THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY CHANGES THE WORLD OF WORK. Labour markets are deeply rooted in the linear economy. This will change as businesses, governments adopt circularity. This is because the circular economy hinges on activities and services that are focused on reusing materials and closing material cycles. The circular economy requires manual and practical labour, just as it requires highly skilled work in the design and engineering of new solutions.
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WHAT ARE CIRCULAR JOBS?
A circular job is any occupation that directly involves or indirectly supports one of the strategies of the circular economy. We differentiate between three types of circular jobs: core, enabling and indirectly circular jobs.
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Core circular jobs are all jobs that ensure the closure of raw material cycles, including jobs in repair, renewable energy, waste and resource management. They form the core of the circular economy.
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Enabling circular jobs are jobs that remove barriers for and enable the acceleration and upscaling of core circular activities, including jobs that arise in leasing, education, design and digital technology. They form the supporting shell of the circular economy.
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Jobs that indirectly uphold the circular economy are called indirectly circular jobs. These jobs occur in other sectors that do not play a direct role in furthering the transition to the circular economy but can still adopt circular strategies. They include jobs that provide services to core circular strategies, including jobs in information services, logistics and the public sector.
(Source: Circle Economy)
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More about Circular Economy Platform of the Americas visit: www.circulareconomyplatform.org
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Building a Circular Conscious Continent 🌱
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The construction sector is entering a decisive stage in its push toward sustainable building design, shaped by new policy advocacy, improved regulation, and demonstrable industry commitments. The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) has formally supported the Architects Climate Action Network’s Circular Economy Policy Campaign, a move signalling broader acceptance of circular economy principles as central to environmental sustainability in construction. The focus on reuse, adaptability, and end‑of‑life reuse in construction reflects a maturing understanding that the carbon footprint of construction extends across a building’s entire lifespan. Introducing whole life carbon assessment as part of standard design processes is becoming a practical necessity for both cost management and long‑term resilience.
Equans UK & Ireland’s status as a Building a Safer Future (BSF) Champion highlights how sustainable design and accountability increasingly overlap with safety and social responsibility. The company’s recognition shows that decarbonising the built environment demands organisation‑wide transparency backed by measurable sustainability targets. Integrating lifecycle assessment across the supply chain ensures that embodied carbon in materials and operations is quantified and reduced. This shift towards low carbon design complements broader frameworks such as BREEAM and the forthcoming BREEAM v7 updates, both reinforcing the importance of life cycle thinking in construction.
Regulators are beginning to respond to industry calls for a streamlined approach that maintains ecological rigour while reducing unnecessary bureaucracy. The proposed reforms to environmental permits illustrate that practical compliance can coexist with high environmental performance when founded on evidence‑based life cycle cost analysis. Clear guidance on sustainable material specification and environmental product declarations (EPDs) can support consistent measurement of carbon footprint reduction across projects. This regulatory evolution encourages wider adoption of resource efficiency in construction, particularly as governments commit to net zero carbon and carbon neutral construction targets.
Recent research into circular economy in construction, inspired by modular telecoms infrastructure, demonstrates tangible potential for embodied carbon reduction. Applying circular construction strategies to wider sectors could significantly improve building lifecycle performance and deliver major financial and environmental savings. Modular, renewable building materials and low embodied carbon materials extend the service life of assets and underpin the shift to low‑impact construction models. As net zero whole life carbon frameworks become embedded, reuse and refurbishment will play equal roles alongside green building products and renewable design innovation.
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to fall, driven in part by energy‑efficient buildings, low carbon construction materials, and a stronger focus on whole life carbon metrics. Challenges remain in housing retrofits, supply chain emissions, and verifiable reporting, but sustainable building practices are advancing rapidly. The convergence of eco‑design for buildings, sustainable architecture, and green infrastructure shows that sustainability is no longer a niche aspiration but a defining measure of quality. Genuine progress depends on integrating evaluation tools, transparent data, and consistent application of sustainable construction principles so that every low carbon building actively contributes to the net zero carbon future the sector now strives to achieve.
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