Produce better: this is the mantra of the circular economy, which aims to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources and the amount of waste. The opposite of the predominant model, which consists of producing, consuming and throwing away.
According to report 2021 of the Circle Economy organization, the global economy is only 8.6% circular today, which means that only 8.6% of the more than 100 billion tonnes of materials consumed are reused every year.
There is therefore a long way to go. “This requires a change in production and consumption models, by recourse to sharing, reuse and recycling of existing materials and products to limit the impact on natural resources”, details Isabelle Bourcier, head of index and quantitative management at BNP Paribas AM.
More sustainable products, recovered waste
This approach to more sustainable growth is an integral part of the fight against climate change. The circular economy is therefore at the heart of the European Commission’s Green Deal, a set of initiatives aimed at making Europe climate neutral by 2050.
“The regulation will push this theme by encouraging the design of sustainable products, by giving consumers the means to make more sustainable choices, by emphasizing the sectors of the circular economy and by requiring manufacturers to recycle their waste. “, explains Ken Van Weyenberg, senior portfolio manager in Candriam’s thematic management team.
Some measures have already been taken, notably in France with the ban on certain single-use plastic products (cutlery, straws, etc.) on 1er January 2021, extended to other objects in 2022. The European Commission also considers that these measures in favor of the circular economy will make it possible to increase the gross domestic product of the European Union by 0.50 point per year by 2030.
For about two years, asset managers have seized on this theme of the future to create funds targeting companies that meet the challenges of the circular economy. “This is an investment theme generating potential outperformance, assures Nicolas Bénéton, thematic investment specialist at Robeco. The benefits of the circular economy are indeed twofold: reducing the use of materials, especially fossils, but also creating new, more efficient composite materials. “
Facilitators and Transformers
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