What was it about?

What was it about?

Well-being can no longer be based on the constant introduction and accelerated consumption of new natural resources. The benefits of a circular economy for the climate, environment, people and the economy have already been recognised.

With the transition to a circular economy, completely new jobs will be created, some jobs will change and some will disappear. The change requires new kinds of competence throughout society and at all levels of education. Updating skills and knowledge and continuous learning are important themes as we seek to ensure that each person will find their place in a fair circular economy society.

What was achieved?

Work practices and consumption habits will change, but we do not know yet exactly how. We need more information to ensure that the change will take place in a fair manner. We want to increase understanding of the effects that circularity will have on people, especially from the point of view of employment and continuous learning.

• With funding from Sitra, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), which specialises in development and climate issues, has modelled how a circular economy would affect five sectors in Finland. The modelling tool has been tested together with Finnish experts on modelling and is freely available for use. The IISD’s sector-specific calculations can be accessed using Vensim software.
• The literature review drawn up by IISD introduces the known effects on jobs of the circular economy.
• The IISD also examined the employment effects that different variables, such as materials efficiency and renewable energy would have in Finland. The report can be read on the IISD website.

Who participated?

We worked together with international experts and engaged in dialogue both in Finland and across the European Union. The tool and the reports were created by the IISD with funding from Sitra

Contact us

people

Eero Jalava

Senior Lead, Global collaboration, Sustainability solutions