1. Roundtable discussion
Green and Decent Jobs
Patrick Schroeder
London, 13 November 2017

2. Circular economy and the digital transformation – where’s the link?
Data from: Sverdrup et al. (2012) Peak Metals, Minerals, Energy, Wealth, Food and Population; Urgent Policy Considerations for A Sustainable Society

3. Artificial intelligence Business opportunities Digital transformation
Circular economy in development studies
Circular economy practices exist across a wide spectrum of industries and sectors
Artificial intelligence
Product innovation
Business opportunities
Internet of Things
Digital transformation
Smart devices
Informal sector
Livelihoods
Health and safety
Inequality
Child labour
Marginalisation

4. The circular economy and employment
In France, the CE represents roughly 800,000 full-time equivalent jobs, or 3% of the total French workforce (France Stratégie, 2016).
In the UK, Morgan and Mitchell (2015) estimate that a “Transformation” scenario with substantial increases in recycling (up to 85%) and remanufacturing (up to 50%), 517,000 new skilled jobs could be created by 2030, compared to only 31,000 low skilled jobs in a “No new initiatives” scenario.
The European Environment Bureau (EEB, 2014) estimates European CE employment opportunities ranging from 634,769 (modest scenario) to 747,829 (ambitious scenario) by 2025.

5. The circular economy and employment

6. The circular economy – can be a virtuous circle…
Case studies from Brazil, Ghana, Kenya and India demonstrate how supporting (and removing obstacles
to) circular economy business models can provide a triple win:
increasing productivity and economic growth
improving the quality and quantity of employment
saving lives, by reducing environmental impacts such as water pollution, air pollution and climate change

7. The circular economy – can be a virtuous circle…
“Virtuous Cycle” case study Automotive repair and remanufacturing cluster in Ghana
The Kumasi industrial cluster in Ghana is a major automotive re-manufacturing and repair cluster in West Africa. It is a prominent example of the scale and economic benefits of circular business models in developing countries,
with the extent of activity surpassing anything found in Europe: 200,000
workers are employed (up from 40,000 in the early 1980s) in more than 12,000 businesses.

8. Automated recycling vs livelihoods?
…but be careful what you wish for!
Employment from e-waste repair and recycling
Automated recycling vs livelihoods?

9. Industry 4.0 – circular textiles industry
Amazon’s “on-demand apparel manufacturing system” patent

10. Impacts on women employment in developing countries
Impacts on low and middle income countries through disruption on textile supply chains
Future trade in textiles localised production and consumption systems
Traditional development pathway for low and middle income countries via textiles industry blocked - “premature deindustrialization”

11. Thank you for your attention!
Patrick Schröder