Principles for a sustainable circular economy

TLDR

The growing environmental pressure from resource extraction and waste generation has led to the adoption of circular economy as a technology‑focused strategy that promises economic gains while reducing ecological impact, though concerns remain about practices that may still harm the environment and society. This paper aims to revisit systems‑ecology foundations, develop a value framework and ten principles for a sustainable circular economy, and call for practitioner action and academic research. The authors analyze core sustainable‑development values and principles, critically assess circular‑economy literature, and synthesize these insights into a proposed framework and principle set.

Abstract

The pressure that the human species exerts on the natural environment through the extraction of materials and generation of wastes is widely recognised. Circular economy has emerged as a potential solution to make better use of resources. Positioned as a technology-focused concept that can generate economic gains while alleviating pressure on the environment, circular economy enjoys a positive reception by organisations in public, private and civic sectors and, increasingly, academia alike. However, concerns have been raised regarding some purported circular economy practices being promoted as 'sustainable' yet resulting in detrimental impacts on environment and society. We briefly revisit the systems ecology literature that construed the context for both circular economy and sustainable development. Values and principles in core sustainable development literature are analysed to offer a foundation against which circular economy can be discussed. We then analyse and critically reflect upon the strengths, shortcomings and theoretical flaws within the values and principles that emerged from the evolving circular economy literature. We propose a value framework and set of ten principles for the design, implementation and evaluation of a sustainable circular economy. We finish with a call for action for both practitioners and a research agenda for academia.