How community resilience can safeguard future economic resilience. Why we have only been solving with a partial picture.

Background

If you typed the phrase “Circular economy” into Google in 2012, you would have found somewhere between 10–20,000 results. Fast forward to 2025, and that same search now delivers more than 2.5 billion results. The conversation has exploded into the mainstream, signalling that circularity is no longer a niche sustainability concept, but a core framework in global business, policy, and innovation.

The principles of a circular economy, eliminating waste and pollution, keeping materials in use, and regenerating natural systems, are not new ideas. What has shifted is their translation into everyday business applications, which is now more urgent and tangible than ever before.

The transition to a new economic model is underway, but the pace is uneven. Over the past decade, we have excelled at making the case for why this is important. Yet, the critical challenge of how to do it at scale remains unresolved. The business case for circularity, including efficiency, resilience, and long-term value creation still needs some better explaining to business and our political leaders, and remains the primary entry point. But now, in 2025, the environmental and social dimensions should not be treated as secondary.

In the last three years, we have seen the urgency accelerate. COP28 in Dubai (2023) claimed to move the needle on fossil fuel phase-down, and COP30 in Brazil (2025) is set against the backdrop of an escalating biodiversity crisis in the Amazon. The latest IPCC synthesis report (2023) reinforced what scientists and communities have long warned: the climate, nature, and equity crises are interconnected. While global summits continue to produce powerful language around “just transition” and “economic equity,” the translation into systemic, measurable action still lags behind.

The role of Society in systems change

When we consider the construct of Economy, Society, and Environment  or as it is increasingly framed, Economy, Society, and Biosphere, solutions have so far leaned heavily towards the economic and environmental. The social dimension remains underdeveloped, leaving us with partial fixes.

The fragility of our supply chains, made stark by COVID-19, has been reinforced again in the past three years. From extreme weather events disrupting shipping lanes, to geopolitical conflicts reshaping access to energy and raw materials, resilience has become a boardroom obsession. But resilience cannot be engineered only through logistics and infrastructure. True resilience requires investing in the communities at the foundation of global supply chains.

Looking ahead, the pressures are intensifying biodiversity collapse, forced climate migration, water scarcity, food insecurity, commodity volatility, and the growing gap in digital and energy access. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Risks Report, over 30% of global GDP is now at risk within the next 15 years if systemic climate and nature-related risks are not addressed. These are not distant threats,  they are material business risks unfolding in real time.

If companies want to build resilience into their operating models, they must embed social equity and community resilience at the heart of their strategies. This is not philanthropy, it is future-proofing. Circular economy principles, when expanded to include the societal layer, provide a powerful framework to do so.

Building resilience where it matters

The reality is clear: 21st-century businesses depend on distributed, global supply chains that start in communities often least equipped to withstand disruption. These are the places where our textiles are woven, our food is harvested, our metals and minerals are extracted. If those communities are fragile, then the businesses they support are fragile too.

The question business leaders must now ask is:

• Do the communities that underpin our supply chains have access to clean water?

• Do they have secure and nutritious food systems?

• Do they have education and training to build the skills required for the future economy?

• Are they equipped with the infrastructure and healthcare to thrive in an era of climate disruption?

By answering these questions and acting on them, businesses not only strengthen community resilience, but also safeguard their own long-term viability and licence to operate.

This is not just a challenge for developing regions. Inequity exists within advanced economies too, in communities overlooked in the pursuit of growth at all costs. The historic linear model of extraction has stripped away resilience everywhere. The next decade must focus on rebuilding it.

From extraction to restoration

The linear model of “take, make, waste” has eroded skills, opportunities, and ecosystems. By working with communities to co-design solutions that matter locally, businesses can restore trust, create shared value, and build regenerative economic models.

This shift is not about charity; it's about linking strategic risk management and long-term value creation. By integrating social resilience into circular economy strategies, businesses can de-risk their future operations, adapt to a changing climate, and support communities to thrive.

In summary

“You can’t do business on a dead planet.” But equally, you can’t build resilience without addressing root causes.

In 2025, the imperative is clear: replicable, context-specific solutions will matter more than one-size-fits-all scaling. Whether addressing digital divides, access to energy, food systems, or education, solutions must be co-created with communities, informed by local cultural, social, and economic dynamics.

Complex problems rarely have simple answers. But with data, technology, and inclusive design, we already have the tools to co-create solutions that work. What’s missing is the will to put those tools into the hands of the communities that need them most.

Businesses today have a unique opportunity: to build resilience not only into their supply chains, but into the communities that sustain them. By doing so, they mitigate systemic risks and position themselves for long-term success.

Community resilience is economic resilience. Shared value is the path forward. And the circular economy, expanded through a social lens, is the framework to get us there.

- JG