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Perhaps like us, you are a bit frightened about all the news stories and the statistics – the plastic ‘eighth continent’ in the Pacific Ocean, using our natural resources more rapidly than they can be replaced.

The emergence of a circular economy is not just another step in the deployment of sustainable development policies; it is a completely new paradigm. Until now, sustainable development policies have been implemented to limit the environmental and social impact of the production process, rather than questioning the entire production schema, which is linear by nature. Commodities are extracted, transformed, consumed and eventually destroyed.

The circular economy offers an alternative to limit pollution of the sea, air and land and reduce the overexploitation of natural resources.

Proliferation of cheap disposable goods and materials is a key negative by-product of the linear economy.

It now takes 1.6 planets to meet the needs of humanity. And if we do nothing by 2050, it will take three!

The story of the “economic paradise” of Nauru shows perhaps better than any other, in microcosm, the ruin at the end of a linear economy.

The surge in interest in the circular economy issues of climate change, renewables and recycling, has given birth to entire new industries. In this paper, we look at the reasons for the move from the linear to circular economic model, what it would involve, and the opportunities this revolutionary market change presents for investors.

David Czupryna, Lead Fund Manager and Bastien Dublanc, Senior Fund Manager, describe how an ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investment strategy on the theme of the circular economy can contribute to a more sustainable economy along with a long-term fi nancial performance objective.