Circular Economy in Ukraine
According to UNIDO’s definition, the circular economy is a new economic model (alternative to linear) of creating value, and ultimately prosperity, through extending product lifespan and relocating waste from the end of the supply chain to the beginning – in effect, using resources more efficiently by using them more than once.
Circular Economy Principles
Circular Economy Strategies
It avoids the design of single-use products and enhances its maintenance, sharing, and reparation, among others.
It involves maintaining materials in circulation, whether as a product or, if they can no longer serve that purpose, as parts or raw materials. This approach ensures that nothing turns into waste and that the inherent value of products and materials is preserved.
It focuses on resource extraction to resource regeneration, which means transitioning to a regenerative model by emulating natural systems.
This approach uses fewer resources per product or service. Resource productivity is often treated as an indicator of resource efficiency, not as an approach to the cyclic use of products and materials but as an approach to reducing resource use within the product and production process.
Through the design of long-life goods and product life extension (i.e. service loops to extend a product’s life, for instance through maintenance, repair) the utilisation period of products is extended, resulting in a slowdown of the flow of resources through the economy.
Through recycling, the loop between post-use and production is closed, resulting in a circular flow of resources. This approach maximises the efficiency of resource use by minimizing waste and continuously recycling materials.
The UNIDO’s CE Diagram on Circular Economy Approaches
Publications
Sectoral Cases
Exploratory Strategic Foresight for Circular Economy in Ukraine
For Ukraine, the Circular Economy transformation will be essential in many ways:
- Modernize the economy and increase value-added
- Enhance investment, trade flows, incomes and skills
- Strengthen cooperation with the EU and internationally
- Improve resource efficiency/dependency, waste management and local environments
This exercise integrates two parallel streams each with its specialist team:
- CE Foresight: The purpose of this process is to explore the future developments of the circular economy in Ukraine, both at the level of the selected regions and for specific value chains, by combining exploratory and normative approaches, and to devise concrete options and pathways for future action.
- CE strategy: The purpose of this process is to “translate” the findings of the foresight activity into a series of position papers that can be easily fed into the formulation of the Ukrainian CE strategy development process. This is also producing an online training platform for wider application.
