The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) has released its Circular Economy Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) strategy, covering the period 2024 to 2034. The document sets out how research, development and innovation can support South Africa’s shift away from a linear economic model.
The strategy responds to a stark diagnosis. South Africa’s economy was only 6% circular in 2017, well below the global average of 9,1%. Of materials extracted that year, 19% were exported, 38% went to energy, 35% became waste and just 15% built local societal stocks, a rate three times lower than the European Union average. Five of the country’s 18 critical or strategic minerals have less than 50 years of economically viable mining life remaining. Water demand is expected to exceed supply by 17% by 2030, and the energy sector’s 80% dependence on coal continues to constrain productivity through regular outages.
Conservative CSIR modelling cited in the strategy indicates circular economy measures could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2050 relative to 2019 levels, addressing roughly half the gap between South Africa’s current climate commitments and the reductions required under the Paris Agreement.
Three priority sectors
Aligned with the STI Decadal Plan (2022–2032), the strategy targets mining, agriculture and manufacturing as the sectors most in need of innovation-led modernisation.
For mining, the objective involves evidencing the country’s minerals and metals resource base, with particular emphasis on critical raw materials, while reducing resource demand and waste generation. Three priority areas are identified: resource security; resource efficiency, including precision mining; and diversifying sources through urban mining and recovery from waste streams such as WEEE and end-of-life vehicles. Notably, the sector has been slow to adopt green technologies, with only 11,6% of mining and quarrying businesses using them against 55,4% for IIoT applications, according to the HSRC’s Business Innovation Survey.
Agriculture’s objective centres on decoupling food and feed production from resource consumption. Four priority areas span resource efficiency (precision agriculture, smart irrigation), regenerative practices such as zero till and permaculture, sustainable agro-processing, and biorefinery approaches to residual organic waste. The sector already shows strong innovation uptake, with 67,1% of agri-businesses engaged in innovation activity, though most of this focuses on business processes rather than product innovation.
Manufacturing’s objective involves supporting a more efficient, globally competitive sector through cleaner production, circular product design, advanced manufacturing and remanufacturing. Priority sub-sectors identified for revitalisation include agro-processing, automotive, furniture, meat, pharmaceuticals, steel, and sugar. South African manufacturers remain comparatively low-tech, with only 26,8% using green technologies despite these being considered important for modernisation.
Five STI clusters
The strategy organises investment around five clusters: strategic planning; technology solutions; resources and environment; and society; supported by a cross-cutting modelling and analytics cluster. Each carries defined 2034 outcomes, from establishing evidence-based decision making practice to building networked research, development and innovation programmes that inform perceptions and practice at organisational, community and individual level.
Implementation
Five enabling measures underpin delivery: strengthening inter-governmental and multi-stakeholder collaboration; redirecting finance towards circular economy STI activities; embedding circular economy principles in higher education and training; building an evidence base; and enabling implementation through business support and demonstration projects.
Concrete institutional mechanisms include three planned sector-based initiatives operating on a hub-and-spoke model: the South African Circular Minerals and Metals Initiative; the South African Circular Agriculture Initiative; and the South African Circular Manufacturing Initiative. Circular Innovation South Africa (CISA), hosted by the CSIR and launched in 2023, acts as the portfolio management unit giving effect to DSTI’s circular economy aspirations, supported by the Circular Economy Demonstration Fund. Governance runs through an Operations Committee, a Management Committee and sector-based Advisory Committees, with a Circular Economy Inter-Governmental Committee, chaired at deputy director-general level, coordinating across departments including Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Water and Sanitation, Trade, Industry and Competition, and the National Treasury.
The strategy is explicitly framed as a living document rather than a prescriptive plan, intended for adjustment as implementation matures. It positions itself as one contribution towards a broader national circular economy strategy that South Africa has yet to formalise, with DSTI as lead agent responsible for coordination, monitoring and periodic review.
To view the full document visit www.instrumentation.co.za/ex/circular.pdf
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