Circular economy
Sustainability

Intuitively, the circular economy would appear to be more sustainable than the current linear economic system. Reducing the resources used and the waste and leakage created conserves resources and helps to reduce environmental pollution. However, it is argued by some that these assumptions are simplistic and that they disregard the complexity of existing systems and their potential trade-offs. For example, the social dimension of sustainability seems to be only marginally addressed in many publications on the circular economy. Some cases that might require different or additional strategies, like purchasing new, more energy-efficient equipment. By reviewing the literature, a team of researchers from Cambridge and TU Delft showed that there are at least eight different relationship types between sustainability and the circular economy. In addition, it is important to underline the innovation aspect at the heart of sustained development based on circular economy components.
detectable_content:number_placeholders[5], combination:two_responses, detectable_format:json_format