The Circular Economy Task Force CETF

The Circular Economy Taskforce was established in November 2024 as an independent expert advisory group to support the government in creating a circular economy strategy for England. In December 2024 it was announced that the chair of the task force wuld be former Ellen MacArthur Foundation CEO Andrew Morlet, its expertise aimed at enabling the co-design of the first strategy to begin a transition to the circular economy in England. The key objectives of the taskforce being to identify and assess mechanisms that can underpin a Circular Economy Strategy for England; through which the UK government, industry and civil society benefit. (see Terms of Reference: Circular Economy Taskforce)

The government announced that the strategy and the activities that follow will:

• support economic growth by stimulating investment in technologies, sectors and infrastructure that enable resource circularity.
• create green jobs across the circular economy and bolster the security of supply chains
• promote and increase efficient and productive use of resources
• accelerate the transition to net zero by reducing emissions, in line with the UK government’s Industrial Strategy and refreshed Carbon Budget Delivery Plan.

In February 2024 under the Conservative government it was reported that the UK was 'to establish world’s first UN-backed centre for circular economy research'. The centre aiming to develop sustainable approaches to the circular economy and resource efficiency to enable carbon reduction and the transition to a greener future, helping countries across the world to maximise the environmental and economic opportunities the circular economy offers. Opening formally in April 2024, the centre comprises of five institutions: University College London (UCL), University of Exeter, Brunel University London, Swansea University and the British Geological Survey.

Originally the Circular Economy Task Force (CETF) was a business group which convened as early as 2018 by the Green Alliance, a forum for policy, innovation and business thinking on resource use in the UK which had significant impact on government policy. For example, Defra’s 2018 resources and waste strategy adopted many of its recommendations, including harmonising recycling services and implementing an extended producer responsibility regime.

The task force produced a number of reports on resource policy, recycling opportunities and manufacturing productivity, including 'Completing the Circle', which focussed on the amount of material lost to the economy, once collected, and proposes new measures to complement recycling targets which would help to 'pull' these materials back into use in manufacturing.

Some of the task force's recommendations were picked up by the UK’s Environmental Audit Committee’s Growing a circular economy report, and by the Scottish Government’s Resource Use and the Circular Economy inquiry at the time.
The task force also established the North Sea Resource Roundabout project, working with the Embassy of the Netherlands in the UK to identify the regulatory barriers to the trade and use of recycled materials across European countries, and working with regulators to develop solutions. For further information visit the Green Alliance website.

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