Six-point plan for post-COVID growth

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire global economy, cutting economic activity and increasing unemployment. 

As the world starts to recover from the impacts of the disease, a rapid economic recovery is vital. Many are calling for a more sustainable and resilient recovery: ‘Build Back Better’.

WRAP believes that adopting a more circular economy could help the UK recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We recommend six steps to set the UK economy back on track and safeguard natural resources:

• Accelerate the move towards a circular economy, with a focus on those operations such as remanufacturing and repair which generate new net jobs and can help tackle structural unemployment.

• Governments, regions, cities and regions throughout the UK adopting a ‘Target, Measure, Act’ approach to increasing the circularity of their activities/operations.
  
  
• Defra and BEIS provide stakeholders with greater certainty by publishing progress reports on the implementation of the Resources & Waste, Industrial and Clean Growth strategies by the end of 2020.

• Make UK Government support to businesses with a large material footprint contingent upon the businesses adopting a ‘Target, Measure, Act’ approach to increasing the circularity of their activities/operations.

• Introduce targeted policy, financial and business support and citizen engagement to drive a more circular economy.

• UK Government and the UK banking sector consider reviewing their approaches to providing financial support to businesses to ensure they are not disadvantaging circular businesses.

Talk to WRAP about how Circular Economy can help the UK build back better.