Infrastructure and the Circular Economy

Circular infrastructure needs more attention and investment

Infrastructure is responsible for up to 79% of global greenhouse gases and consumes 60% of the world’s materials. These data show the essential role that infrastructure, and the circularity of infrastructure, have in the move to decarbonisation and sustainability.

Yet, the circular infrastructure is receiving too little attention, and too little investment. The GI Hub has examined long-term G20 infrastructure investment trends in the context of achieving global climate targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

While, integral to meet net zero targets and SDGs, decarbonisation efforts such as renewable energy, carbon capture and energy efficiency can only address up to 55% of the world’s greenhouse gases.

What is circular infrastructure?

Circular infrastructure is infrastructure that:

• Enables circular economy activity (e.g. enables re-use, recycling, or recovery of waste), and/or
• Minimises or eliminates the amount of raw material used across the infrastructure lifecycle or supply chain, thereby reducing the embodied carbon of infrastructure assets, and helping maintain the security of the supply of critical materials.

Our resources on circular infrastructure

The GI Hub’s work on circular infrastructure will help you create more circular infrastructure in your areas of influence, complementing other green and circular infrastructure approaches.

We’re engaged in ongoing research and are publishing resources that support governments and the private sector to adopt circular economy approaches in infrastructure development and financing. We completed some of this work in support of the G20 infrastructure agenda.