Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Review

Towards circular economy implementation: a comprehensive review

in context of manufacturing industry
Michael Lieder*, Amir Rashid
€gen 68, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Production Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellva

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The concept of circular economy (CE) is to an increasing extent treated as a solution to series of chal-
Received 1 July 2015 lenges such as waste generation, resource scarcity and sustaining economic benefits. However the
Received in revised form concept of circularity is not of novel as such. Specific circumstances and motivations have stimulated
12 November 2015
ideas relevant to circularity in the past through activities such as reuse, remanufacturing or recycling.
Accepted 1 December 2015
Available online 22 December 2015
Main objectives of this work are: to provide a comprehensive review of research efforts encompassing
aspects of resources scarcity, waste generation and economic advantages; to explore the CE landscape in
the context of these three aspects especially when they are considered simultaneously; based on an idea
Keywords:
Circular economy
of a comprehensive CE framework, propose an implementation strategy using top-down and bottom-up
Framework approach in a concurrent manner. To fulfill this objective a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art
Implementation research is carried out to understand different ideas relevant to CE, motivation for the research and
Resource scarcity context of their recurrence. Main contributions of this paper are a comprehensive CE framework and a
Environmental impact practical implementation strategy for a regenerative economy and natural environment. The framework
Economic benefits emphasizes on a combined view of three main aspects i.e. environment, resources and economic ben-
efits. It also underlines that joint support of all stakeholders is necessary in order to successfully
implement the CE concept at large scale. The proposed framework and implementation strategy also
identify new avenues for future research and practice in the field of CE.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2. Research methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3. Present circular economy research landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.1. Overview of CE research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.2. Related areas to circular economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.2.1. Transformation of economic structures and business rationales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2.2. Regenerative design and critical materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2.3. Industrial ecology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2.4. Remanufacturing and closed-loop supply chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2.5. Resource conservative manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2.6. Governmental CE initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.3. Discussion of state of the art research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4. A comprehensive framework on CE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
5. Practical implementation strategy for CE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Supplementary material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ46 8 790 9012.

E-mail addresses: lieder@kth.se (M. Lieder), amirr@kth.se (A. Rashid).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.042
0959-6526/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51 37

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Web references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

