What Might We Say about a Circular Economy? Some Temptations to Avoid if Possible

Webster, Ken

doi:10.1080/02604027.2013.835977

Cited by 111 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The role of society emerges also in a broad discussion on the necessary system perspective for CE by Webster (2013) who emphasises the fundamental part played by education. To successfully transition to a CE, he pleads for more participatory, feedback-rich teaching and learning experiences or education will end up "ineffectively teaching the irrelevant to the uninterested."…”

Section: Policy People and Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Circular economy for the built environment: A research framework

Pomponi

Moncaster

2017

Journal of Cleaner Production

684

349

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The built environment puts major pressure on the natural environment; its role in transitioning to a circular economy (CE) is therefore fundamental. However, current CE research tends to focus either on the macro-scale, such as eco-parks, or the micro-scale, such as manufactured products, with the risk of ignoring the additional impacts and potentials at the meso-scale of individual buildings. This article sets out to unpack the fundamental defining dimensions of a CE and frame them for CE studies for the built environment. A critical literature review forms the basis for identifying and framing such fundamental dimensions. Our contribution highlights the key roles of interdisciplinary research and of both bottom-up and top-down initiatives in facilitating the transition to 'circular buildings'. The frame for reference has been used to capture current discourse on the sustainability of the built environment and has proved to be a valuable tool to cluster existing initiatives and highlight missing links for interdisciplinary endeavours. The article represents a contribution to the theoretical foundations of CE research in the built environment and a stepping stone to shape future research initiatives.

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Section: Policy People and Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a precursor of the importance of flows and connections underscored by Webster (2013), Boulding (1966) already believed that knowledge (or information) was far more important than matter because, in his view, matter only acquires meaningfulness to humans when becomes the object of our knowledge.…”

Section: Policy People and Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular economy for the built environment: A research framework

Pomponi

Moncaster

2017

Journal of Cleaner Production

684

349

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In terms of antecedents, a number of authors identify industrial ecology [6,14,16,18,20,32,79] and industrial symbiosis or metabolism [26,35,46,52,78,82] as the main antecedents, and focus on the closing of resource flows in production and consumption. Others [13,45,55,62] name cleaner production to "protect the environment and prevent pollution" [45] (p. 506).…”

Section: Author Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Others [13,45,55,62] name cleaner production to "protect the environment and prevent pollution" [45] (p. 506). Furthermore, biomimicry [2,64,72,73,76], system dynamics [78] and system thinking [2,78,79], regenerative design [14,76], cradle-to-cradle design [14,52,64,82], and zero emission [55,61,82] [15,17,60] and performance economy [8,14,32,52,76,78,79] are given as antecedents or inspirations.…”

Section: Author Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two contributions are concerned with business model research [73,74]. More abstract studies seek to define the CE more clearly and assess its future challenges [75][76][77][78] or highlight the social [2,15,79,80] or economic aspects of the concept further [1,18]. Lastly, two studies explore the interchanges between the CE and information technology (IT) and waste [81] and the CE and global waste streams [82].…”

Section: Article Topicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supply Chain Configurations in the Circular Economy: A Systematic Literature Review

2017

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Abstract:As the circular economy (CE) gains traction in literature and practice, several academic communities are opening up spaces that move away from the CE as a pure engineering concept. This systematic literature review (n = 77) analyses and discusses the fragmented body of knowledge on the meso-level of supply chains (SCs): (a) to find common ground that underpins the current implementation of the CE on this level; and (b) to identify drivers, inhibitors, and enablers from which CE SC configurations emerge. The review finds that there remain differences in CE definitions that result from claimed antecedents and scopes, resulting in distinct research streams. On the meso-level, eco-industrial parks, environmental SCs, and closed-loop SCs each face significant challenges. The latter potentially offers the largest environmental benefits but engenders radical changes for business models and exposes SCs to more risk. We firstly argue for moving away from using a prescriptive set of practices as definitions for the CE towards a set of overarching goals to allow for the inclusion of future practices and techniques. Secondly, we highlight that research going beyond the meso-level to consider the wider social and institutional environment is needed to solve current challenges.

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Circular economy in corporate sustainability strategies: A review of corporate sustainability reports in the fast‐moving consumer goods sector

2018

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Despite the increasing interest of business and academic research toward Circular Economy, the investigation of its uptake by industry remains limited. To contribute to filling this gap, we perform a systematic review of 46 corporate sustainability reports in the Fast‐Moving Consumer Goods sector aiming to explore how companies incorporate the Circular Economy concept in their sustainability agenda. We focus on (i) companies’ uptake of Circular Economy, (ii) the relationship between Circular Economy and sustainability and (iii) the Circular Economy practices presented. Our results show that Circular Economy has started to be integrated into the corporate sustainability agenda. Most reported activities are oriented toward the main product and packaging, focusing on end‐of‐life management and sourcing strategies, and to a lesser extent on circular product design and business model strategies. Most identified collaborations are with businesses, whereas initiatives addressing consumers are largely missing although considered critical for the transition toward Circular Economy.

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What Might We Say about a Circular Economy? Some Temptations to Avoid if Possible

Cited by 111 publications

References 4 publications

Circular economy for the built environment: A research framework

Circular economy for the built environment: A research framework

Supply Chain Configurations in the Circular Economy: A Systematic Literature Review

Circular economy in corporate sustainability strategies: A review of corporate sustainability reports in the fast‐moving consumer goods sector

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