Circle Economy produced the Circular Gap Report for two consecutive years, which was presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos. This report is based on analyses of material flows and consumption in the global economy, using economic input/output tables.
In 2019, the challenge was to also produce a national edition, and it succeeded. Although it may seem counterintuitive, performing an input/output analysis for a single country is considerably more challenging than for the world as a whole. Virtually everything we don’t launch into space remains on Earth, but for countries, the analysis must consider imports, exports, and other types of losses. In collaboration with Circle Economy, the BOKU institute in Austria, and the Austrian national waste management agency, we developed a new method that combines both consumption-based and production-based analyses.
Barnebies’ role was to interpret the findings, guide the analytical team away from potential pitfalls, challenge assumptions, and write the chapter on conclusions and recommendations.