Economies worldwide fundamentally depend on materials, yet a significant portion of their value is lost at each stage of production, use, and disposal. Each year, an initial estimate of €25.4 trillion (± €4.7 trillion) in economic value is lost due to resource inefficiencies, premature product disposal, and underutilised assets. Compared with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of €82.6 trillion, this highlights the immense scale of material-related losses.

The Value Gap, introduced in this edition of the global Circularity Gap Report, quantifies, for the first time, the avoidable economic value lost through linear economic practices. It provides a concrete lens on the scale of inefficiencies in today’s take-make-waste economy, revealing how and why value disappears. These losses reflect not only direct economic costs, but also hidden environmental and social burdens, including pollution, resource depletion, human health impacts and reduced labour productivity. This gap is not just a measure of loss—it represents an opportunity for circular interventions to retain more value, reduce waste generation, and strengthen long-term prosperity.