An ambitious Circular Economy Growth Plan matters, for the UK and Arup

This post is by Ben Glover, Director and circularity and resources skills leader at Arup. It is part of a series of blogs exploring why different businesses and sectors have been calling for the government to release its delayed Circular Economy Growth Plan

Energy security is a clear focus for the UK, even more than other countries. Haven’t the recent international conflicts taught us that, in a volatile world, there isn’t much help or support from those who hold most of the cards? And what an impact these moments have on all our lives. There is a clear battle between investing in net zero, and a society based on fossil fuels and the longer term focus should be on energy resilience.

After energy security, resource security is the next wave mission to consider in the UK. The recent critical minerals strategy sets out ambitions to start this journey. But a more holistic approach is needed and anticipated in the Circular Economy Growth Plan.

It’s a practical economic strategy
A circular economy is a practical economic strategy that would help the UK become more resilient, productive and competitive. At Arup, we already see the value of circular approaches in day‑to‑day operations: expanding reuse and repair and using materials more efficiently.

We’ve explored some of the benefits of reuse in The reuse playbook – Arup, and on projects like the Brent Cross Town substation where reusing structural steel cut the building’s embodied carbon by over 40 per cent. Material reuse cuts cost, carbon and waste, but there is a real challenge in scaling the practices up across the industry and this is where policy certainty becomes crucial.

That is why we want the UK government to publish an ambitious Circular Economy Growth Plan now. Delays risk damaging momentum towards a more resilient, resource efficient economy. A strong, credible plan would send the signal businesses like ours need to invest further, scale what is already working and accelerate transition across operations. And it would do so in a way that matters to people’s lives, by supporting more affordable options for consumers at a time of high cost pressures.

Circularity is a core principle for Arup
The urgency is sharpened by the planetary boundaries framework which sets out the safe operating space for humanity across nine Earth system processes, where crossing boundaries increases the risk of large scale, potentially irreversible ecosystem change. A circular economy is one of the clearest ways to reduce the pressures that push us beyond those boundaries, by cutting demand for virgin resources and reducing waste and pollution through keeping materials in use for longer. This aligns with Arup’s own sustainability framing, which includes respecting planetary boundaries alongside circularity as a core principle.

This is also fundamentally about delivery against the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), defined by the UN as ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. Arup’s Resources and Critical Materials Business links our focus areas of mining, material suppliers and waste to work that contributes to SDG 12 and accelerates sustainable practices, with the business underpinned by the circular economy.

This is central to Arup’s success because it is fundamental to how we create value for clients across whole systems, from policy and strategy to infrastructure and delivery, while operating within real world constraints. We must treat resources as precious.

Circularity isn’t a side agenda. It is the business logic that connects responsible extraction, smarter supply chains, and higher value recovery of the useful materials that society currently discards.