Shaping the Future: Circular Economy Transition Models in the European Union

Reni Pantcheva ()
Additional contact information
Reni Pantcheva: Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

A chapter in Leading Change in Disruptive Times, 2026, pp 477-490 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Environmental challenges pose an imminent threat to people's future and wellbeing. In an effort to tackle climate change and environmental pollution, the European Union has undertaken various steps toward the green transformation of its economic system, the circular transition being an integral part of the process. However, countries still struggle to evaluate the circular economy properly due to the abundance of relevant indicators and monitoring frameworks. This study aims to single out the metrics that are best aligned with the concept of a circular economy, sort through their main determinants and derive common transition models within the European Union context. The results indicate that the recycling rate and the circular material use rate are frequently used to measure material circularity, while the renewable energy consumption is most suited to represent the energy aspect. Considering their common determinants, such as economic development, research and development and resource productivity, a clustering analysis reveals the presence of four distinct groups: countries facing challenges, leaders, energy–efficient representatives and resource–efficient representatives. Investigating the strengths and weaknesses of these transition models can help stakeholders adopt the best practices, address shortcomings and foster innovative solutions to achieve long–term material and energy sustainability.

Keywords: Circular Economy; Circular Indicators; Transition Models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:prbchp:978-3-032-19276-9_32

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783032192769

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-19276-9_32

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().