This new Exchange Traded Fund provides access to companies that effectively contribute to recycling or other forms of resource efficiency, the firm said in a statement. 

The VanEck Circular Economy UCITS ETF follows the MVIS Global Circular Economy ESG ETF, which tracks the performance of companies contributing to the circular economy, VanEck added. 

These can be companies that offer products and services for water purification and treatment, energy production from waste and biofuels, waste management and metal recycling services, and from products made from recycled materials or from services related to recycling and product reuse.

“Our planet's resources are becoming increasingly stretched and the world is struggling with the waste generated by single-use products," Martijn Rozemuller, CEO at VanEck Europe said.

“By offering this ETF, we are responding to the current high level of interest in issues related to sustainable production and the environmental impact of our consumption,” he continued. 

The ETF aims to exclude companies that have committed serious violations of social norms, companies that generate sales from controversial weapons or that exceed certain thresholds for their sales from various sectors, such as civilian firearms or tobacco.

Listing the ETF allows investors to buy and sell the new product in the same way as other regulated exchange products. The ETF currently has a total expense ratio of 0.4 per cent.

“The circular economy not only benefits the environment, it also offers economic opportunities,” Kamil Sudiyarov, product manager at VanEck Europe, said. 

“For example, recycling paper provides energy savings of up to 40 per cent compared to producing paper from raw pulp,” he added.