Circular Economy

Decrease overconsumption

Global material consumption, including consumption by both producers and consumers, has more than tripled since 1970 to 98 billion tonnes in 2022, and has caused increasing environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of materials and products. For example, material resource extraction and processing accounts for over 55% of climate change impacts, up to 40% of airborne particulate matter health impacts, 90% of water stress and 90% of land-use related biodiversity loss. Overconsumption needs to decrease to ensure that human activities and needs fit within the global capacity of our available natural resources. Reducing overconsumption is also necessary to ensure developing countries’ equitable access to resources. Some developing countries are facing underconsumption and undersupply of resources required for a better life.

Material footprint data shows that the global consumption of all material resources stagnated from 2011 to 2022. Moreover, in 2022, the 15 countries using the most material resources consumed 72% of the material footprint in the world. Nine of these countries increased their material footprint per capita from 2012 to 2022.  Considering increases in population and rising affluence in developing countries in the future, significant changes in production and consumption habits will be required to reduce the global material footprint by more than half by 2050.

Affluence increase was the primary driver of the increase in global resource extraction between 2000 and 2022, followed by population increase as the second driver. Resource-efficient technologies adopted in this period could not offset the increase, while societies became more dependent upon resource-consuming technologies.

To transform the economy and decrease global overconsumption, changes in both production and consumption — or supply and demand — are necessary. Equally, it is important to rethink how the products and services we need are provided to people. Many would agree, for instance, that it is crucial to identify what products are essential or avoidable, but this has not yet been met with international consensus, even regarding single-use products. More collaborative action is necessary.

In order to track and enable accelerated change, it is necessary to raise stakeholders’ awareness and increase information and data sharing by producers. The proliferation of services contributing to dematerialization — such as sharing, subscription and digital streaming services — opens opportunities to avoid material consumption. Leadership from change agents is also important, as business leaders start new models for innovative resource reduction and consumer leaders practice attractive sustainable lifestyles using less resources. Regulation and economic incentives are also enablers that can offer fair competition in the economy and can be designed to incentivize producers and consumers to use less resources. Subsidies on resources such as fossil fuels drive down prices and do not reflect true costs; such subsidies that increase overconsumption have to be eliminated, while taking into consideration inclusiveness and equitable access to essential resources.

Data Insights

What targets are most important to reach in the future?

Systems Change Lab identifies 4 targets toward which to track progress. Click a chart to explore the data.

What factors may prevent or enable change?

Systems Change Lab identifies 6 factors that may impede or help spur progress toward targets. Click a chart to explore the data.

Progress toward targets

Systems Change Lab tracks progress toward 4 targets. target. Explore the data and learn about key actions supporting systems change.

Material footprint per capita

Global resource consumption per capita has increased since 1970 and stagnated around 12 to 13 tonnes per capita from 2011 to 2022, well above the global target of 5 tonnes per capita by 2050.

“Material footprint” measures not only the direct use of material resources, but also the indirect use in global supply chains. There is always some loss of materials in production processes, and therefore more materials are consumed than just the products that consumers see. In a globalized economy, this indirect use is invisible, so material footprint per capita serves as an important indicator to understand a person’s true overall consumption of materials.

Consumption of any material inevitably has accompanied environmental impacts, ranging from greenhouse gas emissions during production to deforestation in resource extraction. The global resource consumption level has increased since 1970, when the data first became available, and stagnated around 12-13 tonnes per capita from 2011 to 2022. This is too high for our planet to sustain, especially considering expected increases in population and rising affluence in developing countries. To achieve a target of 5 tonnes per capita by 2050, we will need to reduce our material consumption by more than half.

Material footprint of biomass resources per capita

The biomass material footprint per capita stagnated around 3.3 to 3.4 tonnes per capita between 2012 and 2022; this trend should decrease to reach the global target of 1.8 tonnes per capita by 2050.

Biomass resources come from plants and animals and are used for clothes, textiles, furniture, foods and more. Though these can be renewable when managed properly, overconsumption of biomass resources can do significant harm to their population and even entire species, preventing effective regeneration.

