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 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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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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We investigate entrepreneurial ecosystems that support circular start-ups and innovation. We argue that entrepreneurial ecosystems for circularity are constellations of existing entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems that extend across geographies and sectors. Our research question centres on understanding ecosystem intermediation that facilitates the embedding of circular start-ups in different ecosystems and addresses a pertinent gap in the literature about ecosystem intermediation for circular transitions and circular start-ups Focusing on the emerging circular transition in the textiles and apparel industry, we gathered data from in-depth interviews, field observations, and archival documentation over a seven-year period. Our findings show that entrepreneurial ecosystems for circular start-ups are purposefully intermediated at a meta level, combining elements of extant ecosystems to focus on circularity. Drawing on these insights, we conceptualize ecosystem intermediation as connecting diverse ecosystems across geographic and sectoral boundaries. Our study contributes to the literatures on circular entrepreneurship, circular ecosystems, and ecologies of system intermediation as well as provides practical implications for practitioners and policy makers.
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This report describes the Utrecht regio with regard to sustainability and circular business models.
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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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The circular economy (CE) is heralded as reducing material use and emissions while providing more jobs and growth. We explored this narrative in a series of expert workshops, basing ourselves on theories, methods and findings from science fields such as global environmental input-output analysis, business modelling, industrial organisation, innovation sciences and transition studies. Our findings indicate that this dominant narrative suffers from at least three inconvenient truths. First, CE can lead to loss of GDP. Each doubling of product lifetimes will halve the related industrial production, while the required design changes may cost little. Second, the same mechanism can create losses of production jobs. This may not be compensated by extra maintenance, repair or refurbishing activities. Finally, ‘Product-as-a-Service’ business models supported by platform technologies are crucial for a CE transition. But by transforming consumers from owners to users, they lose independence and do not share in any value enhancement of assets (e.g., houses). As shown by Uber and AirBNB, platforms tend to concentrate power and value with providers, dramatically affecting the distribution of wealth. The real win-win potential of circularity is that the same societal welfare may be achieved with less production and fewer working hours, resulting in more leisure time. But it is perfectly possible that powerful platform providers capture most added value and channel that to their elite owners, at the expense of the purchasing power of ordinary people working fewer hours. Similar undesirable distributional effects may occur at the global scale: the service economies in the Global North may benefit from the additional repair and refurbishment activities, while economies in the Global South that are more oriented towards primary production will see these activities shrink. It is essential that CE research comes to grips with such effects. Furthermore, governance approaches mitigating unfair distribution of power and value are hence essential for a successful circularity transition.
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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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Management of fashion (related) companies need to become convinced that circularity delivers positive financial results and incentives. This research aims to provide the first information requirement insights needed to enable the transition to a circular fashion industry. Due to easy access and abundant information ‘Jeans’ were selected as example item. Using the Design Science research approach the required information within in a closed loop supply chain (CLSC) in fashion was derived. Semi-structured interviews validated the CLSC information requirements derived from literature. Next, observations and additional literature findings supported the interview results. The outcomes show that information to support integration and collaboration of both: supply and recycle chain is necessary. Independently operating recycle organizations miss ‘central loop management’, ‘information integration’ and ‘a chain-common objective’ to successfully adopt circularity. The main bottlenecks found in relation to circularity are: ‘overlooking the customer as stakeholder’ and ‘a lack of chain integration’, this applies not only to jeans items. Therefore, the indicative study outcomes contribute to the body of knowledge of circular fashion value chain information requirements in general
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The transition towards a sustainable and healthy food system is one of the major sustainability challenges of today, next to the energy transition and the transition from a linear to circular economy. This paper provides a timely and evidence-based contribution to better understand the complex processes of institutional change and transformative social-ecological innovation that takes place in the food transition, through a case study of an open innovation and food transition network in The Netherlands, the South-Holland Food Family (Zuid-Hollandse Voedselfamilie). This network is supported by the provincial government and many partners, with the ambition to realize more sustainable agricultural and food chains, offering healthy, sustainable and affordable food for everyone in the Province of South-Holland in five to ten years from now. This ambition cannot be achieved through optimising the current food system. A transition is needed – a fundamental change of the food system’s structure, culture and practice. The Province has adopted a transition approach in its 2016 Innovation Agenda for Sustainable Agriculture. This paper provides an institutional analysis of how the transition approach has been established and developed in practice. Our main research question is what interventions and actions have shaped the transition approach and how does the dynamic interplay between actors and institutional structures influence institutional change, by analysing a series of closely related action situations and their context, looking at 'structure' and 'agency', and at the output-outcomes-impact of these action situations. For this purpose, we use the Transformative Social-Ecological Innovation (TSEI)-framework to study the dynamic interplay between actors and institutional structures influencing institutional change. The example of TSEI-framework application in this paper shows when and how local agents change the institutional context itself, which provides relevant insights on institutional work and the mutually constitutive nature of structure and agency. Above institutional analysis also shows the pivotal role of a number of actors, such as network facilitators and provincial minister, and their capability and skills to combine formal and informal institutional environments and logics and mobilize resources, thereby legitimizing and supporting the change effort. The results are indicative of the importance of institutional structures as both facilitating (i.e., the province’s policies) and limiting (e.g. land ownership) transition dynamics.
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