Circularity and sustainable energy

The Sustainable Energy Solutions Catalogue is designed for users both within and outside the scope of SESA. Inside SESA, it offers an introduction to solutions that can be utilized in collaboration with various stakeholders, including local governments and civil society. Additionally, the catalogue updates users within the project about activities at SESA validation and replication sites. Externally, it informs users about the various solutions tested during SESA project implementation and serves as a comprehensive source of introductory information on sustainable energy solutions for a diverse set of stakeholders. 

Today’s predominantly linear economy works by using resources to manufacture products which are later disposed of at the end of their useful life. A circular economy can be defined as a sustainable economic system where the loop linking waste and raw materials is closed, and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. Achieving circularity in businesses and economies is a necessary step to sustainability, as well as a source of economic opportunities. This factsheet focuses on how different approaches to circularity can be integrated into different sustainable energy solutions (such as sustainable e-mobility or solar off-grid solutions) in the African context. It also presents the socio-economic impacts of circularity and the potential for scaling up the approaches, and gives examples of the application of circularity principles in sustainable energy in the African context and within the SESA project.