“Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway were among the first in the world to introduce national circular strategies, and yet their circular material use is below the EU-average,” said Eugène Petelin, PhD student at Lund University.

The study, Effects of resource security concerns on Nordic Countries’ approach to the circular economy of metals, published in the scientific journal Sustainable Production and Consumption, applies the argumentative discourse analysis to mineral, circular, and waste management strategies from the Nordic countries.

The aim is to identify interconnections between resource security concerns, suggested circular solutions, and expected outcomes.

Expectations for the circular economy

The findings suggest that the expectation of the circular economy to ensure the secondary metal supply dominates in the Nordic strategies. This expectation stimulates risk-averse circular policies targeting the recycling solution for electronics, batteries, cars, and other metal-based products.

Meanwhile, circular policies that target production and use phases of the product lifecycle get marginalised. The Nordic countries’ focus on securing secondary metal supplies risks to undermine the broader potential of the circular economy and fail achieving the SGD-12 on responsible consumption and production.

“In their approach to metal circularity, Nordics should pay more attention to the impacts on local ecosystems, people’s material sufficiency, and developing countries’ economic, social, and environmental conditions,” said Eugène Petelin.

These findings provide empirical evidence of how resource security concerns can affect prioritisation among circular policies, opening a pathway towards a more inclusive approach to circular transformation.