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"Circular Economy in India: Rethinking Growth for Long-Term Prosperity" (Ellen Macarthur Foundation) finds that following a circular economy development path could unlock $624 billion in benefits annually by 2050, compared to the country's current development path. The report also finds that this development path would enable India to cut GHG emissions by an additional 44% by 2050, compared to its current development path.

"In an effort to promote the circular economy in the US and eliminate waste, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has launched a US chapter of its Circular Economy 100 (CE100) program. "

Many groups define the circular economy in terms of the types of activities and concepts associated with it: the use of new business models, such as leasing; collaboration across supply chains, or using waste as a resource. However, these characterizations ultimately don't tell us what the circular economy actually is because they don't describe its end state: what will the world actually look like when it is "circular"?

On Thursday, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced changes to EU financial tools to help circular economy projects and businesses secure funding and support the realization of EU climate goals. The changes open €24 billion (~US$26.4B) in funding for businesses looking to transition to a circular economy model.

Some of China's provinces and companies, however, are moving into business operations that foster the growth of the circular economy, which means designing products that can be taken apart, re-blended or recycled so that waste is not an end result. This is complemented by the fact that the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF) recently signed on to the World Plastics Council, which also has a goal of reducing plastic waste in the environment. 

Bacardi's 42Below Vodka brand's circular economy initiative - the project collects used lemons, martini olives and other fruit waste from bars, turns it into liquid soap and sends it back to the bars for free - has diverted 400 kilograms of fruit waste from landfills since it launched in December 2016.

The 2014 drought has cost California's economy $2.2 billion, according to a report from the University of California, Davis.

Ethical Corporation just launched an exclusive case study comprehensively detailing the circular economy work of one industry leader: Patagonia.

EUROPEN and 35 other associations representing major consumer goods brands, packaging producers, material producers and extended producer responsibility organizations are calling for a long-term, ambitious EU policy framework that enables and facilitates sustainable resource use from a full life-cycle perspective, incentivizes economies of scale and takes into account value chains at all levels, each with their different functional needs, supply and demand realities.

The transition to a low-carbon economy is already underway, with businesses driving things forward through innovation and smart business practices, writes Unilever CEO Paul Polman. "Let's work together to make our economies strong and our climate sustainable. It can be done," he writes

The Minnesota Sustainable Growth Coalition is a business-led public-private partnership harnessing the collective expertise of over 25 companies, including 3M, Aveda, Dow Water, Ecolab, General Mills, the Great Plains Institute, and Target, to advance the next frontier of corporate sustainability - the circular economy - here in the U.S. Environmental Initiative, a local nonprofit organization, is convening and facilitating the coalition

The US could create jobs, curb carbon emissions and encourage economic prosperity by switching to a clean energy economy, write Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif. A recent report said that the US could create 2 million new jobs by 2050 if it adopted a goal to source 50% of its total electricity from clean energy sources by 2030. "Congress has an opportunity to put our country on a path toward a clean energy future that improves our economy while reinforcing our commitment to reducing dangerous carbon pollution," they write

America's energy economy is growing cleaner, but the country's embrace of gas and renewables is driving conventional energy giants to ship fossil fuels to buyers overseas. That might limit the climate impact of the greener U.S. energy economy, experts say. "The Obama administration wants to be seen as a climate leader, but there is no source of fossil fuel that it is prepared to leave in the ground," said Lorne Stockman of Oil Change International

The U.S. will have to use a variety of renewable energy technologies, like offshore wind, to transition from a carbon-based energy economy to a renewable energy-based economy, according to Andrew Myers, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University. In the U.S., "offshore wind energy is a vast, largely untapped resource of renewable energy with enormous potential," said Myers. "[T]he potential resource is estimated to have a capacity close to the existing electricity capacity of the entire nation." CleanTechnica (8/5) 

The recycling industry in South Carolina brings a $13 billion boost to the state's economy annually - double the estimated impact of recycling in 2006 - according to a report.

Dell and actor Adrian Grenier have announced the "Legacy of Good" short documentary film contest, aimed at creating compelling stories to raise awareness around the circular economy movement and the role of technology in creating a better future.

Stakeholders are yet again criticizing the European Commission's Circular Economy Package. The original policy, released in December of last year, was denounced as insufficiently ambitious, resulting in its dismissal and a review process over the course of 2015. The Commission adopted the revised package on December 2nd, but some claim the new policy is even weaker than the original.

The Paris climate accord heralds a new era for the global economy, with a wide range of investors and industries now likely to seek ways to avoid carbon risks and adopt less carbon-intensive ways of doing business, experts say. Secretary of State John Kerry says the deal will be a net job creator and sends a powerful message to the marketplace. Nancy Pfund, managing partner of DBL Partners, agrees. "It's very hard to go backward from something like this. People are boarding this train, and it's time to hop on if you want to have a thriving, 21st-century economy," she says. 

Wells Fargo plans to put $200 billion toward investment in, and finance of, companies and projects involved with clean technologies, renewable energy, green bonds and alternative transportation, by 2030. The funds will also go toward companies and projects focused on sustainable agriculture, recycling, conservation and other environmental activities, as part of a company-wide effort to support - and be part of - the transition to a low-carbon economy

General Motors and LafargeHolcim are just two companies taking nature out of the corner and into the spotlight.