171 Dr. Patrick Schröder: circular economy policymaking – progress and barriers

Dr. Patrick Schröder, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, assesses the progress and barriers for circular economy policymaking. Patrick Schröder specializes in the circular economy, climate change, resource governance, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His work brings together science, policy, and media to help further evidence-based policies, communicate complex sustainability issues, and promote equitable governance solutions at the multilateral level.

Patrick is currently the Coordinating Lead Author for one of the three working groups for the IPCC Assessment Report 7, reporting on Mitigation of Climate Change, and he is also the Coordinating Lead Author for the UN Global Environment Outlook 7. Patrick holds a PhD in Environmental Studies, and is now studying part-time for a second PhD in circular and regenerative design with the Centre for Sustainable Design.

In 2024, UNIDO and Chatham House published a ground-breaking global stocktake of 75 national circular economy roadmaps featuring more than 2,800 policy actions. The first roadmap, from Japan, was published in 1999, and since 2016, as governments strive to accelerate their circular transitions, over 70 countries have published national circular economy roadmaps and strategies.

The review aims to ‘bridge knowledge gaps and shed light on critical aspects of these publications’, and the authors point to a ‘significant lack of focus on the need to ensure a just and inclusive’ transition, warning that a ‘lack of recognition of the need to work collaboratively with the global community’ risks derailing a global just transition.

Patrick tells us how he currently sees the global state of play for circular economy policies and roadmaps, where progress is happening and from a policymaking perspective, what is holding it back.

The team at Chatham House have created a micro-site – circulareconomy.earth – and Patrick tells us more about that, and how we can use it.

Stay in touch for free insights and updates… 

Read on for more on our guest and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention.

Links we mention in the episode:

Links for our guest:

• DISCOUNT CODE for A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business https://www.koganpage.com/CircEcon3 buy direct from the publisher Kogan Page, which ships worldwide (free shipping to UK and US) and you can use discount code KOGANPAGE25 for 25% off the book. This offer also applies to Kogan Page’s bundle option (print plus e-book for the same price as the print edition). 
• Read more about the book and download the Introduction: circulareconomyhandbook.com
• Read more about Patrick Schröder: https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/patrick-schroder
• Patrick Schröder’s publications on Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xeaCha8AAAAJ&hl=en
• Patrick Schröder on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-schr%C3%B6der-b5789119/?originalSubdomain=uk
• The circular economy global policy microsite: circulareconomy.earth

Books, people and organisations we mentioned

• The Chatham House paper launched during the Summit of the Future in NY:
  https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/09/how-circular-economy-can-revive-sustainable-development-goals
• Patrick’s paper on the SDGs and Circular Economy in the Journal of Industrial Ecology: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patrick-Schroeder-9/publication/344220320_The_Relevance_of_Circular_Economy_Practices_to_the_Sustainable_Development_Goals/links/5f85b316458515b7cf7c9143/The-Relevance-of-Circular-Economy-Practices-to-the-Sustainable-Development-Goals.pdf
  Human Development and Circular Economy paper (co-authored by Patrick Shroeder with Peter Desmond and Alex Lemile): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344920300082
• The Lancet Countdown on health and plastics https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01447-3/abstract
• Episode 166 Circularity Gap Report 2025: insights https://www.rethinkglobal.info/166-circularity-gap-report-2025-insights/  
• Episode 119 Ken Webster: the circular ECONOMY https://www.rethinkglobal.info/119-ken-webster-the-circular-economy/
• Episode 119 Bonus Ken Webster: the circular ECONOMY! Part 2 https://www.rethinkglobal.info/119-bonus-ken-webster-the-circular-economy-part-2/

Guest bio

Patrick Schröder is a senior research fellow at Chatham House. He specializes in the circular economy, climate change, resource governance, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  He works at the intersection of science, policy, and media to advance evidence-based policies, communicate complex sustainability issues, and promote equitable governance solutions at the multilateral level.

He currently serves as Coordinating Lead Author for the IPCC Assessment Report 7 (WG III – Mitigation) and Coordinating Lead Author for the UN Global Environment Outlook 7. He holds a PhD in Environmental Studies from Victoria University of Wellington, NZ, and currently studies part-time for a second PhD in circular and regenerative design with the Centre for Sustainable Design.

Chatham House – The Royal Institute of International Affairs – is a world-leading policy institute based in London, dedicated to helping governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world. The Environment and Society Centre (ESC) at Chatham House examines how environmental change intersects with global economics, politics, and society. Its work focuses on advancing systemic solutions to address climate change, resource governance, and accelerate circular economy transitions — fostering dialogue and evidence-based strategies that align environmental sustainability with social equity and geopolitical realities.

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