Progress in reducing biomass use in the world stagnated, but recently started to decrease, albeit very slightly. The biomass material footprint per capita stagnated around 3.3 to 3.4 tonnes per capita between 2012 and 2022. This trend should be accelerated much more to achieve the global target of 1.8 tonnes per capita by 2050, almost half of the 2022 level. The target value is based on cropland area necessary to supply biomass materials in order to halt biodiversity loss by land-use change. Footprint indicators on resources measure the direct and indirect use of resources in global supply chains. Thus, footprint per capita serves as an important indicator to understand overall consumption of resources for a person.

Material footprint of non-biomass resources per capita

More than a 65% reduction will be required to reduce the use of non-biomass resources per capita in terms of material footprint from 9.3 tonnes per capita as of 2022 to 3.2 tonnes per capita by 2050.

Material footprint — a measure of both the direct use of resources and the indirect use in global supply chains — is crucial to understand a person’s overall resource consumption. Non-biomass resources are non-renewables such as fossil fuels, non-metallic minerals and metal ores. If these resources are dispersed or degraded after use and we cannot recover them, they cannot be reused. The resource will become scarce and ultimately depleted.

Progress in reducing non-biomass use in the world is well off track. The use of non-biomass resources per capita in terms of material footprint increased from 6.4 tonnes per capita in 2000 to 9.0 tonnes per capita in 2012. From 2012 to 2022, the increasing use of non-biomass resources per capita plateaued at around 9.3 tonnes per capita. More than 65% of reduction is necessary to achieve the target of 3.2 tonnes per capita by 2050.

Total consumption of single-use products

Although no global data exists on single-use product consumption in general, in 2021, 137 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste were generated, more than ever before.

Single-use products are a great representation of the linear economy model we need to move away from, as these products are designed to be thrown away after use. No global data exists on single-use product consumption in general, so it is not possible at this point in time to measure progress.

Single-use plastics are one type of product that has received strong international attention. In 2021, 137 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste were generated, more than ever before. Many countries are trying to address this growing waste segment by introducing regulations. As of 2018, 27 out of 192 countries had some type of ban on specific plastic products, such as plates, cups, straws and packaging, or specific materials or production. Some countries have other types of regulations, such as taxes and fees, on some single-use plastic products. These numbers are expected to increase.

Plastics are not the only type of single-use products; many other materials, such as paper, also need to be reduced. However, single-use products include products for essential use, such as medical disposable plastic products required to prevent infection. These products for essential use should be distinguished, but there is not yet consensus on what products are in fact essential. 

Enablers and barriers

We also monitor change by tracking a critical set of 6 factors factor that can impede or help spur progress toward targets. Explore the data and learn about key actions supporting systems change.

Number of countries with regulations to reduce single-use products

Regulations to reduce single-use plastics — including taxes, consumer fees and bans on these products — have been rising in recent years, but data on single-use products made from other materials is not available.

In the wake of strong international attention on plastic pollution, as of 2018, 27 out of 192 countries had taxes on the manufacture and production of plastic bags and 30 countries had nationwide consumer fees for plastic bags. These regulations incentivize decreasing consumption of plastic bags. In addition, 27 countries had some type of ban on specific single-use products, such as plates, cups, straws and packaging, or other specific materials or production. There was no full ban on all single-use products in any country in the world as of 2018. Some type of tax on single-use plastics has been adopted in at least 29 countries, but this number includes waste disposal fees and deposit refund systems, which are fees and not taxes; therefore, further scrutiny of the data is necessary. It is also important to note that these numbers do not capture more recent regulations in the world.

However, information on single-use products made from materials other than plastic — such as paper, metals and other materials — is not available. More attention should be paid to the breadth of single-use products. 

Number of countries with virgin material tax

Taxes on virgin materials create an incentive to reduce their use and increase the use of recycled materials, but no centralized data source on this indicator is available.

