Gandhinagar hosts World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2026

• Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel inaugurated the 10th World Circular Economy Forum at Gandhinagar on September 15. 

• The theme of the forum is ‘Circular Economy: Transition for People and Prosperity’.

• The objective of WCEF 2026 is to showcase India’s initiatives for promoting circularity and enhancing international cooperation.

• The event is being jointly organised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, government of Finland, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), government of Gujarat and Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB).

• Over 2,000 cross-sectoral stakeholders from 65 countries, including business leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers, policymakers, academicians, changemakers and others will participate in the event.

The forum will:

i) Enable global collaboration and greater engagement with the Global South.

ii) Facilitate mobilising of circular finance and private-sector investment.

iii) Encourage policy dialogue and cross-sectoral partnerships.

iv) While advancing innovation, digitalisation and technology for circularity.

What is circular economy?

• A circular economy entails markets that give incentives to reusing products, rather than scrapping them and then extracting new resources.

• This is a departure from the traditional, linear economic model, which is based on a ‘take-make-consume-throw away’ pattern. 

• Circularity focuses on reusing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products and looping them back into the economy as valuable resources. 

• A circular economy reduces material use, redesigns materials, products, and services to be less resource intensive, and recaptures “waste” as a resource to manufacture new materials and products.

• Different forms of waste, such as clothes, scrap metal and obsolete electronics, are returned to the economy or used more efficiently.

• It involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible.

• In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum. When a product reaches the end of its life, its materials are kept within the economy wherever possible thanks to recycling. These can be productively used again and again, thereby creating further value.

• This can provide a way to not only protect the environment, but use natural resources more wisely, develop new sectors, create jobs and develop new capabilities.

• The importance of adopting a “waste-to-wealth” approach lies in reimagining waste as a valuable resource rather than an economic burden and environmental issue. 

• It necessitates a rethinking of material flows within the economy, emphasizing the recovery, reuse, and reintegration of value. 

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)