Circular Economy Proxy Measures: Indicators on job effects for a closed loop economy

The report examines six proxy measures—material efficiency, waste recycling and reuse, industrial ecology, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green procurement—finding that all six generate positive net benefits in job creation and induced economic impacts. These measures are generally more labour-intensive than fossil-fuel-related jobs and help decouple economic activity from greenhouse gas emissions.

• Material efficiency drives job creation through three primary drivers: the profitability of innovative technologies, shifts in labour productivity, and foreign value added from imported inputs used in export products.
• In Europe, achieving a 70% recycling target for waste recycling and reuse could create up to 322,000 direct jobs, 160,900 indirect jobs, and 80,400 induced jobs, while generating 115 million tonnes of recycled material.
• Energy efficiency is a labour-intensive sector particularly beneficial for manufacturing, engineering, and construction; ambitious programs in Europe could create between 0.7 million and 4.2 million new jobs by 2030.
• Renewable energy technologies exhibit higher labour intensity than fossil fuels, especially during construction and installation. The average potential for renewable energy is 0.65 jobs/GWh, increasing to 0.80 jobs/GWh when combined with energy efficiency, compared to 0.15 jobs/GWh for fossil fuel technologies.
• Green procurement supports a circular economy by using government purchasing power to shift business models toward closed-loop systems, which can support local job creation and decent working conditions, though these effects are harder to quantify.

APA

Gass,, D. E. R. (2020). Circular Economy Proxy Measures: Indicators on job effects for a closed loop economy. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/circular-economy-proxy-measures-indicators-job-effects-closed-loop-economy

Chicago

Gass,, Daniella Echeverría,Joachim Roth,Philip. Circular Economy Proxy Measures: Indicators on job effects for a closed loop economy. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2020. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/circular-economy-proxy-measures-indicators-job-effects-closed-loop-economy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gass, |first1=Daniella Echeverría,Joachim Roth,Philip |title=Circular Economy Proxy Measures: Indicators on job effects for a closed loop economy |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=30 November 2020 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/circular-economy-proxy-measures-indicators-job-effects-closed-loop-economy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gass2020circular, author = {Gass,, Daniella Echeverría,Joachim Roth,Philip}, title = {{Circular Economy Proxy Measures: Indicators on job effects for a closed loop economy}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/circular-economy-proxy-measures-indicators-job-effects-closed-loop-economy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }