The world is now 8.6% circular.

The report was initiated at Davos by the thinktank Circle Economy. The story, right? Resource use of the world economy has quadrupled since 1970. That's much higher than the world's population, which just doubled. After a year, we keep about a third of products in use (think homes, cars, etc.), 15 percent are released as emissions, we waste a third (as in, landfill). And almost a quarter of us throw away into the world. How much recycling? 8.6 Prozent.

Shift to smart ways of consumptionThis includes circular design, extending product lifetimes and using fewer materials. In Holland, Fairphone has developed a modular phone using replaceable, ethically sourced parts. Ownership of goods is being replaced by sharing and service business models on everything from jeans to dishwashers – membership of car sharing schemes is growing globally at 65% a year.

Take responsibility for the impact of imports and exportsShared standards for health, safety and the environment should be applied throughout the value chain, including waste processing. Innovative schemes use waste as a resource, for example Interface is collecting used fishing nets in the Philippines and using the waste nylon in its carpet tiles.Drive the renewable energy transitionThis means decarbonising ‘Shift’ economies and creating abundant renewable capacity, storage and smart grid systems. A transition to 100% renewable energy in the US would see a net increase 2 million jobs, halve energy costs for consumers and save taxpayers $600 billion in healthcare costs and $3.3 trillion in climate costs, according to Stanford University research.