On Thursday 28 July, the world has used up the raw materials and resources that our planet can produce in one year. This means that from Friday we will start living on credit. The day is called Earth Overshoot Day. The day of overconsumption occurs increasingly earlier in the year. In the last 35 years, the date has shifted by three months. In 1980 the day was towards the end of November, in 2000 at the beginning of September. The graph shows how the date for World Overconsumption Day falls ever earlier in the year, ever since 1971 until 2022. Photo: data.footprintnetwork.org Human overconsumption has put us in a serious natural crisis, and the world’s ecosystems are on the brink of collapse. The reason is explosive growth in the consumption of goods. The entire world together today consumes as much as 1.75 Earths manage to produce in one year. Europe’s worst And Norway ends up at the top of the world, as number 11 on the list of those who initially spend more than we have, more than three months ahead of the world average. On 12 April, Norway has overconsumption day. At the same time, Norway is the worst in terms of circular economy in Europe. According to a report, only 2.4 percent of the goods we use go back into the cycle. The rest becomes waste that is not useful as new goods again. Of all the resources consumed in this country, more than 97 per cent are not circulated back into the economy. Most of what we buy therefore ends up in landfill. And everything we buy requires the extraction of completely new raw materials from nature. If everyone were to consume as much as us, we would need 3.6 earths. After Norway, Sweden comes with 3.4 per cent circular economy. The best is the Netherlands with 24.5 percent. The global average is 8.6 per cent. In the spring of 2021, the Solberg government presented Norway’s first national strategy for a green, circular economy. – Many think Solberg’s strategy was lax. But it is based on the relatively ambitious circular strategy in the EU’s new Green Deal. If it is followed, it is a huge step in the right direction. But a strategy without an action plan means little. That’s what Ellen Anette Høvik, communications manager at Circular Norway, says. The company advises businesses and municipalities on circular economy, and is eagerly awaiting the action plan that the Støre government has promised. Also WWF, the Norwegian Nature Conservation Association and Framtiden i når hands are impatient. They come with the following order to Støre: Nature and climate budget so we come within the planet’s tolerance limits. Authorities and businesses must report on how circular they are. Requirements that companies must collect, recycle, repair and reuse goods they sell. Environmental taxes on virgin (new) resources will make recycling and reuse cheaper. VAT exemption on repairs, rental and second-hand sales. State support schemes to develop new technology and solutions for circular economy. Will develop new product regulations But according to State Secretary in the Ministry of Climate and the Environment, Aleksander Øren Heen, it is not just about starting these measures. – Much of what we consume in Norway is not produced in Norway, he says and continues: – An example here is textiles. We depend on the products being designed with durability, reuse and material recycling in mind. Here, the European Commission will develop and introduce mandatory ecodesign criteria to increase textiles’ durability, reusability, that they can be repaired and materials recycled, and that you must report on harmful substances in textiles. Heen says the government is continuously working on measures that promote a greener circular economy. He points out, among other things, that stricter requirements were laid down in May to ensure that we sort and recycle more of the waste, including for plastic and bio-waste. – The government is also ready to take responsibility through the development of new product regulations, which will ensure that we can make the same demands as the EU, says the state secretary. In the new regulations, seven value chains will be prioritized: Electrical and electronic products Batteries and vehicles Textiles Packaging Plastic Construction and building materials Food, water and nutrients State Secretary Aleksander Øren Heen says the government is working on measures that promote a greener circular economy. Photo: CECILIE BERGAN STUEDAL New framework from the EU On 30 March 2022, the European Commission presented a framework to ensure sustainable and circular products. The framework contains a message about how sustainable products will become the new norm and proposals for a new ecodesign regulation. – The EU is now coming, little by little, with specific requirements for content in products that make it possible to use virgin raw materials – again – by reusing, recycling, repairing and so on, says EU adviser and MDG politician Paal Frisvold. Virgin raw materials are materials or substances that have been processed to go into the production of new materials or products. One of the requirements is more information about products, including digital product passports. – Just the concept that all products should have a digital passport with information about raw materials, production methods and the like will eventually revolutionize the way we relate to products – and be able to link the players in the market together, says Frisvold. Paal Frisvold says digital product passports that the EU is about to introduce will revolutionize the way we relate to products. Photo: Sara Vannebo Wilsgaard / Waste Norway Needs other values It’s not enough to just be circular, warns Einar Kleppe Holthe in Nordic Circular Hotspot. – In Norway, we have developed an approach to resource use and disconnected ourselves from nature in a way that threatens our own existence. We need to create other types of value, where quality is more important than quantity. Quality of life over materialism. The understanding of a rich life must be redefined. – What will happen if we Norwegians are unable to change our consumption patterns? – Then we will become a developing country in the new era. Because there is no way around it. Nature, the climate, geopolitical relations and security depend on this change. If Norway fails to do so, we will lose competitiveness, reputation, relevance, talents and tourists. Aleksander Øren Heen agrees that consumers have an important role in increasing demand for more sustainable products, solutions and secondary raw materials. – The authorities can facilitate more sustainable consumption. We have a “toolbox” that will make it easier to be a responsible consumer in the market. Such as voluntary environmental labelling, certification schemes and the right to environmental information, he says.
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