The UK will establish the world’s first United Nations-backed centre for the research and development of the circular economy.
The establishment of the International Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management in the Circular Economy in the UK recognises the country’s existing expertise in sustainability. The centre will develop sustainable approaches to the circular economy and resource efficiency to enable carbon reduction and the transition to a greener future. The UK will help countries across the world to maximise the environmental and economic opportunities the circular economy offers.
A circular economy is one in which resources are kept in use for as long as possible, rather than being taken from the earth, used once and disposed of in landfill. The centre will particularly focus on circularity of metals, construction and critical minerals to develop effective data, technological innovation, finance models and policy. The centre’s participating institutions (University College London, University of Exeter, Brunel University London, Swansea University and the British Geological Survey) have together contributed £1.85 million to fund the centre’s technical activities.
Resources Minister Robbie Moore said:
“This is real recognition of the UK’s global leadership in sustainable resource management and testament to Britain’s world-leading academic expertise.
“We are delighted to host this centre, enabling our cutting-edge UK academics to develop the tools and research that will help countries across the world seize the opportunities of the circular economy, leading the way in the transition to a greener future.“
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Executive Secretary, Tatiana Molcean, said:
“Making the use of our resources more sustainable and moving towards a circular economy is fundamental to sustainable development and climate action.
“Partnerships mobilising international expertise play an important role in UN cooperation to develop and share best practices. I welcome the establishment of this new Centre of Excellence, with its focus on circularity of metals, construction and critical raw materials.
The centre will also draw heavily on the success of several of the partner institutions in the National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) research and development programme, a four-year £30 million investment established by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ chief scientist in 2019 under the UK Government’s Strategic Priorities Fund.
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