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Executive Summary: Circular Economy Report [2026]

  • Industry Growth Overview: The circular economy market is projected to reach USD 2204.39 billion by 2034, expanding at a 13.20% CAGR between 2025 and 2034. On a granular level, the circular economy market has experienced a growth rate of -4.23% over the past year, as per the Discovery Platform‘s latest data.
  • Manpower & Employment Growth: The circular economy ecosystem engages over 3.2 million professionals worldwide, with 1300 new jobs added in the last year. This workforce supports activities across material recovery, reuse systems, waste valorization, sustainable manufacturing, and low-carbon infrastructure.
  • Patents: The sector features 7400 patents filed by 4900 applicants, with a 2.77% annual patent growth rate. Patent leadership is concentrated in China, issuing more than 4290 patents, followed by the US with over 860 patents.
  • Global Footprint: Key country hubs driving circular innovation include the USA, UK, India, France, and Germany, supported by strong policy frameworks, industrial collaboration, and technology adoption. Major city hubs such as London, Berlin, Paris, New York City, and Melbourne anchor global activity through circular construction, waste-to-value systems, and material exchange networks.
  • Investment Landscape: The average investment value per funding round in the circular economy sector stands at USD 37.7 million, supported by 26 100+ closed funding rounds. More than 18 610+ investors participate in circular ventures across recycling technologies, traceability platforms, circular supply chains, secondary materials marketplaces, and low-carbon manufacturing.
  • Top Investors: The leading investors, including the European Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation, Standard Chartered, and others, collectively invest over USD 9.66 billion across the sector.
  • Startup Ecosystem: Five innovative startups, Aliqindoi (electronics circular ERP), Circotrade (digital building materials passport), ASM (end-to-end material traceability), Material Index (construction material reuse management), and CiRCLR (supply-chain waste tracking), showcase the market’s global reach and entrepreneurial spirit.

 

 

Methodology: How we created this Circular Economy Report

This report is based on proprietary data from our AI-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, which tracks 7 million global companies, 20K+ technologies and trends as well as 150M patents, news articles and market reports. This data includes detailed firmographic insights into approximately 7 million startups, scaleups, and tech companies. Leveraging this exhaustive database, we provide actionable insights for startup scouting, trend discovery, and technology landscaping.

For this report, we focused on the evolution of the circular economy over the past 5 years, utilizing our platform’s trend intelligence feature. Key data points analyzed include:

  • Total Companies working in the sector
  • News Coverage and Annual Growth
  • Market Maturity and Patents
  • Global Search Volume & Growth
  • Funding Activity and Top Countries
  • Subtrends within the circular economy

Our data is refreshed regularly, enabling trend comparisons for deeper insights into their relative impact and importance.

Additionally, we reviewed trusted external resources to supplement our findings with broader market data and predictions, ensuring a reliable and comprehensive overview of the circular economy market.

What Data is used to create this Circular Economy Market Report?

Based on data provided by the StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, we observe that the circular economy market stands out in the following categories relative to the 20K+ technologies and trends we track.

These categories provide a comprehensive overview of the market’s key metrics and inform the future direction of the market.

  • News Coverage & Publications: The circular economy sector receives extensive visibility, with more than 112 800 news publications in the past year.
  • Funding Rounds: It maintains strong financial activity, supported by 26 100 funding rounds captured in our database.
  • Manpower: The industry employs over 3.2 million workers, with more than 1300 new employees added in the last year.
  • Patents: The industry employs over 3.2 million workers, with more than 1300 new employees added in the last year.
  • Yearly Global Search Growth: The global interest is rising, indicated by a 210.24% yearly growth in worldwide search activity.

Explore the Data-driven Circular Economy Market Report for 2025

According to Zion Market Research, the global circular economy market is expected to reach around USD 2204.39 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 13.20% between 2025 and 2034.

The heatmap illustrates the global distribution and activity intensity of the circular economy ecosystem, drawing from a dataset of 3199 startups and 46 400 total companies.

Despite a declining 4.23% industry growth in the past year, the sector is supported by 3.2 million professionals worldwide and an additional 1300 employees added across circular-focused organizations.

Innovation continues to progress, reflected in 7400 patents that capture advancements in waste valorization, material recovery, circular design, resource tracking, and low-carbon production models.

Moreover, the circular economy market size is predicted to reach USD 1323.5 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 13.2% from 2024 to 2030.

Geographically, circular economy activity clusters around established innovation hubs, with the USA, the UK, India, France, and Germany forming the top five country-level centers of development.

At the city level, London, Berlin, Paris, New York City, and Melbourne emerge as the most active hotspots for startup formation, technology commercialization, and policy-driven circular initiatives.

A Snapshot of the Global Circular Economy Market

The circular economy sector shows declining annual growth of 4.23% yet maintains strong entrepreneurial and technology-driven activity globally.

The ecosystem includes 3199 startups driving innovation across recycling, material recovery, circular supply chains, and regenerative models globally.

Early-stage development remains active with 160+ emerging startups and 20+ acquisitions advancing consolidation as players integrate circular technologies.

 

 

Innovation advances globally with 7400 patents filed by 4900 applicants, reflecting investment in circular materials and waste-to-value systems.

Moreover, patent leadership remains concentrated as China issues 4290+ patents and the USA contributes 860+, shaping global circularity worldwide.

Explore the Funding Landscape of the Circular Economy Market

The circular economy investment landscape shows strong financial engagement, with an average investment value of USD 37.7 million per funding round.

This indicates that investors are backing scalable, capital-intensive solutions across waste-to-value technologies, material recovery systems, circular packaging, and low-carbon infrastructure.

