Brazil
Introduction
The global economy remains largely linear: built on the extraction, processing, use, and disposal of materials, it drives environmental degradation and the overshoot of planetary boundaries. [3]
Over the past fifty years, global resource consumption has more than tripled, surpassing 100 billion tonnes [4], while circularity continues to decline—from 7.2% in 2023 to 6.9% in 2025. [5]
Without intervention, material extraction is projected to increase by another 60% by 2060, [6] deepening environmental and social pressures. Brazil, a resource-rich and extractive economy, exemplifies this challenge. Its absolute material consumption is high, driven by extensive domestic extraction. Although per capita use is lower than in high-income countries, Brazil consumes more and recycles less than the global average. At the same time, it holds vast ecological wealth—12% of the world’s forests, [7] the largest freshwater reserves in Latin America, [8] and rich biodiversity—resources at risk under a linear growth model. Continued extraction and burning of fossil fuels threaten to deplete these assets and accelerate carbon emissions. A circular economy offers a viable alternative. By preserving the value of energy carriers and materials through regenerative systems, it shifts away from a model of endless extraction and toward a model built on retention, reuse, and resilience. [9]
Brazil in a linear world
- Brazil is the 5th largest by area and population and the 10th largest economy, with extractive industries driving GDP growth and material use since the 1970s.
- These materials enabled social progress—poverty reduction, higher HDI, longer life expectancy, better education, and a growing middle class—supported by a strong industrial base, trade openness, and global integration.
- Heavy reliance on extraction brings large carbon and material footprints and serious environmental, social, and health impacts.
- Despite its central role, extraction adds relatively little value and jobs compared to non-extractive sectors that transform raw materials into higher-value goods like automobiles, machinery, and electronics.
Brazil is the fifth largest country in both area and population, and ranks as the world’s tenth largest economy [16]. Since the 1970s, extractive industries have driven steady GDP growth and rising material use [17] [18]. These materials are essential to societal functioning and have supported notable socioeconomic progress, including poverty reduction [19], improved income equality, and gains in life expectancy and education [20]. Brazil’s Human Development Index (HDI) score has steadily improved, with a growing middle class reflecting broader advances in well-being [21]. With a strong industrial base, openness to trade, and increasing global integration, Brazil holds significant potential to become an innovation hub and leader in sustainable development. [22]
However, the economy remains heavily reliant on extractive industries, which generate large carbon and material footprints along with significant environmental, social, and health consequences [23]. Large-scale industrial agriculture—particularly soy cultivation and cattle ranching—has driven deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado, resulting in biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and permanent land-use change [24] [25]. Meanwhile, mining operations in states like Minas Gerais and Pará continue to expand into forests and protected areas, requiring new infrastructure and increasing risk of water and soil pollution, leaks, and encroachment on Indigenous territories [26]. While material extraction forms the backbone of the economy, it contributes relatively little in terms of value addition and employment compared to other sectors [27]. In contrast to extractive activities, the majority of jobs and economic value are generated in the non-extractive sectors where raw materials are transformed into high-value semi-finished and finished goods such as automobiles, machinery, and electronics. [28] [29]
Brazil also holds a vast share of the world’s mineral and biomass resources and plays a critical role in maintaining globally critical ecosystems. However, this rich natural heritage is under growing threat from deforestation. [30] The country’s biomes, including the Amazon and the Cerrado, are vital not only to Brazil’s ecosystems but also to global climate regulation and water cycles. [31] These regions supply essential water resources that sustain agriculture, hydropower, and industry, yet are approaching a tipping point where reduced rainfall could jeopardise these systems. [32] Beyond biodiversity, Brazil is also a major supplier of critical raw materials, providing 9% of the world’s aluminium and bauxite, 7% of its graphite, 90% of its niobium, and large quantities of high-quality iron ore [33], further cementing its significance in both ecological and economic terms.
Between vision and action: Circular progress is underway
In late 2023, Brazil enacted Decree No. 12,082, creating the National Circular Economy Strategy (ENEC) [34] — its first coordinated, national-level framework for shifting from a linear to a circular economy. ENEC consolidates scattered initiatives and aims to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste, and embed sustainability across value chains. Industry supports this shift; notably, the National Confederation of Industry includes circularity as a central pillar in its decarbonisation strategy, and highlights a range of existing circular economy practices in Brazilian industry. [35] Brazil also participates in the 17-country Circular Economy Coalition for Latin America and the Caribbean. [36]
Though still nascent, ENEC provides an important compass, positioning the circular economy as a tool to meet broader environmental and societal goals.
It helps Brazil remain within planetary boundaries while promoting wellbeing. It complements Brazil’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and initiatives like the ‘Pact for Ecological Transformation.’ [37]
Yet Brazil’s sustainability policies are rated ‘insufficient’ by the Climate Action Tracker. Without stronger governance, monitoring, and enforcement, [38] [39] current measures will likely lead to rising GHG emissions, putting the country at risk of missing its 2030 sustainability targets (a 59–67% reduction from 2005 levels). [40] [41] [42] Persistent challenges—deforestation, water degradation, and resource overuse—could offset circular gains, underscoring the need to integrate circular economy strategies with climate, biodiversity, and social impact agendas. [43]
Our approach
This report sets out to establish Brazil’s circularity baseline using Material Flow Analysis, providing data-driven insights into how resources move through the economy—and the environmental impacts that follow. It examines the links between material extraction, use, and waste generation, and how these processes intersect with Brazil’s economy and natural ecosystems. Using 2023 as the baseline year, the analysis tracks four key material groups—biomass, non-metallic minerals, metals and fossil fuels—throughout Brazil’s economic system. By applying a consumption-based accounting approach, the report focuses on materials consumed within Brazil’s borders, excluding those destined for export. This lens allows for a clearer view of domestic resource use and the potential for circularity.
Aims of the Circularity Gap Report Brazil:
1. Provide a snapshot of how circular Brazil is by identifying its Circularity Metric and Circularity Indicator Set.
2. Map how materials flow through the national economy and how these flows impact Brazil’s current level of circularity.
3. Identify high-impact sectors that can serve as levers for change.
4. Provide targeted recommendations for action across relevant stakeholder groups.
Foreword
Coming soon
The Circularity Gap Report is an initiative of Circle Economy, an impact organisation dedicated to accelerating the transition to the circular economy.
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