This indicator represents the number of countries with an extra tax for virgin materials that would not apply to recycled materials. These taxes create an incentive to reduce the use of virgin materials (and also to use recycled and renewable materials and reused components). For example, some countries introduced taxes on aggregates, such as gravel, rock and stone, and on plastic products. This economic incentive is important to spur change in the behavior of both companies and consumers. No centralized data source on this indicator is currently readily available.

Market size of sharing and dematerialized services

Sharing and servicing are ways of accessing a product’s function without possession, and the provision of these dematerialized services opens opportunities for consumers to avoid material consumption.

People do not need to own products and materials in order to use them. Sharing and servicing are ways of extending access to that product’s function without requiring possession, and the provision of these dematerialized services opens opportunities for consumers to avoid material consumption. Examples include car sharing; office sharing; sharing of sports equipment and tools; subscription services for the use of clothing, shoes and toys; and digital streaming of music and movies instead of purchasing CDs and DVDs.

No centralized or publicly available data source about sharing and dematerialized services on the global level has been identified, and further research is needed on best practices to measure the positive impacts of sharing and dematerialized services.

Sharing and dematerialization services do not necessarily reduce the impacts of material consumption because increasing use of services could deploy more products for the service or require more energy and infrastructure. Previous consumption patterns are also influential. For example, sharing a car can be better environmental behavior compared to owning a car, but is worse than using public transportation, depending on the context. It is important to identify what factors contribute to the material reduction. To make these service options available and viable, it is also important to improve the service business models in terms of profitability, attractiveness and sustainability and remove unnecessary regulatory and business barriers.

Share of products that provide information about circularity

Information such as recycled content, durability, ability to upgrade, reusability and recyclability of a product can help consumers make informed purchasing decisions.

Consumers cannot make informed decisions about the circularity of products unless relevant information is provided. Information such as recycled content, durability, ability to upgrade, reusability and recyclability of the product are some of the important considerations that consumers should be able to see before they make a purchasing decision.

There is currently no centralized, comparable data source on products with eco-labels, digital product passports (DPPs) or other regulatory or voluntary information regarding circularity.

Consumer awareness of overconsumption and intent to change behavior

Consumer awareness of overconsumption is a prerequisite for its reductions, though there is a lack of global data on people’s awareness and willingness to adopt low-footprint consumption habits.

Consumer awareness of overconsumption is a prerequisite for its reduction. This indicator aims to gauge people's intentions and behaviors by measuring the percentages of people who are aware of the overconsumption issue and are willing to adopt low-footprint consumption options.

Though there is a lack of global data, survey results from select countries can show us how often people avoid buying products for environmental reasons.

The average scores of limited surveyed countries fall between “often” and “sometimes” willing to avoid the purchase, leaning more toward “often” in 2020 than respondents did in 2010. Of 11 countries that have the data for both 2010 and 2020, 10 are improving and 1 is unchanged. We can narrowly grasp slight progress, but it is necessary to gather more data that can compare consumer awareness and behaviors regarding overconsumption between countries and around the world. 

Percent of consumers buying new clothing while having adequate clothing

Overconsumption of clothing has become a notable problem, with garments being worn less times and more clothing being purchased to match increasing fashion cycles.

Overconsumption of clothing has become a notable problem. For example, the average number of times a new garment is worn decreased by 36% between 2002 and 2016, whereas global clothing sales doubled. Relatively high utilization rates of clothing were observed in many low-income countries while other countries had low rates. With low prices from fast fashion, people are stimulated or have a mindset to buy more clothing to match the increasing fashion cycles in a year. To tackle this issue, a wide range of actions is necessary. This includes reconsidering fashion cycles and what is “in style,” and expanding services and consumer acceptance for renting clothes, which would allow regular changes to one's wardrobe without continuously buying new clothes and discarding. Raising awareness of this issue can promote all of these actions, and therefore information about the harms of overconsumption should be delivered in a clear and accessible way. 

Photo credits

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP

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