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29 June 2026 / Quick Take
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Copy LinkCircular economy strategies—such as reuse, repair, recycling, remanufacturing, and using secondary materials instead of virgin inputs—are moving from pilot to market reality. Yet scaling remains a challenge—in one Sustainable Impact 2026 live poll, 48% of sustainability executives said the business case for circularity is emerging but not yet at scale. A broader plenary poll pointed to clearer customer demand and viable commercial models as key enablers of sustainability-driven business value.
As one participant observed: “The issue is not the technology but it is the demand to ensure scalability.” In practice, that means creating sufficient and predictable demand to give suppliers confidence to invest and reach commercial viability, while assuring large buyers circular inputs will be available at scale.
These results suggest that it is not enough to simply prove that circular economy solutions work; the bigger challenge is to create the predictable demand needed to scale them commercially. Business leaders should treat circularity as a commercial scaling agenda: set procurement specifications, commit volumes where supply risk is material, and give owners beyond sustainability the mandate to make it operational. As EU policy begins to shape secondary-material markets, early movers can turn circularity from a pilot activity into a source of resilience, competitive advantage, and market access.
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