The recent McKinsey report Growth Within; a circular economy vision for a competitive Europe  (free download) concluded that prevailing models of business in the European economy are surprisingly unsuccessful in capturing the maximum value from assets and services. Consider for instance, that the average European car is parked 92 percent of the time,  31 percent of food is wasted along the value chain and the average European office, even during working hours, is used only 35-50 percent of the time. 

The report asks: what if we could exploit the value of these unused resources?  

By making clever use of new technologies and innovative models of engagement the report argues that the average cost per car-kilometer, for instance, could be reduced by up to 75 percent, by adopting car-sharing schemes, developing autonomous and driver-less mobility, increasing the take up of electric vehicles, and the use of more appropriate materials.