EC Library Guide on circular economy and doughnut economics: Selected articles
Selected articles
- Business research for sustainable development: How does sustainable business model research reflect doughnut economics?
Hausdorf, M. and Timm, J. M., Business strategy and the environment, 2023.
In this study, we explore sustainable business model (SBM) research through the lens of doughnut economics (DE). By conducting an integrative literature review, we analyse concepts that reflect the seven principles of DE at the business model level. We identify 23 SBM concepts and develop a framework that draws on cognitive science theory to distinguish between seven abstract and 16 concrete concepts.
The contribution of our study is threefold: First, the framework enhances the theoretical understanding of SBM concepts that mirror DE. Second, our study presents seven unique avenues for shifting the SBM research agenda. Third, the findings have the potential to inspire SBM innovation in practice.
- Challenges and perspectives of the circular economy in the European Union: A comparative analysis of the member states
Castillo-Díaz, Francisco José, et al. Ecological Economics, vol. 224, 2024.
This study features a comprehensive analysis of the status of the circular economy (CE) in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) and focuses on the CE composite indicator and its specific sub-indicators. The results reveal overall improvements in the implementation of the CE in the period of 2012–2021, although there are significant variations between member countries. Germany is the current leader regarding the use of CE practices, followed by Italy, France, and Belgium. However, there are also notable gaps in critical areas, such as waste management, competitiveness, innovation, and overall sustainability.
The study also identifies key factors that influence the implementation of the CE, such as by-product exports, investment in research and development, and waste-management policies. The cluster analysis groups countries into four categories to provide a more detailed view of regional disparities. These findings underline the need for coordinated action at the national and European levels to address remaining challenges and to move towards a more circular and sustainable economy across Europe.
- Circular economy and macroeconomic performance: Evidence across 28 European countries
Hondroyiannis, G., Sardianou, E., Nikou, V., et al. Ecological Economics, vol. 215, 2024.
The circular economy (CE) is regarded as a new concept to promote sustainable development issues by improving economic, environmental and social goals. Essentially, the key idea of the CE is to assist modern economies to shift from linear economic thinking to a circular one in order to ensure that components of products could have a second use in new products and services.
The majority of the relevant literature has focused on the relationship between CE principles and firms. However, to achieve CE principles, data and information from the macro level is also required; something which is currently under examined by the literature. Consequently, a significant gap in this field is the explanation of how the CE affects the macro economy and vice versa. To fill this gap, this paper aims to examine the relationship between a macro-level Circularity Rate and various macroeconomic variables across a sample of 28 European countries employing panel data. The findings suggest a robustly positive relationship between real GDP and the circularity rate over the long-run while higher environmental taxes are associated with an increase in the Circularity Rate. Southern European countries exhibit a significantly lower level of Circularity Rates compared to their northern counterparts.
- The Doughnut Destination: applying Kate Raworth's Doughnut Economy perspective to rethink tourism destination management
Hartman, S. and Heslinga, J. H., Journal of Tourism Futures, 2023.
In this viewpoint paper, the authors explore and discuss how Kate Raworth's (2017) Doughnut Economy perspective and accompanying “Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist” can be applied to rethink the future of tourism destination management for the better.
The Doughnut Economy perspective and the accompanying “seven ways” help forward tourism destination management in the future, even more when it is interpreted and tailored to a tourism context and reconceptualized as the Doughnut Destination as presented in this paper.
- Doughnuts for strategies: A tool for an emerging sustainable welfare paradigm
Domazet, M., Fischer, M. and Köves, A., European Journal of Social Security, 2023.
The Degrowth Doughnut (a modification of the original Doughnut visualization of boundaries and foundations created by economist Kate Raworth) can be considered a visualization tool for assessing the current environmental and social capacity of a country to transform into an ecologically and socially sustainable modus operandi. Its sufficiently rich set of criteria, including cultural, socio-economic and biophysical indicators, gives us an overall picture of the problems to be dealt with and the strengths to build on in the immediate future.
