In April 2019, the Confederation of Swedish published a report entitled Circular Economy for a Competetiveand Sustainable Business Community in Sweden. A great deal has happened since then. The European Commission has presented its Circular Economy Action Plan and the Swedish government has presented a national strategy as well as an action plan. Research in the field has moved forward and the work and role of authorities has assumed a greater focus on the development
of the circular economy. Furthermore, the transition pace of Swedish businesses has accelerated and new circular materials, product flows and business models are continually and rapidly under development.
Despite these positive steps, the development of the circular economy remains modest. Businesses develop and implement new circular materials, products and services, but efforts are often hampered by existing regulations and their application as they are not adapted to circular solutions. Considerable political
ambition exists, but policy work on the circular economy primarily continues to be treated as an environmental issue. The circular economy has the potential to make a substantial contribution to achieving many of the sustainability goals, which is why it must also be addressed as an overarching societal issue.
In order for the transition to a circular economy to reach its full potential and for circular solutions to become profitable and competitive, the market conditions for circular business models must be improved. The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise has, together with its member organisations, produced this report to highlight important basic conditions and enablers that can create this change and promote the industry's transition.