CGR The Value Gap: Sweden
Introduction
Rethinking value in a circular economy
Sweden now stands at a crossroads. Despite its reputation as a climate leader and welfare pioneer, the country’s consumption patterns are largely unsustainable. This challenge is not unique to Sweden—it reflects a global reality and underscores the urgent need to look beyond materials alone toward the deeper economic structures that shape our societies. At the heart of this lies a fundamental question: what do we value, and how do we measure it?
Sweden faces significant pressures, including high material consumption, low cycling rates, and mounting environmental impacts. Yet it also holds immense potential: a highly educated population, strong institutions, and a culture of innovation provide fertile ground for bold transformation.
As the Circularity Gap Report (CGR®) Sweden demonstrated, carefully designed circular strategies could reduce the country’s material footprint by 43% and more than double its Circularity Metric [2].
This first-of-its-kind report, CGR The Value Gap: Sweden, builds on that foundation. It represents a leading effort to examine the links between resource use and economic value, as well as the economic risks of maintaining a linear paradigm. This is particularly relevant in Sweden, where industry accounts for around 20% of GDP [3] and natural resources are abundant—for instance, Sweden produces approximately 95% of the EU’s iron ore. Building on the global and national CGRs, which map material flows and highlight opportunities for circular strategies, this report expands the frame and asks: systems we build—and where is value lost or not created?
Why focus on value?
This report focuses on where economic value and circular material use already intersect—and where aligning the two can accelerate the transition toward a more regenerative, inclusive, and resilient economy. Value is, as such, a foundational concept in the circular economy—for both practical and strategic reasons:
- Value signals utility, scarcity, and complexity. Not all materials are equal: a kilogram of rare metal used in a wind turbine carries far more societal and economic worth than a kilogram of short-lived plastic packaging. By understanding the relative value of goods and services, we can better prioritise which ones to preserve, cycle, or redesign.
- Value reflects purpose. Products and systems that meet essential needs—such as housing, food, or mobility—must be judged not only by their cost, but by how equitably, efficiently, and sustainably they deliver societal well-being.
In short, value is a connective tissue between resources, society, and the economy. To scale circularity, we must treat value not just as a financial outcome, but as a guiding concept—one that helps us ask not only what flows through the economy, but why, for whom, towards which need, and to what end.
Yet despite its importance, the question of where value is lost—not just where it is created—has received far less attention than material losses measured in mass. Much of the economy allows value to slip away through inefficiencies, discarded products, underutilised assets, and missed opportunities across production, consumption, and even in circular resource systems. Identifying these losses is crucial to making a compelling case for both public and private decision-makers.
From material gaps to value gaps
Sweden’s Circularity Metric, which measures the share of materials in the economy that come from recycled or reused sources rather than newly extracted ones, currently stands at 3% [4]—well below the global average of 6.9%. [5] Yet the challenge goes beyond material inefficiency. It points to a systemic issue: resources are over-extracted, materials wasted, products underused, and social and economic opportunities missed. The Value Gap, however, does not only reflect what is lost—it also represents what was never created. In a more circular system, value could be unlocked through new business models, longer product lifespans, and regenerative practices.
Circular strategies hold the key to closing this Gap. By designing for durability, reuse, and shared ownership, they offer a model in which value is not only preserved but continually created and enhanced. Although this report focuses primarily on economic value—measured in terms of productivity and monetary output—we recognise the need for a broader definition of value. Environmental and social value are equally important, and in some cases, may conflict with economic value. In such instances, economic value should not take precedence. What is most important is that material and economic systems are designed to meet societal needs as efficiently and sustainably as possible.
Aims of CGR The Value Gap: Sweden
- Broaden the scope of circularity by exploring how economic value—not just materials—is impacted by linear practices across the Swedish economy.
- Identify where value is created and lost throughout key economic processes and sectors, highlighting inefficiencies linked to the current linear system.
- Quantify the Value Gap across six key sectors of the Swedish economy providing a first number of the present Value Gap.
- Highlight opportunities for circular strategies that can retain, recover, or regenerate value, strengthening economic resilience and resource efficiency.
The Circularity Gap Report is an initiative of Circle Economy, an impact organisation dedicated to accelerating the transition to the circular economy.
© 2008 - Present | RSIN 850278983