Its simple boundary-threshold structure presents limiting and aspirational targets in a single image. As such, it is also a tool that can aid eco-social policymaking to prioritize decisions and seek synergies between choices made. This research will present the Hungarian Degrowth Doughnut and use it as a case study when applied to the aims and expected impacts of Hungary’s operational National Clean Development Strategy.
- Exploring alternative economic pathways: a comparison of foundational economy and Doughnut economics
Wahlund, M. and Hansen, T., Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 2022.
A number of intersecting crises are currently ongoing at multiple scales, including increasing inequality, environmental degradation, and climate destabilization, as well as new surges of populism and mounting public health threats. These emergencies question our economic model of past decades and provoke a rethinking of the general approach to economic policy from a multi-scalar perspective. In this article, we compare two approaches aiming to rethink economic development policy: foundational economy and Doughnut economics, and consider if and how they complement each other.
We conclude that the two approaches are potentially complementary, most prominently in their call for high-income countries to refocus from growth per se to purpose-driven economic strategies that prioritize public services and redistribute incomes. However, they differ in respect to their geographical focus, environmental concerns, and application. To properly address tradeoffs between social needs and environmental effects, foundational scholarship would benefit from deeper engagement with the socioenvironmental perspective presented in Doughnut economics, which stresses the need to consider human-nature interlinkages. In sum, combining different aspects of the two approaches promises to provide a more robust response to contemporary challenges, especially for local policy making.
- Kreislaufwirtschaft, Abfallwirtschaft und Sortiertechnik
Pomberger, R. Österreichische Wasser- und Abfallwirtschaft,, 2024.
Vor etwa 10 Jahren etablierte sich der Begriff „Kreislaufwirtschaft“ in der abfallwirtschaftlichen Diskussion. Anfangs wurde sie als Teil der Abfallwirtschaft verstanden, wobei zu diesem Verständnis durchaus beitrug, dass das Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz in Deutschland „Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz“ heißt und die Änderungen der Abfallrahmenrichtlinie von der EU als „Kreislaufwirtschaftspaket“ bezeichnet wurden.
Das Konzept der Kreislaufwirtschaft (circular economy) ist aber viel älter. Es wurde bereits 1990 vom britischen Wirtschaftswissenschaftler David Pearce als ökonomisches Modell entwickelt. Bei der Kreislaufwirtschaft sollen nicht nur die Verwendung der Umwelt als Schadstoffsenke für Abfall- und Wertstoffe aus der industriellen Fertigung, sondern auch der Materialeinsatz bei der Herstellung minimiert werden. Daher wird der natürliche Stoffkreislauf zum Vorbild genommen und versucht, kaskadische Nutzungen ohne Abfälle (zero waste) oder Emissionen (zero emission) zu erreichen.
- La comptabilité écologique comme moteur d’une économie éco-compatible
Browaeys, D. La Francaise de Financement et d'Edition, 2024.
Nos modèles économiques actuels se fondent sur un contrat social et un modèle de croissance insoutenables. Leurs outils (PIB notamment) sont en fait totalement aveugles à la destruction des milieux. Au coeur du système, la comptabilité – si elle devient écologique – peut permettre de renseigner les impacts socio-environnementaux des organisations et d’en tenir compte pour générer des pratiques de production protectrices des milieux vivants.
Dans le monde et notamment en France, de nombreux travaux de recherche et d’expérimentation explorent les métriques pertinentes et les modèles comptables aptes à intégrer le capital naturel dans la mesure des performances des organisations. Ils préparent l’émergence de nouveaux modèles d’affaires durables dans un « régime économique » compatible avec les systèmes vivants qu’appellent les réglementations européennes du Pacte Vert.
- La croissance verte est-elle durable et compatible avec l’économie circulaire ? Une approche par l’identité IPAT
Fizaine, F., Natures sciences sociétés, 2021.