minimizes matter, energy-flow and environmental deterioration

without restricting economic growth or social and technical prog-
Abbreviations
ress” (Stahel, 1982). For this paper, the relevant CE definition is the
one of “an industrial economy that is restorative or regenerative by
3R reduction, reuse and recycling
intention and design” (Ellen Macarthur Foundation, 2013). This
APRA automotive parts remanufacturers association
definition is more comprehensive as it considers both the envi-
CE circular economy
ronmental and economic advantages simultaneously under the
EIP eco-industrial park
notion of regenerative performance requiring high quality circula-
EU European Union
tion of technical nutrients while ensuring safe entry of bio nutrients
ICT information and communication technology
in the biological sphere.
LCA lifecycle assessment
The concept of circularity, especially in terms of closed material
ResCoM resource conservative manufacturing
loops, is not a concept of novelty originating from recent de-
PSS producteservice systems
velopments, but has been emerging now and then throughout the
UK United Kingdom
history: Before the industrial revolution, i.e. in times of crafts-
WEEE waste electrical and electronic equipment
manship and hand production methods, waste as unwanted or
WW2 world war two
unusable material was virtually unknown (Strasser, 2000). A so
called ‘stewardship of objects’ has been the prevailing practice with
the primary purpose of maintaining possessions by performing
1. Introduction reparations, repurposing or recycling leaving disposal scarcely as an
option. There is general acceptance that the industrial revolution is
Relationship between industry and environment is crucial for responsible for the changing relationship between individuals and
industrial business performance. Environmental impacts have the material world (Siegle, 2006; Mathews, 2011; Strasser, 2000).
incrementally increased pressure on industrial businesses. After the industrial revolution disposable products with the explicit
Looking back to the beginning of the industrial revolution, mass purpose of being discarded after use (planned obsolesce) heralded
production of goods was enabled by new manufacturing methods the era of fashion and style hence stimulating throwaway-mindset
resulting in products with high availability and low costs. Conse- which is today known as linear consumption behavior. Successively,
quently, due to new consumer societies and staggering growth in problems of environmental pollution and landfill became severe
industrial activity, emissions to environment, solid waste genera- leading governments around the world to initiate waste reduction
tion and landfill have become increasingly severe. In addition, due and recycling programs. Moreover, taking into account mechani-
to a growing world population and especially strong middle-class zation of society through steam engines, railways and electrical
growth the demand for resources is expected to rise rapidly indi- equipment a new form of product recovery arose today known as
cating a rising consumption of natural resources. Since planet remanufacturing in which durable products are restored to a “like
earth's resources are limited the requirements of exponential new” condition (Steinhilper, 1998). The birth of remanufacturing
economic and population growth cannot be met (Meadows et al., can be traced to the times of world war two (WW2) when resources
1972). In this scenario, it is not only the challenge of environ- became scarce and automotive industry was enforced to perform
mental pollution that is becoming acute but the challenge of global remanufacturing (Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association,
resource scarcity as well. These circumstances confront 2015). However, after times of war the remanufacturing industry
manufacturing industry to simultaneously cope with the pressure experienced continuous growth over the years driven primarily by
of environmental regulations, challenges of resource price volatility the economic and competitive advantages. In the beginning of the
and risks in resource supply, in addition to their daily business. As 2000s, China with its staggering population and rapidly developing
individual competitiveness is thereby influenced fundamentally, industry realized its mismatch between economic development
manufacturing companies find themselves in a progressively un- and resulting environmental impacts. As a consequence, the gov-
certain position when it comes to resource supplies. Increased ernment of China formally accepted the concept of CE as a new
competition for access to scarce or critical resources has become development strategy in 2002 and approved the first law “Circular
another major concern for manufacturing industry (European Economy Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China” which
Commission, 2014b) in addition to fulfilling obligations on envi- took effect in January 2009 (The Standing Committee of the
ronmental legislation at minimum cost. National People's Congress China, 2008). Since the approval of
In the light of the discussed series of challenges and the un- this law major research efforts have been made towards
derlying limitations of a linear economy, i.e. take-make-use- nation-wide implementation of a CE in China. More recently, eco-
dispose, the concept of a circular economy (CE) is considered as a nomic opportunities of CE have been outlined in the European
solution for harmonizing ambitions for economic growth and Union (EU) emphasizing advantages for the industrial sector such
environmental protection. There are various possibilities for as reduction of material costs or larger profit pools (Ellen
defining CE. In line with eco-industrial development CE is under- Macarthur Foundation, 2013).
stood as “realization of closed loop material flow in the whole In summary, attempts to respond to challenges of resource
economic system” (Geng and Doberstein, 2008). In association with scarcity, environmental impact or economic benefits or combina-
the so called 3R principles (reduction, reuse and recycling) “the tions of these have been made by governments, industries and
core of CE is the circular (closed) flow of materials and the use of societies around the world. However, major part of these attempts
raw materials and energy through multiple phases” (Yuan et al., has been lacking a systematic approach and therefore the CE
2006). Taking into account economic aspects CE can also be approach appears not only apposite but also inevitable. In this
defined as “an economy based on a “spiral-loop system” that scenario, the objective of this review paper is to.
38 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51

 investigate the research landscape to understand in what

different contexts CE has been researched so far,
 explore the comprehensive CE perspective which considers as-
pects of resources scarcity, environmental impact and economic
benefits simultaneously and
 propose a framework to be used as a CE implementation strat-
egy, especially keeping the manufacturing industry in mind.