The sector attracts a broad and diverse investor base, reflected in more than 18 610 investors participating across venture capital, private equity, development banks, and strategic corporate funds.

Capital activity consists of over 26 100 closed funding rounds. It demonstrates consistent deal flow across early-stage innovation, commercialization, and large-scale circular infrastructure projects.

Investment distribution is also widespread, with more than 7270 companies securing funding. This highlights both the depth of entrepreneurial activity and the growing maturity of circular business models globally.

Who is Investing in the Circular Economy Market?

The top investors collectively contribute more than USD 9.66 billion to the circular economy sector.

 

Top Circular Economy Innovations & Trends

Discover the emerging trends in the circular economy market along with their firmographic details:

 

  • Internet of Things (IoT) domain is supported by 92 200 identified companies and a workforce of 7.4 million employees. The segment continues to extend, adding 2400 new employees in the last year. This indicates strong adoption of sensor networks, connected devices, and automated monitoring systems across circular value chains. With a 17.5% annual growth rate, IoT enables material traceability, real-time waste tracking, predictive maintenance, and closed-loop resource flows.
  • Microplastics management is driven by tightening environmental regulations and rising public awareness. This segment includes 1900 companies employing 77 700 people, with 50+ new employees added in the past year. Its 6.86% annual growth rate highlights growing investment in filtration technologies, biodegradable material science, microplastic detection platforms, and circular packaging innovations that prevent plastic leakage across ecosystems.
  • Decarbonization segment consists of 143 600 companies and 17.4 million employees. The addition of 3700 new employees last year reflects expanding industrial commitments to low-carbon materials, renewable energy integration, carbon capture solutions, and circular production systems. With an 11.8% annual growth rate, decarbonization continues to accelerate as governments and industries prioritize net-zero targets and regenerative resource strategies.

5 Top Examples from 3100+ Innovative Circular Economy Startups

The five innovative circular economy startups showcased below are picked based on data including the trend they operate within and their relevance, founding year, funding status, and more. Book a demo to find promising startups, emerging trends, or industry data specific to your company’s needs and objectives.

Aliqindoi enables Electronics Circular Economy

Spanish startup Aliqindoi enables a SaaS ERP platform that supports the adoption of circular economy models across the electronics sector.

The platform integrates with existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and content management systems (CMS) to connect trade-ins, refurbishers, logistics partners, and retailers into a unified lifecycle network.

 

Credit: Aliqindoi

 

Also, it manages subscription and Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) models and provides pricing intelligence, device testing, and valuation. It supports fleet operations that extend product usefulness.

Moreover, the platform connects external partners such as insurers, financial institutions, and buy-back vendors to coordinate recovery, refurbishment, and redeployment activities.

Its analytics, payments, and logistics modules streamline circular processes through consolidated data, automated transactions, and efficient device transport.

Circotrade builds a Digital Building Materials Passport

French startup Circotrade provides a digital building materials passport that advances circularity in the construction sector.

It begins with CircoScan, which inventories and models a building’s materials to generate a detailed digital record of components and their embodied carbon.

The company also uses CircoPass to quantify and register each material’s circular and carbon footprint, establishing its value, recovery potential, and suitability for secondary use.

Moreover, Circotrade operationalizes these mapped assets through an over-the-counter trading platform that tracks and exchanges future reclaimed materials.

ASM advances End-to-End Material Tracking

Singaporean startup ASM creates an end-to-end material-tracking platform that supports transparent and verifiable circular economy practices.

Its RecyclX platform assigns QR codes to products, batches, or material units so that information updates continuously as materials move across the supply chain.

The platform records each transfer through an automated ledger that secures data with cryptographic techniques and decentralized storage to maintain an unbroken and tamper-proof chain of custody.

Moreover, it generates digital product passports that document origin, composition, environmental footprint, and compliance data. These passports enable organizations to validate green claims and meet extended producer responsibility requirements.

Material Index enables Construction Material Reuse

UK-based startup Material Index provides a digital platform that enables large-scale material reuse across the construction sector.

It catalogs and maps building materials through pre-deconstruction, pre-redevelopment, and in-use phase audits. These audits generate detailed records that identify components suitable for recovery and reuse.

The platform then aggregates these materials into a secure digital passport that supports embodied-carbon reporting, future disassembly planning, and circular asset management.

Moreover, it offers an exchange marketplace where reclaimed and refurbished materials are listed, sourced, and transferred through a network of trade partners.

Its analytics, reporting tools, and organization-wide inventory management further streamline reuse workflows by quantifying carbon savings. They also track storage and coordinate material flows across projects.

CiRCLR offers a Circular Waste Tracking & Exchange Platform

New Zealand-based startup CiRCLR builds a platform that enables businesses to measure, track, and trade waste as part of a circular supply chain system. The platform records waste at the point of generation and traces its movement through blockchain-based tracking to create verified, tamper-proof sustainability data.

 

Credit: CiRCLR

 

It also connects companies with responsible suppliers to support low-emission procurement and resource recovery across value chains.

Moreover, the platform provides reporting tools that quantify waste impacts and emissions and support transparent communication with customers and stakeholders.

Gain Comprehensive Insights into Circular Economy Trends, Startups, and Technologies

In 2026, the circular economy landscape is accelerating as resource pressures, regulatory shifts, and waste-to-value innovation reshape how industries manage materials. The integration of digital product passports (DPPs), end-to-end traceability, and secondary-materials marketplaces is defining the future of circular resource flows.

As organizations advance reuse strategies and embed low-carbon systems into their operations, circularity will become fundamental to global production and supply-chain design.

Get in touch to explore 3100+ startups and scaleups, as well as all market trends impacting circular economy companies.