Achieving global carbon neutrality requires more than a shift in energy sources, it demands a fundamental rethinking of how products are produced, used and reused. In this context, the circular economy has emerged as a powerful strategy to reduce carbon intensity, optimise resource efficiency and drive systemic sustainability transformation across value chains.
By extending the lifecycle of materials and products, minimising waste and reducing reliance on virgin resources, circular economy practices not only help companies structurally lower emissions, but also enhance cost efficiency and resilience. For example, recycling one ton of waste materials can save approximately 4.12 tons of mineral resources, 1.4 tons of standard coal and reduce 3.72 tons of CO₂ emissions, delivering measurable environmental and economic benefits.
Beyond environmental benefits, the circular economy contributes to industrial upgrading, supports green innovation and encourages sustainable consumption patterns, positioning it as a multidimensional tool for long-term transformation.
While decarbonisation efforts in Asia have traditionally focused on renewable energy and industrial energy efficiency, these measures can only address approximately 55% of greenhouse gas emissions. The remaining 45% is linked to everyday consumption and material use, underscoring the importance of transitioning from linear to circular models.
Across Asia, countries are beginning to adopt circular economy frameworks in areas such as waste recycling and material recovery, eco-design and product lifecycle optimisation and circular supply chains with reverse logistics.
China has positioned the circular economy as a cornerstone of its national sustainability strategy and carbon neutrality roadmap. Having achieved a significant scale of material recycling and industrial symbiosis in recent years, the country is now transitioning from quantitative accumulation to qualitative advancement.
Key trends include:
- An increasing focus on core technological breakthroughs to modernise recycling processes, resource classification and green manufacturing.
- Enhanced efforts to commercialise scientific research and deploy new circular models at scale.
- Integration of circular practices into green industrial parks, urban planning and sustainable consumption policies.
Moreover, China sees the circular economy as a platform for cultivating “new quality productive forces”, combining science, technology and market-driven deployment to generate sustainable value.
To accelerate progress, priorities include research and development in enabling technologies for reuse and remanufacturing, policy incentives for low-carbon design and closed-loop production and cross-sector collaboration to embed circular practices across supply chains.