Join the IRP Co-Chairs in Calling for 21st Century Global Materials Stewardship
The Call to Action
“We call upon all international organisations to become proactive stewards of sustainable material use and the circular economy by pursuing four key missions – and urge policymakers, businesses, investors, and civil society to do the same.”
Click to see the missions.
Mission 1
Better Orientation
through science-based material use targets and related guidance, including a global orientation value (the “net zero” equivalent for material consumption).
Mission 2
Better Measurement
through indicators that measure the ability of systems for housing, mobility, food and energy to meet people’s needs in material-efficient ways.
Mission 3
Better Economic Incentives
through policy and fiscal reforms that internalise environmental and social costs of material extraction in material prices and phase out harmful subsidies, most urgently for fossil fuels.
Mission 4
Better Transparency and Coordination
through access to consolidated data on material flows and impacts – provided by an International Materials Agency that is hosted in a resource-rich country.
The Context
The UN Agenda 2030 commits governments to improve wellbeing for all within planetary boundaries.
Achieving this goal requires the sustainable management of materials globally.
The International Resource Panel’s “Global Resources Outlook 2024” (GRO24) highlights the urgency of building material-efficient and circular economic systems that provide accessible, affordable and high-quality solutions for housing, mobility, food, and energy. Scaling these systems requires governments and industries to broaden their focus from cleaner production to efficient and equitable material consumption.
This shift brings enormous benefits: reducing projected global material extraction by ~30% by 2060 compared to historical trends1 – contributing to a >80% decrease of GHG emissions2 and the protection of biodiversity – while reducing inequalities and improving wellbeing. It is a pivotal opportunity to strengthen economic resilience and business models by reducing reliance on increasingly unpredictable global supply chains.
Footnotes
1: In GRO24, global material extraction is projected to reach 162 billion tonnes in 2060 in the Historical Trends scenario and 115 billion tonnes in 2060 in the Sustainability Transition Scenario
2: In 2060 compared to 2020
The Missions
Learn more here about the context and proposed paths forward for each mission.
“With decisive action, political courage and bold boardroom decisions, a sustainable future – meaning a decent life for all within planetary boundaries – is possible.”
Global Resources Outlook 2024, Foreword
Who’s involved
Initiators
Janez Potočnik
Co-Chair, International Resource Panel
Izabella Teixeira
Co-Chair, International Resource Panel
Co-Creators
Organisational Supporters
Individual Supporters
Sandrine Dixson-Declève
Executive Chair | Earth4All
Honorary President | Club of Rome
Anders Wijkman
Chair | Viable Cities
Honorary President | Club of Rome
Jocelyn Bleriot
Executive Lead, Policy & Institutions | Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Patrick Schroeder
Senior Research Fellow | Chatham House
Shailly Kedia
Senior Fellow | The Energy and Resources Institute
Heather Grabbe
Senior Fellow | Bruegel
Bonmwa Fwangkwal
Program Coordinator | African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA)
Eva Gladek
CEO and Founder | Metabolic
Hege Sæbjørnsen
Global Circular Leader | Ingka Group, IKEA
Antoine Oger
Executive Director | Institute for European Environmental Policy
Martin Porter
Executive Chair | CISL Europe
Ladeja Godina Košir
Founder & Director | Circular Change
Co-Chair | ECESP
David Greenfield
Managing Director | Social, Environmental and Economic Solutions (SOENECS) Ltd
Vice President | Circular Economy Institute
Andrew Fanning
Research & Data Analysis Lead | Doughnut Economics Action Lab
Susanne Kadner
Co-Founder | CIRCULAR REPUBLIC
Director | UnternehmerTUM
Esra Tat
Executive Director | Zero Waste Europe
Shalini Goyal Bhalla
Managing Director | International Council for Circular Economy
Claire Baritaud
Director of ESG policies | La Poste
Fannie Derenchy
Head of Resources & Circular Economy | La Poste Groupe
Mika Sulkinoja
Coordinator of World Circular Economy Forum | The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra
Sonia Maria Dias
Waste specialist | WIEGO
Heinz Schandl
Circular Economy Lead | Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Marvin Nusseck
Lead Finance Programme | Circle Economy
Jonah Belitz
Manager | Systemiq
Magash Naidoo
Head: Circular Development | ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
Piotr Barczak
Circular Economy Program Manager | Africa Circular
Cynthia Reynolds
Convener | Circular Economy Coalition
Giuliana Netto
Sustainability Advisory Lead | Arcadis
Heik Heinrich Hellmich
Head of Development & Engineering | TDK Europe GmbH
Hong Quan Nguyen
Director | Institute for Circular Economy Development (ICED), Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City
Kai Schwehm
Senior Manager Circular Economy | WWF
Katja Suhr
Head of global program on circular economy | GIZ GmbH
Sally-Anne Käsner
Founder | Circular Vision
Elmar Willems
Program Lead Cities and Regions | Circular Flanders
Ana Virginia Chiesa
Economist | Ministry of Environment of Uruguay
Nicole Garofano
Head of Circular Economy Development | Planet Ark
Dominik Wiedenhofer
Senior scientist | University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Oneza Zaim
Sustainability & Carbon Market Analyst | Planet2050
Anne Raudaskoski
Circular Design Strategist | Ethica
Isabel Miller
Associate | Systemiq
Ramatis Radis
Head of BD&I + HSE | Borkar
Tom Voege
Director Public Policy | GRS Service GmbH
Marcos Teixeira
Engineer and Consultant | VIZY Impacto e Valor
Claudia Pabon
Professor | Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Alvair Silveira Torres Júnior
PhD professor | University of São Paulo
Alexandros Stefanakis
Professor | Technical University of Crete
Jeroen Rietjens
Designer | Farol
Kathrin Kramer
Circularity & Sustainability Advisor | Freelance
Joanna Krombholz-Zabielska
Founder | JKZ ESG & Circularity Consulting
Ana Araujo
Eng de dados | Torostream
Christof Delatter
Freelance consultant | WastePX bv
Daphne More
Project manager / Architect | University of Pennsylvania
Richard Stechow
Managing Innovation Consultant | BMI Lab
Janice Klaiber
PhD student | University St Gallen
Lukas Torscht
Consultant | McKinsey
Verena Kraßnig
Circular Economy Expert | Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark
Birte Kattelmann-Jagdt
Founder & Managing Partner | Bekaya – Ventures & Advisory
Michiel Ritzen
Head of the competence center sustainability assessment | VITO
Boris Kaiser
Enabler and Circularity Catalyst | Circular Design Campus
Paul Karpawich
Project Manager | UpliftNH.org
Umesh Kale
PHD Scholar | NMIMS
Kai Pawelka
Project Manager | H&Z
Kaluki Paul
Executive Director | KEAN International
Hugo Warner
Consultant | Building Stuff that Flourishes
Léo Génin
Associate director | I Care by BearingPoint
Alex Duarte
Sales Manager | GPD Consulting
Pau Ruiz Ballestin
Research Consultant | Circle Economy
Nkosinathi Hlabeni
CEO | Owe2 Green Economy