Figure 1: Sharp price increases in commodities since 2000 have erased all the real price declines of the 20th century

Figure 2: The circular economy—an industrial system that is restorative by design

Figure 3: Sources of value creation for the circular economy

Figure 4: A circular economy would not just ‘buy time’—it would reduce the amount of material consumed to a lower set point 

Figure 5: Circularity in manufacturing could yield net materials cost savings of up to US$ 630 billion p.a. in the EU alone

Figure 6: Circularity in relevant FMCG sectors could yield net materials cost savings of ~US$ 700 billion p.a. globally

Figure 7: Revamping industry, reducing materials bottlenecks and creating tertiary sector opportunities would benefit labour, capital and innovation

Figure 8: The price went up for most components of the 14.4V drill drive between 2010 and 2011

Figure 9: A potential consumption time bomb will lead to inevitable resource constraints

Figure 10: Supplies of key resources are limited, while recycling rates for many remain low

Figure 11: Replenishing reserves is increasingly difficult and expensive

Figure 12: The evolving risk landscape—resources-related risks are among the most urgent 

Figure 13: Simplified bill of materials (BOM) explosion: Power drill 

Figure 14: Archetypes of supply chains and loops 

Figure 15: The returnable glass bottle system is an inherently circular business with attractive economics

Figure 16: Excess capacity in containers returning from the US or EU to China is reflected in lower freight rates

Figure 17: New polymers continue to emerge, mostly driven by new combinations of old monomers

Figure 18: Increases in product and materials complexity lead to significant materials losses

Figure 19: Metals can easily be distinguished by density and other physical properties, while polymers cannot

Figure 20: Global PET flow—a large amount of PET collected from bottles is used in other applications

Figure 21: Reverse logistics should be as sophisticated as forward logistics—power drill example

Figure 22: If adopted in its entirety, a circular setup can improve margin—power drill example

Figure 23:  Materials are the greatest common denominator across industries and geographies

Figure 24: Proposed materials classes with different starting points: each requires a different action plan

Figure 25: Fibre flows in the pulp and paper value chain—recovered fibre is responsible for almost 50% of pulp supply for paper 

Figure 26: The cost curve has significant potential for profitable use of CO₂ 

Figure 27: Archetypes of circular setups—materials flows are the largest common denominator across value chains