Circular ASEAN: programme introduction

The Circular ASEAN programme is one of the Southeast Asia Public Policy Institute’s core programmes, exploring the region’s journey and policy solutions to support greater sustainability and the emergence of a circular economy. 

Introduction 

The concept of a ‘circular economy’ imagines a new model for production and consumption, one that addresses the waste, emissions and other negative externalities through enhanced design choices and the reuse, repair, recycling and recovery of products. The circular economy is juxtaposed against the tradition ‘linear’ economy, where materials and energy are inputs into production that leads directly to emission and waste after consumption. At the core of the circular economy concept is the idea that materials and energy should be conserved and re-used or re-purposed to the greatest extent possible, including in some cases advocating the choice not to produce or consume at all. 

Circularity is gaining momentum globally, with global organisations such as the World Economic Forum establishing platforms and dialogues on how to accelerate the circular economy. The EU launched a Circular Economy Action Plan in 2020, which will drive a range of policy and regulatory measures, from addressing microplastics through EU chemicals regulations, to revising packaging legislation, reviewing industrial emissions, and updating eco-design regulations. Elsewhere, the concept is central to efforts to reduce emissions from industry and agriculture with a view to meeting country commitments to the Paris Agreement, to addressing waste and recycling and resource use. 

While circularity is a relatively nascent unifying approach to sustainability in Southeast Asia – individual programmes and policies to address waste, emissions, etc. notwithstanding – in 2021 ASEAN adopted the Framework for Circular Economy for the ASEAN Economic Community. The framework acts as a starting point for policy development and dialogue across ASEAN and with multiple government, private sector and civil society stakeholders. Priority areas include the harmonisation of standards and facilitating trade on circular goods and services; harnessing innovation, technology, sustainable finance, and investments; and promoting resource efficiency.¹ At the APEC summit in 2022, leaders agreed to the Bangkok goals on the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy, supporting the use of technology and innovation to create value, reduce waste and promote sustainable consumption. ASEAN has since also created the ASEAN BCG Network to further these goals in the region. Both of these frameworks provide a solid, if high-level, policy base for national-level circular economy policies. 

Circularity provides a guiding set of principles to address a wide range of environmental issues that are impacting middle-income countries in particular. ASEAN faces a wide range of well-documented challenges from climate change, excess waste, pollution, deforestation, intense urbanisation, and unrestrained resource extraction. There is significant opportunity to adopt circular concepts into the region’s next phase of development, driven by a combination of new innovative technologies, best practice policy, and political commitment to sustainability from governments, the private sector, investors and civil society. 

Programme outline 

The Circular ASEAN programme will explore the progress being made in Southeast Asia markets and conduct research on best practice policy that can apply to the regional context.  The programme will explore the following areas: 

1. Packaging 

Plastic waste is a huge global problem, with implications for land, water and air pollution; human and animal health; contamination of the food supply chain; land-use, and economic impacts in areas like tourism. Countries in Southeast Asia are among the most affected and among the worst perpetrators of plastic waste. Half of the world’s top ten contributors or marine plastic waste are ASEAN member states. Collectively, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are responsible for more than 60 percent of plastic waste in the world’s oceans. Moving into 2024, several countries in the region are implementing or developing extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulation, creating frameworks for the collection of plastic and other waste, funded by the industries that produce them. This presents a huge opportunity not only to stop plastic waste, but also to build the value chains for the collection and production of recycled materials for use in the future.  

2. Fashion and textiles 

The fashion and textiles industry has been one of the most polluting and energy intensive industries, while also creating products that are often treated by consumer as single-use. Southeast Asia is a global hub for the industry, meaning a more circular approach in the region would have global impact. While governments in the region have addressed elements of the environmental impact of the fashion industry e.g. river pollution; there has been limited action along the broader value chain, despite pressure from civil society. However, circularity is a major focus of many leading international fashion brands’ sustainability strategies. Circular fashion is described as: “clothes, shoes or accessories that are designed, sourced, produced and provided with the intention to be used and circulated responsibly and effectively in society for as long as possible in their most valuable form, and hereafter returned safely to the biosphere when no longer of human use.” Building the value chains for this to happen will take significant incentives and clear and intentional policy as well as political commitment. 

3. E-waste 

e-waste is a growing environmental concern in Southeast Asia, with the potential impact of hazardous materials in electronic products on the environment and human health as waste from consumer electronics products builds up and finds its way to the region from abroad. However, e-waste also provides a significant opportunity in the recovery of materials that can be recycled, thus reducing the need for primary resources to be mined and processed. As with efforts to reduce plastic waste, a holistic policy approach must include public communications, better collection, and support for value chains that can help re-use or recycle products effectively and safely. 

4. Food and Agriculture 

Food loss and waste along the food supply chain, and the practices and emissions from agriculture are important areas of focus for the circular economy. With over 500 million mouths to feed, any reduction in the environmental impact of the food economy in Southeast Asia would be globally significant, while the region also presents a test-bed for agricultural innovation. Policy interventions range from regulation and support for agricultural inputs such as fertiliser, innovations in food and agricultural productions, support for reforestation and rewilding, treating waste as a resource, and policies aimed at retailers and consumers to reduce food waste in the last mile. 

Programme goals 

Working across the above policy areas, the Circular ASEAN programme will: 

1. Explore best practice policy for building the circular economy in Southeast Asia 

This will include identifying and highlighting best practice within the region and elsewhere that can be replicated in Southeast Asia, from national policy to local, community-driven projects, and private sector initiatives. 

2. Build the economic case for circularity in ASEAN 

Programs to address waste and sustainable consumption will gain momentum if there is a solid economic rationale behind them. Whether it is building a plastic recycling value chain, or recovering rare earth minerals from e-waste, a circular economy can create value as well as reducing the impact of economic activity on the environment. This economic case will vary across the region, but a regional approach on issues such as waste could support real change on the ground, as well as making Southeast Asia more attractive for responsible investment, tourism, and more. 

3. Convene stakeholders and policymakers to drive the conversation on circularity 

The programme will host a series of dialogues at the regional level, between complementary markets and at the national level to drive the discussion forward. 

About the Southeast Asia Public Policy Institute 

The Southeast Asia Public Policy Institute is a research institute based in Bangkok and Singapore, working across the region. Our mission is to support the development of solutions to the most pressing public policy challenges facing Southeast Asia in the 21st century. The Institute undertakes in-depth research to develop actionable policy solutions on a range of issues across sustainability, technology, public health, trade, and governance. We convene dialogues with stakeholders and decisionmakers to drive discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing markets across the region. The Institute draws on a network of in-market researchers, advisors, and partners to provide insights and recommendations for governments, policymakers, and businesses.