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

This report examines six proxy measures for a circular economy—material efficiency, waste recycling and reuse, industrial ecology, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green procurement—to analyze their potential for job creation and economic impact. The findings indicate that these measures generally offer positive net benefits in job creation and are more labour-intensive than fossil-fuel-related employment.

• The six proxy measures for a circular economy (material efficiency, waste recycling and reuse, industrial ecology, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green procurement) all show positive net benefits for direct and indirect job creation and induced economic impacts. These jobs are more labour-intensive than those related to fossil fuels and allow for the decoupling of economic activity from greenhouse emissions.
• Material efficiency's capacity for job creation is driven by three primary factors: innovation through the profitability of efficient technologies, changes in labour productivity, and foreign value added from imported inputs used for export products or services.
• In Europe, achieving a 70% recycling target for waste recycling and reuse could result in up to 322,000 direct jobs, 160,900 indirect jobs, and 80,400 induced jobs, while creating an additional 115 million tonnes of recycled material.
• Energy efficiency is labour-intensive and promotes job creation in construction, engineering, and manufacturing. Ambitious programs in Europe could potentially 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 installation and construction. 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 the business models of service and goods providers. While its job effects are harder to quantify than other measures, it can support decent working conditions and local job creation.
• Industrial ecology, which involves creating industrial networks to reduce waste, contributes positive economic benefits under a closed-loop approach, although there is a lack of studies specifically outlining its job creation potential.

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} }