Norway must focus on absolute reductions in its material footprint, supported by clear sectoral targets. These targets can help identify where circular practices can thrive and highlight practices that require reevaluation. To do so, stakeholders should:

• Create working groups including government representatives, specific industry associations, research institutions, and non-profit organisations;

• Use baseline data (like this report) to determine realistic yet ambitious targets for specific time frames such as 2030 and 2050. For example, the built environment sector could aim to reduce its material footprint by 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050 (from 1990 levels);

• Co-create roadmaps outlining specific actions over time, for each stakeholder group;

• Identify policy barriers across programmes so that policymakers can work on them simultaneously;

• Monitor progress over time through established monitoring frameworks that focus on business and value chain level circular performance, such as the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI), Circular Transition Indicators (CTI), ISO 59020 and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 306.

Policies must enable businesses to transition to more circular practices by addressing financial, legal and structural barriers, ensuring that secondary materials can be prioritised and that circular strategies are competitive and accessible. To achieve this, policymakers must:

• Make secondary materials more cost-competitive. To achieve better economies of scale, this could involve imposing tariffs on imported primary materials or stimulating local industries that supply/demand secondary materials (such as through public procurement).
• Incentivise circular business models, such as tax reductions on reuse, repair, and refurbishment services, and subsidise businesses that shift from sales to service- based models.
• Invest in infrastructure that facilitates the transition, such as collection services, sorting facilities and digital material passport systems.
• Raise awareness among businesses and citizens about the importance of a circular economy for reducing environmental impact through campaigns and training programmes, for example.

Businesses that depend on materials, either directly or indirectly, must close their material loops and reduce reliance on foreign resources to enhance resilience whilst promoting sustainability. To accomplish this, businesses must:

• Research the relevant circular economy regulations and legislation that must be followed, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), to ensure compliance and align with circularity goals;
• Use tools such as Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to map the use of materials, in-house and along the entire supply chain, and the environmental and social impacts they are having;
• Analyse where virgin materials and critical materials are being relied upon, and where most environmental and social impacts are coming from;
• Find hotspots from the mapping and analysis where circular design and the use of reused, refurbished, and repaired materials should be prioritised;
• For materials and products that must be sourced from abroad, prioritise those that promote circular practices and materials;
• Create and engage in business and industry associations/coalitions to push for systemic supply chain reforms.