UK to establish first UN-backed circular economy research centre 

The International Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management in the Circular Economy (UNECE UK ICE-SRM), will be the first circular economy research centre backed by the UN when it opens in April.  Aiming to harness UK academic expertise, the centre will provide policy support, technical advice, and education and training for stakeholders involved in the sustainable consumption of primary raw materials. 

The UNECE will contribute its expertise to explore circularity in areas such as metals, construction and critical minerals to develop effective data, technological innovation, finance models and policy.

Five UK research institutions will initially participate in the centre, which itself will be virtual. They are:

• University of Exeter The UK ICE-SRM will draw heavily on the success of Exeter and other partner institutions in the National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) R&D programme, a four-year £30million investment established by Defra in 2019. Exeter’s role in the NICER programme comes through its Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre for Technology Metals (Met4Tech). Professor Fiona Charnley, co-director of the University of Exeter’s NICER CE-hub, says: “The new centre of excellence will allow the coalition of partners to build on the past four years of the NICER programme to amplify Exeter’s work on CE roadmaps, knowledge exchange, policy tools, business model innovation and executive education and training.”
• Swansea University and Brunel University The centre will draw on Swansea University and Brunel University’s expertise in the metals sector. This includes Swansea’s work on enhanced scrap metal sorting to support recycling and circularity of existing metals, coupled with Brunel’s work to reduce and reuse through increased durability and repair, which will reduce the accumulation of future scrap. Professor Cameron Pleydell-Pearce, director of Sustain, Swansea University’s research hub for a greener steel industry, says: “Improving the quality of scrap metal in the UK is crucial in the shift towards a greener economy. But we can only do this if we focus on improving quality right through the supply chain.”
• University College London (UCL) UCL’s involvement builds on the university’s long-standing leadership in the field of circular economy in the built environment. Since 2021, Professor Julia Stegemann has been director of UCL’s Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre for Mineral-Based Construction Materials, which involves seven co-investigators from across UCL. She has been a founding director of UCL’s Circular Economy Laboratory since 2015.
• The British Geological Survey (BGS) The BGS will contribute its expertise in geodata for mineral resources, resource management good practice and knowledge on how primary raw materials feed into complex value chains. This will ensure the goals and outputs of the centre reflect state-of-the-art research in sustainable resource management for minerals and mineral-based products. The BGS will align existing work programmes in critical and construction minerals to look at how minerals can be sourced more responsibly whilst reducing consumption, continuing the work of the NICER Programme. “By collaborating with experts from academia and the UN, [BGS] can translate scientific excellence into tangible policy goals for more sustainable use of raw materials,” comments Tom Bide, BGS minerals geoscientist. 

So far, these institutions have together contributed £1.85 million to fund the centre’s technical activities.

The outputs

Among its projects, the centre will create three policy placements to implement the UN Resource Management System (UNRMS), which is being developed as a “Swiss army knife” solution to tackle technology and systems challenges that hinder the adoption of circular economy practices.

The UNECE  will promote and disseminate the outputs of the ICE-SRM UK globally through its sustainable resource management (SRM) web pages, its SRM community, and other ICE-SRMs set up in the future. The organisation hopes this will strengthen regional and global policy, build capacity, including training and education to help stakeholders implement sustainable resource management practices, and improve outreach and collaboration.

The new centre will build on existing collaborations between the participating organisations and major European industries, including mining and metals, financial services, engineering and manufacturing, construction and innovation. These collaborations aim to promote the circular economy, reduce carbon emissions, and ensure the sustainable use of resources across Europe and globally. 

Defra says that future partnerships will likely include industry, third sector organisations, other universities (both UK and internationally) and UNECE member states. The details of these partnerships will be released in due course.

The UK’s plans for tackling waste

The new centre will also contribute to the UK government’s Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste programme. Announced in July 2023, this programme aims to bring together a range of measures backed by government funding to keep products and materials in circulation for as long as possible and at their highest value. This includes reuse, repair and remanufacture, and helping to grow the economy and boost employment.

The programme is part of the government’s long-term Resources and Waste Strategy published in 2018, which set out long-term commitments and ambitions to eliminate avoidable waste by 2050.

Further reading

Defra press release

UNECE Resource Management System webpage

UCL press release 

BGS press release

Swansea University press release 

Exeter press release 

Brunel press release