In order to fulfill these objectives this paper first explores the

current CE research landscape and then analyzes the acquired in-
formation. In the next step, the outcome is evaluated with refer-
ence to the comprehensive CE scope, i.e. resource scarcity,
environmental impact and economic benefits. Finally, a framework
is proposed as a way forward towards implementing the compre-
hensive CE approach in industry. This paper is organized in five
sections where Section 2 presents the applied research methodol-
ogy in detail. In Section 3, current research on CE is investigated and
relevant is literature reviewed. Section 4 derives a comprehensive
CE framework followed by a practical implementation strategy. In
the last section, conclusions are drawn from the performed
research.

2. Research methodology

In the first step a systematic review of research articles is carried

out to identify the current state of academic insight with regards to
the circular economy concept. If accessible, published articles were
extracted from the Web of Science (science technology and social
sciences database) as well as Scopus1 using the keyword “circular
economy” for the years 1950 until 2015. This resulted in more than
2000 items considering the results from both databases. As this
review is limited to journal publications in English the language
filter has been set to “English”. Filters for document type have been
set to “articles”, “review” and “editorial” which produced a total of
315 articles in Web of Science and 344 articles in Scopus. As a next
step, articles have been considered for review that were published
during the last five years (January 2010 until May 2015 inclusively)
or have been cited at least five times between 1950 and 2009. After
removing duplicates and scanning of all abstracts to remove articles
irrelevant to the topic of this research a total of 158 papers resulted
as a basis for review. Articles have been regarded as irrelevant if the
association with CE, i.e. an industrial economy which is regenera-
tive by intention, has been absent.
Due to the major share of articles focusing on China (see Fig. 2)
as a result of the “Circular Economy Promotion Law of the People's
Republic of China” all articles were clustered geographically at first,
thus leading to a categorization into research specifically targeting
implementation of CE in China and geographically independent CE
research. Geographically independent CE research in this context
stands for research which is not linked to a strategy of a particular
geographic region.
In order to account for a comprehensive overview for these two
categories the articles have been categorized once more into two
sub-categories according to research field as well as type of research.
The combined perspective of the two sub-categories allows for
obtaining a graphical representation of the current CE research
focus for each of the two main categories as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.
As a result of the review, nine research fields have been identified
Fig. 1. CE review method.
which have performed research towards CE and that are repre-
sented in geographically independent CE research as well as CE
research with explicit focus on China2:
 Industrial ecology dealing with patterns of material and energy
flows within and outside of industrial systems, including tech-
nological dynamics
 Environmental science containing studies of environmental
impacts through e.g. industrial systems including their conse-
quences on natural environment through waste and emission
 Management and economics containing studies on economic
concepts and analyses to the problems of formulating rational
managerial decisions
 Business management focusing on studies which are associated
with enterprise operations and include activities such as con-
trolling, leading, monitoring, organizing, and planning
 Supply chain management involving studies on flow of goods
and services
 Sustainability science simultaneously involving studies with
economic, environmental and societal criteria
 Process engineering dealing with studies concerning design,
operation, control, and optimization of chemical, physical, and
biological processes
 Management and law containing studies on policies that are
enforced through social institutions to govern behavior
 Social science dealing with studies concerning society and the
relationships among individuals within a society

