[Economics] Changing circular economy approach ‘could create 450,000 jobs’

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"Transforming the UK's approach" to repair, reuse, recycling and remanufacture could create more than 450,000 jobs across the country by 2035, according to a report published today (4 August) by the Green Alliance.

The environmental think tank and charity found that “transforming the UK’s circular economy” could see the creation of more than 300,000 new jobs in remanufacturing and 30,000 in repair work within the next 15 years.

A third of the projected total jobs would be in “lower skilled occupations” that currently see higher unemployment rates, while the Green Alliance says positions in skilled trades and administrative and procurement roles would also “benefit”.

However, the research found that creating “lots of jobs” “more evenly” across the UK relied on “government ambition”. The Green Alliance projects that if the UK's circular economy continues to develop at the existing rate, which assumes “little progress on the status quo”, only 40,000 new jobs will be created across the country by 2035.

The Green Alliance urged the Treasury and chancellor Rishi Sunak to bring in a series of new policies to "transform the circular economy" and create jobs across the UK.

Zoe Avison, policy analyst at the Green Alliance, said: “A big program to avoid unnecessary waste and reclaim the value of materials would not only help consumers but create jobs in communities across the country.

“This is a great opportunity for the chancellor to show his commitment to expanding innovation, and for the government to show the meaning of leveling up.”

'Leveling up'
The Green Alliance suggests the circular economy could create additional jobs and reduce overall unemployment in regions with higher unemployment, such as the North East. The think tank claims boosting the circular economy would therefore support the government's 'levelling up' vision.
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The policies the Green Alliance wants the Treasury to introduce include halving UK resource use by 2050. Binding interim targets would ensure that businesses act quickly, and that the UK gains a "competitive edge" in circular economy technology and techniques, the Green Alliance says.

The Green Alliance wants to increase consumer demand by zero rating VAT on repairs and refurbishment (picture: Shutterstock)
The think tank says the government could “close the information gap” by providing a central materials datahub for businesses along the circular economy value chain.

It also wants the Treasury to dedicate seed finance in the form of a £400 million starter fund for trial initiatives to prove the potential of a more circular economy to cut carbon and create jobs.

The think tank wants to increase consumer demand by zero rating VAT on repairs and refurbishment. Currently, VAT is charged at the standard rate of 20% for repairs. The Green Alliance claims that, when added to labor costs, this often makes buying new items cheaper than repairing them.

And, the Green Alliance wants the Treasury to support workers to move into the circular economy through retraining programs and career coaching. This would include supporting workers transitioning from “declining industries” and providing strategic funding to universities and colleges.

Report
Today’s report is an update of a similar document from January 2015, when Green Alliance worked with the charity WRAP to produce ‘Employment and the circular economy: job creation in a more resource efficient Britain’ (see letsrecycle.com story).

The job projects are based on analysis that takes the current number of jobs in circular economy activities across British regions and inflates them in line with different growth scenarios, assuming the relationship between the size of the particular market and the number of jobs remains constant.

The Green Alliance says figures have been adjusted “where appropriate” to subtract jobs that are likely to be lost as a result of a more circular economy. These are said to be mainly in material extraction and waste disposal.