Il existe une forte polysémie derrière l’expression « économie circulaire ». Certains identifient l’économie circulaire comme une forme finale de la croissance verte (croissance économique infinie dans un monde fini). D’autres, au contraire, perçoivent la croissance verte comme le prolongement d’un ancien modèle fondamentalement incompatible avec les limites de la géosphère et donc très différent de l’économie circulaire qui s’inscrit dans un mimétisme écologique. Dans cet article, nous explorons les hypothèses permettant de réconcilier la croissance verte avec l’économie circulaire via la dématérialisation.
Nous montrons que la réconciliation de l’économie circulaire et de la croissance verte réclamerait (i) une vitesse de décroissance de l’intensité matérielle de l’économie à des niveaux jamais observés, mais également (ii) une absence de limite physique à cette décroissance. Cela laisse supposer que l’approche de la croissance verte est fondamentalement incompatible avec le concept d’économie circulaire.
- Le défi de l’économie circulaire: Pour une nouvelle approche
Grosse, F., Futuribles (Paris), 2023.
Nos consommations matérielles, dans le monde, ne cessent de croître et entraînent corrélativement une consommation croissante de matières premières. Or, les gisements concentrés de celles-ci risquent d’être rapidement épuisés et le recours inévitable à des gisements à plus faible teneur est lui-même très coûteux, notamment en énergie. Nombreux sont les décideurs et experts qui s’imaginent que le recyclage plus systématique de ces matériaux permettrait de réduire sensiblement nos besoins en matières premières vierges. Mais c’est un leurre, montre ici François Grosse, car nous ne produisons pas assez de déchets ; ceci, d’abord et surtout parce que nos consommations d’hier sont très inférieures à nos consommations d’aujourd’hui ; ensuite parce que nous ne sommes pas dans des sociétés du jetable, mais dans des sociétés d’accumulation…
Le recyclage n’est donc pas une solution ; il faut nous orienter vers une économie circulaire dont la mise en œuvre passe par deux conditions : d’abord, celle de réduire le rythme de croissance de nos biens matériels pour réduire nos ponctions sur les matières premières ; ensuite, celle d’imposer que la production de nouveaux produits et équipements comporte au moins 80 % de matières recyclées. La démonstration de François Grosse, amplement illustrée d’exemples, révèle l’ampleur du défi et le changement radical qu’impose un développement qui se voudrait vraiment durable.
- Limites et risques économiques et environnementaux de l’ Energiewende en Allemagne
Deshaies, M. Hérodote, 2024.
La politique de l’ Energiewende dans laquelle l’Allemagne s’est engagée depuis les années 2000 consiste à développer massivement les énergies renouvelables en substitution à l’énergie nucléaire et aux énergies fossiles. Les insuffisances techniques des énergies intermittentes ont nécessité de conserver un important parc de production de centrales à charbon et à lignite et d’accroître fortement les importations de gaz naturel en provenance de Russie.
La guerre en Ukraine et les embargos décidés contre les hydrocarbures de Russie viennent brutalement remettre en cause cette politique énergétique. Pour sortir de l’impasse, le gouvernement allemand veut accroître considérablement le développement des énergies renouvelables. Il est aussi prévu de substituer au gaz de l’hydrogène « vert » en partie produit par les parcs éoliens offshore et en grande partie importé de régions plus ou moins lointaines, entraînant un accroissement du prix de l’énergie.
- L’économie circulaire : un virage nécessaire
Venne, J.-F., Gestion, 2024.
Bien que l’économie circulaire soit aujourd’hui sur toutes les lèvres, elle reste absente de la plupart des modèles d’affaires et des grappes industrielles. Quels sont donc les obstacles qui freinent son adoption ?
- Promoting the circular economy in the EU: How can the recycling of e-waste be increased
Neves, Sónia Almeida, et al. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, vol. 70, 2024.