1
Considered subject areas in Scopus: environmental science, social science, en-
gineering, economics, econometrics and finance, energy, business, management
and accounting, agricultural and biological science, computer sciences, mathe-
2
matics, biochemistry, chemistry, materials science, medicine, decision sciences, If not evident or further specified in the article, the affiliation of the corre-
chemical engineering, multidisciplinary, psychology, undefined. sponding author has been taken as an indication for the field of research.
 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51
Fig. 2. Distribution of reviewed academic publications including geographic focus in which CE has been published without specified research perspective.
In order to obtain an overview about the type of research that
has been carried out in each research field three sub-categories
have been formed:
 Review studies on previously published literature, which may
include discussions on existing concepts to propose new ones.
 Specific studies limited to particular industries and/or
geographic regions including empirical analyses. This type of
research may also contain experimental setups.
 Development work resulting in frameworks, tools, models and
methods for decision-making support towards CE imple-
mentation. This type of research may include conceptual as well
as empirical studies to motivate the purpose of the
development.
The 156 research articles have been reviewed in an iterative
process in which comparisons for similarities and differences have
been made in order to achieve consistency in the resulting sub-
categories thus reducing the number of relevant research articles
to finally 136. A list of publications and their allocation into the sub-
categories can be found in Appendix A.
Furthermore, the different perspectives from which CE has been
researched so far have been identified. The research articles have
been allocated to the perspective of resource scarcity if the research
topic or motivation is energy and material consumption, criticality
of materials or resource productivity. If solid waste, landfill, emis-
sions or pollution were outlined as reason for the CE research, the
perspective of environmental impact has been assumed. Thirdly,
financial aspects such as cost savings, revenue increases or gross
domestic product account for the CE perspective of economic
benefits.
As database queries were static and the use of the phrase “cir-
cular economy” gained popularity quite recently a more extensive
review is necessary to allow for consideration of adjacent research
areas that may be of relevance but have treated aspects of CE under
different notations. Therefore, a brief synthesis of themes related to
CE-thinking is also carried out in which other relevant research
streams are highlighted. These research streams are either directly
referenced in the identified 136 research articles (Section 3.2) or
indirectly supportive of CE-thinking (as e.g. remanufacturing).
The development of a comprehensive CE view is subsequently
carried out by critical review of the findings from the review in the
light of the major associated challenges resource scarcity, envi-
ronmental impact and economic benefits as presented initially. An
implementation strategy for CE is then proposed in the following
steps. Fig. 1 illustrates the research method of literature review
including all important steps. In the following section the findings
are discussed in detail.
39
3. Present circular economy research landscape
3.1. Overview of CE research
Fig. 2 provides an aggregated overview of relevant academic
literature including their geographic focus since 1950. Accordingly,
there has been a strong publication increase in the field of CE with a
peak in this year 2015. As can be seen, the number of publications has
nearly tripled since the beginning of this decade and doubled in the
last three years (27 publications in 2015 by June in comparison to 14
publications in 2012 and 10 publications in 2010). Another notable
result is a strong publication record for CE research with explicit focus
on issues within China, which makes up the majority of all CE
research articles (54%) and exceeds the sum of geographically inde-
pendent research (roughly 36%). Few studies in the field of CE have
been performed with focus on global regions other than China. These
make up about 10% of the investigated CE research articles of which
more than half have a geographic focus on Europe. It is worthwhile to
note that China's enormously high publication record seems to be the
consequence of China's CE strategy which took effect in January 2009.
Since the approval of this law major attention has been given towards
implementation of a circular economy on corporate, inter-firm and
social level (Geng and Doberstein, 2008). There appears to be a
general increase of interest in CE considering the increasing number
of geographically independent research articles after 2010.
Table 1 provides a concise but comprehensive summary of
research articles reviewed for this work. The structure of Table 1 lists
the current CE research perspectives of resource scarcity, environ-
mental impact, economic benefits and combinations of these as
motivated in Section 1 and further described in Section 2. Within
each of the perspectives articles are grouped according to review
articles, specific studies and development work. Moreover, in each
group the references and highlights of each paper are briefly out-
lined in reverse chronological order. As can be seen, the by far
largest share of CE research is done from the perspectives of
resource scarcity and environmental impact. However there is also
considerable CE research which takes into account economic ben-
efits in addition to perspectives of resource scarcity and environ-
mental impact (see last section of Table 1). Figs. 3 and 4 show
another view of the literature on the same publications that are
listed in Table 1. The largest share of CE research has been done with
focus on China in the fields of industrial ecology and environmental
science (Fig. 4). This is also reflected in Table 1 as most of CE research
with focus on China is allocated within the perspective of resource
scarcity and environmental impact. Especially case studies of Chi-
nese regions or industries are relatively high in number. In com-
parison, geographically independent CE research is by far more
diverse and hence more challenging to characterize since it does not
40 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51

Table 1
Summary of research articles analyzed from the CE perspectives “resource scarcity”, “environmental impact”, “economic benefits” and their combinations including references
and highlights.

