The three overall recommendations are:

1. We need transition brokers – both in business and at a political level

In Denmark, we are hugely divided by sector and industry. This makes the circular transition difficult because the circular economy affects many sectors at once. For example, a material or product has to be handled in new ways throughout its entire life cycle from design, production, sale, take back, reuse, recycling, and decomposition. So who will drive the changeover? Who will take responsibility for bringing actors together to navigate many conflicting interests and create common ground for circular solutions? As an individual company that is part of a linear value chain, it is too huge a responsibility for them alone to undergo a circular transition.

We need brokers who bring together companies and organizations across sectors, take care of the dialogue, and create safe development spaces for an entire value chain.

Therefore, the most crucial recommendation is that more individuals and organizations become transition brokers. The term comes from the former Dutch professor and former Minister Jacqueline Cramer. Through several years of focused work, Cramer has taken on the broker role to create a circular economy in the Netherlands. She argues that precisely this role is absolutely crucial. Both public and private actors need a neutral mediator when they are to transition together.

The broker’s role is to orchestrate the transition process from linear to circular, and they can accelerate this from a neutral position. They are credible, trust-building, and seek to build coalitions with actors willing to take transformative steps forward. Change brokers from several levels of society are needed – companies that create new joint alliances and partnerships and business organizations that manage to bring together partners for knowledge sharing and collaborative new solutions. It is just as urgent to have representatives across agencies and ministries who can coordinate, create dialogue, and provide access to political knowledge across areas of responsibility, bring together one or more sectors, and work to remove legislative barriers.

Fortunately, we have several strong examples of transition brokers at home. The Danish Chamber of Commerce acts as a mediator when it works with the entire value chain to increase the reuse and recycling of plastic packaging through The Cooperation on Plastic in the Retail Sector. Ethical Trade Denmark is a transition broker when, in national multi-stakeholder alliances, they bring together entire value chains in the work of system transformation towards greater sustainability and responsibility, e.g., within the coffee, soy, palm oil, and fishing alliances. DDC – Danish Design Center is a transition broker when 30 experts in sustainability and circular economy formulate the mission of creating an irresistible circular society and define 10 actions we must all take to realize the mission.

3. Set data free

Our third recommendation is about all the existing data and the data that will come, which is crucial for the circular transition. The data is stored, for example, in companies, municipalities, and with authorities. Suppose companies are to have a chance to succeed in the circular transition, meet the EU’s upcoming requirements for product data and the digital product passport, and at the same time benefit from them. In that case, all public data dealing with the circular economy (and not just waste) should be gathered in one place and made freely available. Data collection without being used to drive the circular transition will be seen as an administrative burden by the companies. Therefore, it is essential to release all the newly collected information so that green data becomes a critical tool for the transition brokers and, not least, the companies.

The transition to a circular economy requires new processes and collaborations across the value chain, often challenged by closed rights and a need for more transparency. Suppose companies share non-business-critical data to a greater extent. In that case, we create a more substantial basis for increased collaboration, the development of new technological solutions, and more robust common standards and formats for sustainability in the industry. Openness about data from both the private and public sides will therefore be a prerequisite for, e.g., developing new business models that rethink the use of resources and a well-functioning market for recycled materials.

Huge potential awaits

If companies, authorities, and other relevant actors in our society succeed with the recommendations, there is enormous potential for both our planet and the economy. And although a lot of responsibility rests with the companies, the task – and not least the effect when we succeed – is far greater than the individual company. We look forward to continuing the collaboration.