A 2019 report commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada found that in just six circular industrial sectors in Canada, 371,000 – 379,000 jobs had been created while 1.6 million tonnes of CO2e annual emissions were avoided. Even with limited data, these sectors saved 470,000 tonnes of material from the landfill!

The value retention processing market (VRP; i.e. reuse, repair, refurbishment) of the six circular industrial sectors generated approximately CAD $44 billion in 2019.

In 2017, Canada’s industrial sector accounted for 70 million tonnes of CO2 emitted, while the country’s entire economy generated 720 million tonnes of CO2. The estimated 1.6 million tonnes of CO2e reduced in the six sectors studied in 2019 demonstrated, even at the study’s conservative lower estimate, circular economy jobs and innovations were significant.

Now, imagine if all industrial sectors across the country adopted circular approaches!