Resource scarcity
References of review articles (previously published literature)
Peck et al., 2015; Dodson et al., 2015

Highlights
 analysis and comparison of selected definitions and descriptors of critical materials produced
 overview of current research in the area of critical and precious metals recovery using biosorption including application and potential use

References of specific studies (industries and/or geographic regions)

Shi and Yu, 2014; Lu, 2014; Chang et al., 2011; Tu et al., 2011; Hara et al., 2011; Fern
andez, 2007

Highlights
 eco-industrial park development in Tianjin, Fuzhou and Xi'an China
 merge of concept of marine CE with the economic development
 theoretical foundation to formulate policy on bioenergy development
 use of clean energy in a Jincheng China, including potential, present status and future of renewable energy
 discussion on energy intensity of the industrial sectors of the Yangtze River Delta
 examination of material resource consumption of the Chinese building construction

References of development work (frameworks, tools, models and methods for decision-making)
Geng et al., 2011; Geldermann et al., 2010; Leontief, 1991

Highlights
 approach for multi-scale integrated analysis of societal metabolism
 concept of the multi objective pinch analysis eco-industrial park assessment
 promotion of a generic CE concept

Environmental impact
References of review articles (previously published literature)
Ampelli et al., 2015; Mirabella et al., 2014; Xue et al., 2014; Grundmann et al., 2013; Huang et al., 2009

Highlights
 possibilities of chemical and energy industry by discussing, among others, CO2 CE and its impact
 use of food waste coming from food manufacturing
 performance changes during different five-year plan stages for emission control in China
 summary of background, aims and issues and the most important outcomes of an EU funded project about risks of chemicals
 current technologies and treatment status in China

References of specific studies (industries and/or geographic regions)

Lu et al., 2015; Kama, 2015; Farmer et al., 2015; Wübbeke and Heroth, 2014; Usapein and Chavalparit, 2014; Wang et al., 2013; Dienst et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2013; Lahl
and Zeschmar-Lahl, 2013; Liu et al., 2012; Matus et al., 2012; Wang and Geng, 2012; Xi et al., 2011; Sakai et al., 2011; Li et al., 2010; Mo et al., 2009; Peters et al., 2007

Highlights
 collected and dismantled e-waste from 2000 to 2012
 investigation of the reinvention of electrical and electronic waste as a resource in the context of the EU market economy
 analysis of waste management practices England
 examination on reasons why steel recycling is still relatively weak in China
 application of 3R concept (reduce, reuse, recycle) at petrochemical factory level
 experimental research on fly ash for effective reuse
 overview of developments regarding greenhouse gas emissions in Wuxi China
 demonstrates a potential technology for syngas fermentation in the hollow-fiber membrane biofilm reactors
 need for legislative action in light of pollutant emission and concentration of hazardous substances
 proposition of a constructivism scenario evolutionary analysis based on bargaining games
 identification of different factors driving innovation in the fields of green chemistry and green engineering in China
 case study of Dalian China to inform initiatives in other cities and potential solutions of feasible strategies for municipal solid waste
 case study of Shenyang China on greenhouse gas emissions
 international workshop for 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) and waste management in Kyoto Japan
 promotion of earthworms as best raw materials for the biochemical and pharmaceutical industries in a CE
 characterization of the recycling system in Suzhou China
 analysis of changes in various changes on CO2 emissions in China

References of development work (frameworks, tools, models and methods for decision-making)
Li and Yu, 2011; Winkler, 2011; Veenstra et al., 2010

