra Kumar Singhvi, CEO & MD, Dalmia Cements, told the launch event which was attended by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and his counterparts from several countries.

“The coalition will have a self-sustaining financing model,” Singhvi added.

The coalition, envisioned to be a self-sustaining entity that will continue to operate beyond India's G20 Presidency, will be industry-led with its secretariat and governance managed by businesses via an independent institutional mechanism.

The charter, released at the event, said the founding members will come up with a plan for the operational mechanism and functioning of the RECEIC, over the next five to six months, besides devising a comprehensive roadmap for the future and annual plans.

Embracing a circular economy model enables countries to transition from the linear "take-make-waste" paradigm and embrace a more sustainable and regenerative approach, Yadav said, adding that these strategies optimize resource utilization, minimize waste, and create an inclusive and balanced approach to economic growth, and environmental stewardship.

“In pursuit of our shared goals, this industry-led coalition on resource efficiency and circular economy has the potential to emerge as a pivotal force,” Yadav added.

The coalition may also be invited to participate in the G20 Resource Efficiency (RE) Dialogue, which according to the charter may be further leveraged to make proposals for additional convening, annual progress and stocktake of activities, sharing of success stories, knowledge exchange and other coalition activities.

The countries agreed that businesses can play a significant role to advance on-ground implementation of resource efficiency and circular economy principles, in addition to achieving international goals and commitments like UN SDG goals, and Paris Climate Agreement.

The coalition will bring to the fore successful circular economy business and operating models, good practices within sectors and countries, enhance collaboration and partnership opportunities, promote technology use cases, help understand market opportunities, facilitate collaborations to develop solutions and share good practices.

The broad guiding principles for RECEIC are partnerships for impact, technology cooperation, financing for scale, and building capacity for facilitating circularity.