Moving from a linear to a circular economy is crucial to reduce environmental pressure. This transition is particularly relevant in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) industry, given that EEE has one of the fastest-growing waste streams. Recycling is one solution for dealing with the growing amounts of this e-waste. Therefore, this paper analyses the drivers and barriers to e-waste recycling, taking into account the role of economic, social, institutional, and behavioural factors.
Yearly data from 2010 to 2018 for 20 European Union countries were analysed employing an Arellano-Bond Generalised Method of Moments. The main findings were that, while environmental taxes and education boost the rate of e-recycling, economic growth and R&D appear to reduce it, and certain age groups are less likely to recycle e-waste. Recycling policies should prioritize education, environmental taxes, and addressing reluctance among the young and elderly to recycle.
- The role of circular economy in EU entrepreneurship: A deep learning experiment
Morelli, Giovanna, et al. Journal of Economic Asymmetries, vol. 30, 2024.
Fostering innovation is one of the key roles of the Circular Economy (CE) that applies also to European Union (EU) firms, because entrepreneurs are persistently seeking new ways and means to create values, contributing with significant market opportunities, and depicting large potential for EU sustainable growth. This study explores the effects of firms’ investments in using highly disruptive technologies in the energy sector on the Eurozone (EU-27) in the last two decades (1990–2019).
An Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) experiment through a Deep Learning (DL) approach is implemented to test this hypothesis. The empirical findings show that investments in highly disruptive technologies, especially by large digitally qualified companies, boost economic growth. They are also a crucial driver of digitalization not only because they enhance a wide strategic change implying a radical innovation in business models, but they completely transform markets, from energy to food production, water resources, pollution, connectivity, and plastic waste. These expected benefits represent a possible policy measure to offset the decline in global activity due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on global energy markets. In addition, a positive association between trade and output is confirmed. Finally, promising policy actions are discussed.
- Transition towards circular economy in EU countries: A composite indicator and drivers of circularity
Galdeano-Gómez, Emilio, and Rosa M. García-Fernández. Sustainable Development (Bradford, West Yorkshire, England), 2024.
The transition to a circular economy (CE) has become one of the main issues of sustainable development policies in many countries worldwide. The present paper offers an empirical analysis of this transition to circularity in European Union (EU) countries. It provides multidimensional indicators for CE performance and observes the interrelationship between macroeconomic indicators and the level of CE implementation.
Taking data from 26 EU member states during the period 2010–2019, weighted indicators are constructed for the assessment and comparison between heterogenous countries. Subsequently, a multivariant analysis is performed to quantify the impact of different macroeconomic variables on circularity indicators, such as R + D, sectoral added value, renewable energy usage and population density. The results reveal three distinct groups: those whose indicators display a positive sign, those that show a negative sign, and those that display a changeable evolution throughout the period studied. The panel data regressions carried out to assess the determinants of circularity show the positive impact of expenditure on R + D. Also, it is worth mentioning the existing differences in the implementation status of CE among countries, contingent upon on when they joined the EU.
- Wie viel Energie braucht die Kreislaufwirtschaft?
Urbansky, F., Zeitschrift für Energiewirtschaft, 2023.
Nachhaltigkeit ist das Gebot der Stunde. Dazu gehört eine gut funktionierende Kreislaufwirtschaft in allen Branchen und für alle Rohstoffe. In einigen Bereichen funktioniert sie ganz gut, in anderen weniger. Immer gilt hier: Es ist nur das nützlich, was letztlich tatsächlich Energie spart oder im Prozess selbst energieeffizient ist.
Die Gretchenfrage der Kreislaufwirtschaft lautet denn auch: Ab wann ist es sinnvoll, einen Rohstoff oder eine Komponente nicht mehr wiederzuverwerten oder zu recyceln, sondern thermisch zu nutzen oder zu deponieren? Das hängt am nötigen Energieaufwand (aber nicht nur daran).
- Last Updated: May 7, 2025 10:28 AM
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