Highlights
 legislative system to provide legal protection for the development of a CE
 concept of sustainable supply chain networks as a suitable means of designing closed-loop production systems
 model that allows for the analysis of the flow of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) through the reverse chain from point of collection through to final
disposal

Resource scarcity & environmental impact

References of review articles (previously published literature)
Andrews, 2015; Velis, 2015; Wang and Chang, 2014; Naustdalslid, 2014; Schulte, 2013; Su et al., 2013; Xunhua and Yan, 2013; Bilitewski, 2012; Mathews, 2011; Mathews
and Tan, 2011; Zhang et al., 2010; Geng and Doberstein, 2008; Yong, 2007; Moriguchi, 2007; Yuan et al., 2006
 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51 41

Table 1 (continued )

Highlights
 promotion of designers as crucial to the development of the new economic model of CE
 outline and exploration of the interface between CE and globalized waste flows
 study on the development of policy instruments that support the low-carbon governance in China
 discussion on CE for more comprehensive understanding and critique of the Chinese version of CE as part of a wider policy
 promotion of CE based on analysis of the business constraints imposed by increasingly scarce resources
 concept, current practices and assessments of CE
 promotion of changing from traditional mode towards low-carbon circular mode of production in large-scale machine industry
 CE risks to be overcome in the light of chemicals
 discussion on how industrial capitalism might be ‘naturalized’ towards growth while keeping quality of life without destroying resources
 transformation from a linear to a CE and the evolutionary processes in which dynamic linkages are gradually established over time
 introduction of practice of Chinese pilot eco-industrial parks
 introduction of the development of the CE concept in China
 the why, what and how of the Chinese CE
 progress in material flow analysis and its use in providing resource productivity indicators
 introduction of CE as new development strategy for China

References of specific studies (industries and/or geographic regions)

Wang et al., 2015; Dai, 2015; Smol et al., 2015; Yu et al., 2015b; Dururu et al., 2015; Riding et al., 2015; Li and Ma, 2015; Withers et al., 2015; Kiss et al., 2015; Kuo et al.,
2015; Gregson et al., 2015; Yu et al., 2014; Sevigne -Itoiz et al., 2014; Bakker et al., 2014; Liu and Bai, 2014; Lee et al., 2014; Ma et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2014; Dong,
Zhang, et al., 2013; Kopnina, 2014; Vermeulen, 2013; Wheeler and Glucksmann, 2013; Reh, 2013; Johansson et al., 2012; Chen et al., 2012; Zhu et al., 2012; Pauliuk et al.,
2012; Zhou et al., 2012; Hu et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2011; Wen and Li, 2010; Li et al., 2010; Xue et al., 2010; Zhu et al., 2010; Geng et al., 2009; Yabar et al., 2009; Liu
et al., 2009; Kosseva, 2009; Amir, 1994

