The World Economic Forum's circular economy definition is "an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design." As opposed to the traditional linear model that transforms raw materials into products that are used once and discarded, the circular model closes the loop by bringing products back into the cycle to enable more regenerative business processes.
A regenerative business process focuses on different ways to utilize the value of a company's assets and products through remanufacturing, refurbishment, reuse, and recycling. This allows companies to generate new revenue streams, move towards a more sustainable business model and achieve their goals to get to "net- zero."
Net-zero is a state in which the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by removal from the atmosphere. It has gained significant traction, with net-zero pledges covering 16% of the global economy in 2019 and recently growing to nearly 80% committed to net-zero by 2050.