This lessons learned report gives an overview of the output and results of the first phase of the REDUCES project. The introduction states the relevance of combining a policy approach with business model analysis, and defines the objectives. Next, an overview is given of circular economy good business practices in the regions involved. Examining these business practices helped to define the regional needs for circular economy policy. This business approach proved to be a solid base for developing regional circular economy action plans, the last chapter of this report.
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This article investigates the phenomenon of rebound effects in relation to a transition to a Circular Economy (CE) through qualitative inquiry. The aim is to gain insights in manifestations of rebound effects by studying the Dutch textile industry as it transitions to a circular system, and to develop appropriate mitigation strategies that can be applied to ensure an effective transition. The rebound effect, known originally from the energy efficiency literature, occurs when improvements in efficiency or other technological innovations fail to deliver on their environmental promise due to (behavioral) economic mechanisms. The presence of rebound in CE contexts can therefore lead to the structural overstatement of environmental benefits of certain innovations, which can influence reaching emission targets and the preference order of recycling. In this research, the CE rebound effect is investigated in the Dutch textile industry, which is identified as being vulnerable to rebound, yet with a positive potential to avoid it. The main findings include the very low awareness of this effect amongst key stakeholders, and the identification of specific and general instances of rebound effects in the investigated industry. In addition, the relation of these effects to Circular Business Models and CE strategies are investigated, and placed in a larger context in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding about the place and role of this effect in the transition. This concerns the necessity for a new approach to how design has been practiced traditionally, and the need to place transitional developments in a systems perspective. Propositions that serve as theory-building blocks are put forward and include suggestions for further research and recommendations about dealing with rebound effects and shaping an eco-effective transition. Thomas Siderius, Kim Poldner, Reconsidering the Circular Economy Rebound effect: Propositions from a case study of the Dutch Circular Textile Valley, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 293, 2021, 125996, ISSN 0959-6526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.125996.
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This report describes the Utrecht regio with regard to sustainability and circular business models.
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A rise in global population and welfare is depleting the earth’s resources and challenging the current predominantly linear economy, following a take-make-waste pattern, calling upon a shift towards a more circular economy (Bastein and Willems, 2019; Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013; Lüdeke-Freund et al., 2019). The Dutch government and the European Union have set the goal/ambition to become fully circular by 2050 thus striving towards a cleaner economy and reducing the dependency on scarce resources (European Commission, 2020; Government of Netherlands, 2016).
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This document combines four reports on existing regional business support programmes for inclusion or understanding of circular economy (CE) objectives, deliverable DT3.1.2 from the transform-CE project. Besides a general overview on national and regional level, the focus is on a selection of national and regional programmes aimed at the plastics industry. After explaining the format to structure the programmes, the results for the four regions are presented: Greater Manchester (UK), Rhineland Palatinate and North-Rhine Westphalia (DE), Wallonia (BE), Central Netherlands (NL).
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Circular solutions require a systemic approach involving multiple actors within and across industrial sectors. This has implications for the structure and dynamics within geographically bounded entrepreneurial ecosystems. Actors within the entrepreneurial ecosystem assume the role of ‘system coordination’ but very little is known about this role. As circular solutions and transformations cannot be realized in isolation, a better understanding of this coordination role is pertinent, which actors perform it and the strategies they use to overcome challenges. We conduct a comparative study of two sectoral cases in the Netherlands. Our preliminary findings from the case on circular textiles shows that coordination is distributed among several and diverse ecosystem actors to close technical material flows, whereas our preliminary findings in agri-food show that coordination is concentrated among actors that explicitly assume the coordination role to close biological material flows. We intend to make novel contributions to the literature on circular economy business transformation and entrepreneurial ecosystems as well as provide insights on the system coordination role for policy makers and practitioners.
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In this paper, we conceptualize circular economy ecosystem emergence as the intersection of extant innovation, entrepreneurial, and industrial ecosystems. From our rich qualitative data in the circular textiles and apparel industry, we identify drivers behind emergence and uncover the pivotal role ecosystem orchestrators play in governing the interdependencies between actors and activities across the different intersecting ecosystems. From our findings, we theorize circular economy ecosystem emergence as a transitional phase or “real utopia” that, with purposeful orchestration, can potentially become a future desired state. In doing so, we make novel contributions to the literature on economic ecosystems, circular economy, and prospective theorizing, a nascent future-oriented perspective on theory building. Our research offers valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers aiming to accelerate circular economy transformation.
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Increasingly, entrepreneurial growth is discussed in relation to business sustainability and the wider questions of ‘growth’ – economic, green, or sustainable. This chapter will discuss the challenges and opportunities of teaching circular economy and Cradle to Cradle (C2C) models of sustainable production. The course applying circular economy theory to corporate case studies at the liberal arts college in The Netherlands will be discussed. Students were given the assignment to advise an existing company how to make a transition from a linear to circular economy model. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78714-501-620171028 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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In our in-depth case study on two circular business models we found important roles for material scouts and networks. These key partners are essential for establishing circular business models and circular flow of materials. Besides, we diagnose that companies are having difficulties to develop viable value propositions and circular strategies. The paper was presented at NBM Nijmegen 2020 and will be published at a later date
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This study evaluates the effectiveness of the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in quantitatively measuring the transition of companies to a circular economy. First, using the most recent literature review on circularity metrics, a complete overview of the currently available circularity metrics is developed. Subsequently, it is determined which circularity metrics can be generated with the available quantitative datapoints of CSRD. The metrics that can be generated were analyzed on their ability to cover all circular strategies, to represent different Product-as-a-Service systems and to acknowledge the key role of Critical Raw Materials in a circular economy. The study finds that, with data disclosed under CSRD, metrics can be generated to cover all circular strategies. However, gaps remain in representing pay-per-use and pay-perperformance systems and the use of Critical Raw Materials. Recommendations are to include ‘Product utilization’ and ‘Mass of Critical Raw Materials used’ in the data disclosed under CSRD and to have an independent institution report data to enable benchmarking of performances. Finally, this study concludes with an overview of the metrics which enable to measure circular transitions using data disclosed by CSRD
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