Three Propositions to Unify Circular Economy Research: A Review

Massimiliano Borrello, Stefano Pascucci and Luigi Cembalo
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Massimiliano Borrello: Department of Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Economics and Policy Group, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici (Naples), Italy
Stefano Pascucci: Business School, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, G16 The SERSF Building, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK
Luigi Cembalo: Department of Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Economics and Policy Group, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici (Naples), Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-22

Abstract: Transitioning into a circular economy (CE) has been recently proposed as an agenda for reconciling global industrial systems with natural equilibria, but the current understanding of CE is ambiguous among scholars. Informed by recent growing CE literature, this study summarizes through three key propositions a set of indisputable insights emerging from the CE debate. In particular, the paper: remarks how CE takes stock of concepts of other schools of thought to drive policy interventions; depicts CE as a systemic transition of global industrial systems; and highlights the role of eco-effectiveness to upgrade business-centered approaches to sustainability. The proposed propositions are expected to contribute to reducing ambiguities in the CE debate and to convey coherence to future research.

Keywords: socio-technical transition; sustainability transition; multilevel perspective; recycling; upcycling; downcycling; biorefinery; servitization; circular business model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

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