Publications

This report focuses on the nexus between circular economy and climate mitigation, outlining steps for banks to effectively embed circular solutions in their climate transition plans to achieve their net-zero and climate mitigation targets. It is supported by four sector supplements, guiding banks to develop sector-specific financing action plans that promote circular economy principles in high impact sectors with significant circularity potential, namely agrifood, buildings and construction, textiles, and metals and minerals.

This paper outlines a structured approach to unlock circular economy financing by making circular economics work and strengthening evidence of the circular economy’s value proposition. It sets out complementary roles and possible actionable priorities for governments, financial regulators and central banks, public and private financial institutions. 

The Circular Economy (CE) Finance project in Latin America aims to empower financial institutions to scale up CE investments, particularly benefiting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), by addressing systemic barriers, improving taxonomy integration, and building internal capacities of financial institutions.

This series helps banks addressing pollution, one of the three planetary crises alongside climate change and biodiversity loss. The first sectoral supplement offers banks a practical framework to start reducing pollution impacts and manage risks related to the buildings and construction sector within their portfolios.

This report is aimed at providing a general overview on operationalising the interlinkages between circular economy and climate, nature, pollution, and healthy and inclusive economies, encouraging banks to embed circularity into internal policies and processes, engage with clients in their transition to circular business models, redirect financial flows towards circular solutions and opportunities, and advocate for mainstreaming circularity.

Under a business-as-usual scenario, the volume of mismanaged plastics waste is projected to grow substantially to well over 250 million…

Our current linear economic system is based on a take-make-waste model which relies on resource extraction and depletes natural capital.…

The need to move to sustainable production and consumption models that reuse products and preserve the world’s finite natural resources…

The climate clock was ticking loudly in 2021, with every region of the globe impacted by climate change. At UNEP…

Environmental pollution liability insurance has been around for several decades but its full potential to address both traditional pollution risks…