Countries: 10 pilot countries with 1 industrial park per pilot country

Pilot projects: 5 circular transformation projects per industrial park leading to a total of 50 investment-ready project packages

Financing: Expected to mobilize over US$ 1 billion through blended finance instruments

Global cooperation platform: To support policy replication, peer learning, innovation exchange, and investment matchmaking

Programme duration: 2026–2031

Programme overview

Circular economy and green industrial parks are increasingly seen not only as economic drivers but also as key levers for green transition. Industrial parks have proven to be powerful drivers of jobs, investment, and exports, contributing over 20% of GDP in countries such as China. However, their traditional resource-intensive model has also generated serious challenges: industrial waste volumes nearly 18 times higher than municipal waste, widespread pollution hotspots, and ecosystem degradation, all of which undermine climate action, biodiversity, and sustainable development goals. 
 
The global Circular Park Initiative (CPI) aims to catalyze the systemic transformation of industrial parks in developing and middle-income countries toward green, zero-waste and circular economy models, with a primary focus on transitioning existing industrial parks through waste-to-resource strategies, while also supporting the design of new circular economy parks where appropriate, through:

• Integrated Policy Support
• Park-level Industry Transformation and Pipeline Development
• Strategic Sustainable Financing
• Global Cooperation, Partnership and Knowledge Replication

Transforming industrial parks into zero-waste circular economy hubs reduces pollution and health risks, addresses resource inefficiencies and scarcity, and promotes sustainable industrial development. In addition, such transformations generate broader economic spillovers by attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), increasing trade opportunities, creating markets for secondary materials, empowering SMEs in recycling and logistics, and improving regulatory compliance and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance acrossvalue chains.