1.1 Planetary boundaries
Why we need to save resources and the circular economy
The concept of planetary boundaries describes the ecological limits of our planet within which humanity can exist safely. It identifies nine planetary boundaries that are central to the stability of the Earth system - including the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, land-use change and freshwater use. If these boundaries are exceeded on a permanent basis, the risk of irreversible environmental changes increases, threatening life on Earth. Current research shows that several of these planetary boundaries have already been significantly exceeded - with increasingly tangible ecological, social and economic consequences.
Resource consumption as a driver of the climate and biodiversity crises
A key reason why planetary boundaries are being exceeded is the rapidly rising consumption of natural resources. The main driver is our prevailing growth-oriented and linear economic model. This model still relies on the assumption that nature is an inexhaustible source of raw materials and an infinitely resilient sink for waste. In many cases, we extract raw materials without regard for the ecological and social consequences, convert them into energy or transform them into products and goods of all kinds, and tend to use them only for a short time. Afterwards, in the absence of waste management systems, we dispose of these goods - and the raw materials they contain - back into the soil, water and air, where they can overload and severely damage the ecosystem.
The global material footprint - that is, the total amount of raw materials required to produce products and services - has more than tripled, rising from 30 billion tonnes in 1970 to 107 billion tonnes in 2024. Without coordinated measures, global consumption of resources such as biomass, fossil fuels, metals and minerals is expected to grow to around 190 billion tonnes by 2060. This is accompanied by negative climate and environmental impacts (loss of biodiversity, high water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, etc.).
Earth Overshoot Day serves as a benchmark for the transgression of planetary boundaries. In 2025, all natural resources available to us globally for that year were already exhausted by 24 July. Earth Overshoot Day varies considerably between countries of the Global North and the Global South: Austria reached its Earth Overshoot Day as early as 29 March 2025. Like all industrialised countries, we live almost entirely at the expense of others by consuming more finite resources than we return to ecological and technical cycles. Within our own society, too, resource consumption is closely linked to income.
Up to 50 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and more than 90 per cent of biodiversity loss and water stress are attributable to the extraction and processing of resources. The production of steel, cement, plastics, paper and aluminium alone accounts for 36 per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Resource consumption is therefore one of the main drivers of the climate and biodiversity crises.
From linear to circular
To achieve climate and environmental goals and ensure sustainable development, our current linear economic model must undergo fundamental change. The dramatic transgression of almost all planetary boundaries clearly shows that the consumption-oriented throwaway economy is failing. Compliance with planetary boundaries requires systemic changes in economic processes and objectives. In addition, the necessary framework conditions must be created and social behaviour must be adapted.
The current linear economic system is geared towards consumption rather than use. Resource consumption plays only a secondary role in company performance indicators and prices. Even with a massive increase in resource efficiency, (quantitative) economic growth and (primary) resource consumption cannot be completely decoupled. The consequential costs of high raw-material consumption and the resulting ecological and social damage are scarcely internalised in prices (e.g. costs for the health system resulting from environmental pollution, the restoration of essential ecosystems or risks in global supply chains).
The objective of the circular economy is to design and use products and materials in such a way that waste does not occur in the first place. From the manufacturing stage onwards, attention is paid to durability, repairability, reusability and recyclability. At the end of their service life, the raw materials and components they contain should be returned to technical or biological cycles as fully as possible. Shared use (“sharing”) and associated services also contribute to these objectives. What was once regarded as waste thus becomes a valuable resource in the cycle - and a key lever for a resource-saving approach, climate protection and security of supply.
Value creation in the circular economy - unlike in the linear economy - arises from product maintenance and repair as well as from new opportunities for extending product lifetimes and reusing products. Opening up new markets for sustainable consumer goods and services can significantly increase value creation and avoid substantial costs of inaction, for example those resulting from environmental impacts.
Minimising resource consumption as far as possible while at the same time safeguarding competitiveness through a circular economy will be crucial for achieving climate and environmental goals and ensuring our security of supply. The geopolitical developments of recent years have shown that there are major uncertainties in the supply of resources and energy. The circular economy offers a major opportunity to increase independence and make supply chains more robust. This applies in particular to critical raw materials that are of high economic importance and entail a high supply risk (see also Chapter 3).
Circular economy and social justice
Aligning the economy with circular principles means not exceeding ecological limits. This ensures long-term quality of life; social minimum standards are equally important in achieving this. Providing public transport and affordable housing, as well as ensuring access to water, education and health services, is fundamental - and constitutes a core responsibility of the City of Vienna. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are pursued at all levels in Vienna, offer an already established framework for this.
High quality of life for all through maximum resource saving
By combining the goals of quality of life and resource saving, Vienna pursues the approach of the doughnut economy, which describes economic development within a safe and just operating space. The doughnut model visualises two boundaries. The social foundation: no one should fall below a certain level of basic provision (education, health, income) - everyone should enjoy a good life. The ecological ceiling: economic activity must be designed in such a way that planetary boundaries (climate crisis, biodiversity loss, etc.) are not exceeded.
This reorientation requires the establishment of new business models and promotes local value creation, regional economic cycles and future-ready and fair forms of work. In the spirit of the doughnut economy, the circular economy influences social foundations through saving resources and becomes a strategic issue for security of supply, economic location policy and the social and societal resilience of the City.
Vienna has many opportunities to stimulate the transformation towards a circular economy and to harness its benefits and potential. The public procurement volume of the City and its companies, amounting to several billion euros per year, is a central lever for supporting and advancing circular investments, products and services on the market.
As a national innovation centre with companies and innovators of different organisational forms, sectors and sizes, Vienna is ideally positioned to advance the design and testing of the circular economy within society and to make economic use of it.