Share your views on England's Circular Economy Strategy

The Yorkshire Circular Lab is supporting Defra to hear from people from the Yorkshire and Humber region for the preparation of a new government strategy on circular economy. We will host two workshops in February 2025 inviting the views of diverse people.

Preparing a Circular Economy Strategy together

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is preparing a Circular Economy Strategy for England. This will help us to make the best use of all materials and products that we have in our lives. From the food on your plate to clothes, electronics, construction materials, and much more.

Circular economy is important because handling materials and making products is often energy intensive. As a result, materials and products are driving half of the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change.

We have to move away from a “linear” consumption of materials, in which we take, make and waste products, and towards a circular economy instead. In a circular economy everybody could consume less materials and products by increasingly sharing products, repairing and reusing things, and recycling products that cannot be used anymore.

Exactly what a circular economy (link to article published in 2021 under the previous UK Government) in England will look like depends on all of us. You can have a voice in the preparation of the strategy that will shape the country’s circular economy in the next years. Your voice matters, because the proposed solutions may affect people, including you, in a variety of ways.

Inviting expressions of interest

The Yorkshire Circular Lab is inviting expressions of interest from anyone in the Yorkshire and Humber region who may be interested in shaping the country’s Circular Economy Strategy. We will hold two workshops in February 2025. One will be in person in Leeds, for which we may be able to offer support with travel costs, and one will be online for which you will need access to a PC/laptop with a good internet connection.

1. In the first workshop we will get to know each other, explain what a circular economy is, and talk about what you consider important, including your beliefs, current behaviours and possible challenges for using circular economy solutions.
2. In the second workshop we will talk about circular economy solutions from Defra’s Circular Economy Taskforce, and ask for your ideas about solutions that would work best for you.

You do not need to have any knowledge of circular economy to take part in the workshops. We are especially interested to hear from people who are not normally involved in circular economy initiatives or any form of government policy preparations. The workshops are open to those new to circular economy and to those with a lot of expertise on the subject.

Please follow this link to complete an expression of interest form by 30. January 2025 (link will open in new window). Based on the questions that we will ask you, we will select a group of people best able to represent the diversity of the region within the workshops.

Using your perspectives

All views shared with us will be anonymised before being shared with Defra in a report detailing the findings of the workshops. The report and its findings will help shape ideas for England’s Circular Economy Strategy.

This project is the first step in ensuring that a diverse range of voices and opinions are included in the development of the Circular Economy Strategy. We expect further activities to take place later in 2025 to ensure that the perspectives of people across England are heard and included in the strategy.

Questions and comments

Please feel free to contact Dr Anne Velenturf at A.Velenturf@leeds.ac.uk with any questions or comments about this project and the expression of interest.