۱- Introduction

۲- CE and its many definitions

۳- Towards a new definition of the concept of CE

۴- CE as an essentially contested concept: considering Gallie’s classic work

۵- A tentative research framework

۶- Discussion and conclusions

References

Abstract

The Circular Economy (CE) is currently a popular notion within the policy and business advocacy groups. Despite being visionary and provocative in its message, the research on the CE concept is emerging. The two intertwined objectives of the paper are; first to identify, discuss and develop the various definitions provided by the emerging literature. Secondly, to suggest an initial research approach with which research on CE can be conducted. Our analysis shows that the existing CE work is mainly done on the practical and technical levels of the actual physical flows of materials and energy in production-consumption systems. The focus of the extant literature is on concrete metrics, tools, instruments and computations. Therefore, the basic assumptions concerning the values, societal structures, cultures, underlying world-views and the paradigmatic potential of CE remain largely unexplored. We argue that CE has already become what Gallie (1955) more than six decades ago termed as an “essentially contested concept” (ECC). The paper further suggests a model for CE research that helps in the categorization, classification and organization of research and investigation on CE. The model can help in limiting the observed unbalance and enhance the contribution of the CE approach to a more sustainable global society.

Introduction

Circular Economy (CE) as an approach to combat environmental challenges and promote sustainable development has recently received increasing attention in the discussions on industrial development. These discussions are primarily led by policy makers such as the European Commission (COM, 2015) and business advocacy bodies such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMAF, 2015; EMAF, 2013; EMAF, 2012; COM, 2015; COM, 2014). The practitioners view CE as a way to set in motion mechanisms to induce regenerative industrial transformations that will pave the way for achieving sustainable production and consumption. The ambition is that the evolution of CE based industrial production instead of the prevailing linear models will not only have a positive impact on the environment but also contribute to economic growth (COM, 2014; EMAF, 2013; CIRAIG, 2015). At the global level some have even suggested that once CE is fully implemented it would result in economic gains exceeding 1000 billion US dollars annually (FICF and Mckinsey, 2014). CE as a potential future industrial paradigm is not only confined to old industrialised nations. For instance, China, as the first country in the world, has already adopted a law for the implementation of the circular economy in 2008 (CIRAIG, 2015). Since then, others have followed; The European Union, for example, has created a CE package by extending the earlier waste directive (COM, 2015). In a policy and a business development context, CE is embraced as an approach simply because it is viewed as an important approach to achieving sustainable environmental and economic development (EMAF, 2015; EMAF, 2013; EMAF, 2012; COM, 2015; COM, 2014). This vision is underpinned by dissatisfaction with the prevailing and traditional linear extract-produce-use-dump material and energy flow model of the modern economic system which is problematic in terms of economic, social and environmental sustainability (Frosch and Gallopoulos, 1989). Accordingly, CE is expected to provide the impetus for an economic system with an alternative flow model, one that is cyclical and regenerative (see EMAF, 2015; EMAF, 2013; EMAF, 2012; CIRAIG, 2015; Geissdoerfer et al., 2017).