JSF paper stresses circular economy to further Jordan’s economic growth

AMMAN — In partnership with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) on Wednesday released a policy paper titled "Circularity:  Jordan's Opportunity to Promote Economic Growth". 

The paper aims to introduce the concept of circular economy. The paper focuses on both the importance and best global practices within this framework, highlighting potential opportunities that Jordan can adopt and implement across various sectors, according to a JSF statement.

The forum emphasised that Jordan has several opportunities to enhance its economic growth by embracing circular economy practices, moving away from the prevailing linear model of extracting, consuming and ultimately disposing of natural resources. Circular economy revolves around the idea of the material's natural cycle and transforming waste into other non-hazardous resources that can be reused. 

This approach is based on three key principles: Eliminating waste and pollution by reducing resource usage, recycling products and materials to maintain their highest value, and renewing natural systems.

The paper indicated that current production systems have led to the accumulation of vast amounts of waste and carbon emissions without considering their potential for future use. It revealed that the extraction and refining of natural resources are responsible for 50 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, 90 per cent of biodiversity loss and water stress.

Circular economy strategies provide an alternative path to ensuring supply stability, reducing production costs, and generating numerous new job opportunities. It is expected that the adoption of circular economy models on a larger scale, along with support for industrial and artisanal sectors investing in recycling, repair, reprocessing, and remanufacturing, will create an additional six million jobs worldwide, reduce resource extraction by 28 per cent, and decrease carbon emissions by an average of 39 per cent.

Collaboration between sectors in the circular economy, such as food, construction, transportation, consumer goods, healthcare and communications, can double the current global recycling rate from 8.6 per cent to 17 per cent.

The most promising sectors capable of globally implementing circular economy methods include the construction, mining and consumer goods industries.

The paper showcased international examples that have widely adopted circular economy strategies, including Germany, Spain, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Algeria and Jordan, which have started studying the application of circular economy concepts and tools. 

The implementation of circular economy principles by the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is estimated to save approximately $138 billion by 2030.

The paper comes in line with the aspirations of the Economic Modernisation Vision, emphasising the importance of circular economy, the urgent need to adapt to it and to commit to its principles, and the application of sustainable practices from the design stage of goods and services, through production, consumption and waste management.

Nationally, the paper highlights Jordan's opportunities in the circular economy and the most promising economic sectors capable of embracing its principles and overcoming the challenges that these sectors may face. Among these sectors are the manufacturing industries, represented by the textile industry, the food industry, the engineering industry and the packaging industry. 

The importance of applying circular economy concepts in the industrial sector is emphasised due to its significant role in creating 260,000 new job opportunities over the next decade, according to the Economic Modernisation Vision.

Integrating circular economy principles and strategies into the existing economic, environmental, and industrial policies and vision for economic renewal can help Jordan achieve its economic and environmental goals. This can be accomplished by promoting sustainable manufacturing practices, product reuse, recycling, and encouraging service-sharing economies, along with establishing standards for circular economy practices in industrial activities and focusing on environmentally-friendly industrial clusters.

The forum stressed the importance of raising awareness among national companies and institutions as a first step towards furthering circular economy opportunities in Jordan through workshops and specialised forums. 

Furthermore, the report emphasised the importance of ensuring industrial establishment's access to sufficient financing to adopt these tools through grants, impactful financing funds, and loans.

The report also added that a comprehensive state policy is crucial to facilitate the transition of companies towards circular practices.