Is circular economy a failing sustainability paradigm? Not necessarily

Abstract

Sluggish progress on circular economy (CE) implementation is raising some concern that this allegedly new paradigm for sustainability is failing. While initial optimism had anticipated faster progress, actors across the private sector, government, consumer markets, and academia are embracing CE with varying speed and commitment. Circular principles are included in policy documents and corporate reports, and the circular start‐up and scale‐up realms are growing. Consumer awareness also appears to be rising, and a vibrant academic literature has emerged. We examine the roles of stakeholders in CE transition and pathways to acceleration and argue that the incrementalism often cited as a failure of CE is a fundamental characteristic of the paradigm; this notion forecloses the possibility of transformational change but supports an optimistic narrative. The characteristic of incrementalism makes CE progress metrics easier to measure and communicate, and we argue that, from this perspective, CE is making more progress than many critics suggest. This article elaborates on these points and argues for a more critical and provocative discourse around CE.