Highlights
 case study on eco-province construction in Shandong China
 material flow analysis of iron and steel industry
 use of ash from sewage sludge incineration in construction industry as an environmental alternative in a CE
 eco-industrial park development in Rizhao China
 examination of public engagement with voluntary and community sector organizations and the factors that influenced this engagement
 scientific, regulatory and socioeconomic barriers to the use of the nutrient waste streams
 study of papermaking park Guangdon China
 strategic framework of 5R practice for phosphorus stewardship
 arguments towards integrated bio-processing to link basic developments in biosciences with possible industrial applications
 examination of whether Chinese firms' signals of green governance vary with ownership structure and environmental sensitivity
 analysis of two case studies of resource recovery in the United Kingdom (UK) including challenges towards CE within the EU
 process analysis of eco-industrial park development Tianjin
 determination of greenhouse gas emissions of old scrap collected and sorted for recycling, considering market interactions
 exploration of product life extension strategies, concluding that tailored approaches are needed
 empirical research on the awareness and behavior of firms in developing CE
 investigation how resource strategies that reduce waste and increase recycling influence human exposure to hazardous chemicals
 study on private iron and steel enterprises in Wu'an China
 exploration of determinants of CE accounting information disclosure quality
 reflection on consumption, waste and sustainable development
 industrial symbiosis activities in iron/steel industry in Liuzhou and Jinan
 study of 'consumption work' to show how consumer is both at the end and starting point of a circular global economy of material reuse
 proposal of ‘meta’-governance for sustainable supply chains including new approaches by governments
 limitations and trends of possible developments in processing engineering
 discussion on the transformation of landfills to valuable assets
 factors of project scale, recycling boundary, and types of waste in relationship to environmental benefits and operational performance
 survey of Chinese manufacturers highlighting that international institutional pressures positively relate to domestic environmentalism
 dynamic material flow analysis to forecast production, recycling, and iron ore consumption
 investigation of urbanization on Chinese energy consumption patterns
 CE model for leather tannery waste
 presentation of problems before remanufacturing, during remanufacturing and after remanufacturing including several barriers
 evaluation of material metabolism of China's highway traffic system
 analysis of key energy-consuming process industries in China focusing on energy efficiency, energy consumption, waste emission
 survey of officials' awareness on CE development in China
 examination if different types of manufacturing enterprises on environmental-oriented supply chain cooperation exist
 CE initiatives in Dalian
 evolution of environmental policies in Japan and China and proposes viable measures
 public awareness and performance in the promotion of CE in Tianjin China
 existing trends in the food waste processing technologies during the last 15 years
 replacement of traditional systemic analog of an economy, which is the closed “circular flow” process, with the steady flow process

References of development work (frameworks, tools, models and methods for decision-making)
Wen and Meng, 2014; Bai et al., 2015; Walls and Paquin, 2015; Busch et al., 2014; Amouroux et al., 2014; Park and Chertow, 2014; Fusco Girard, 2014; Jiliang et al., 2013;
Jones et al., 2013; Dong, Fujita, et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2013; Geng et al., 2013; Li et al., 2013; Zhou et al., 2013; Thomas and Birat, 2013; Chertow and Ehrenfeld, 2012;
Geng et al., 2012; Mattila et al., 2012; Chang-Ming et al., 2012; Grosse, 2011; Geng et al., 2010; Xu et al., 2009; Zhijun and Nailing, 2007; Gao et al., 2006; Esrey, 2001

Highlights
 combination of substance flow analysis approach with resource productivity indicator
 critical review and analysis of corporate sustainability development (CDS) in China for a theoretical framework among CSD drivers
 framework highlighting how past industrial symbiosis research connects with numerous organizational perspectives
 stocks and flows model for the dynamic assessment of material demands resulting from infrastructure transitions
 proposed approach to identify the carbon recovery through a circular industrial revolution including 3 industrial examples

(continued on next page)

42 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51

Table 1 (continued )

 proposition of a ‘regenerative city’ as new paradigm to boost city wealth considering circular processes and synergies
 indicator for “reuse potential” to help both material and waste managers sort out decisions about technical feasibility of reusing discards
 unified CE index System under the condition and trend of green supply chain management
 introduction of Enhanced Landfill Mining defined as the safe conditioning, excavation and integrated valorization of waste streams
 physical input and monetary output model for industrial symbiosis evaluation
 hybrid material and energy flow analysis approach at company level
 emergy indicator system
 extended economy-wide material flow analysis model
 evaluation index system of CE for iron and steel enterprises based on Support Vector Machine with Radial Basis Function kernel
 extended lifecycle assessment (LCA) tool for resource efficiency and more specifically waste management at the end of life products
 discontinuous three stage model of industrial symbiosis drawing on biological, ecological, organizational and systems theory
 CE indicator system
 exploration of methodological issues encountered in application of LCA to various research questions arising from industrial symbiosis
 assessment and analysis of supportiveness of CE based on evaluation indicator system of coal industry
 model for CE evaluation
 method based upon emergy analysis and synthesis
 systems dynamics and multi-objective programming model for planning a regional CE
 implementation framework for CE
 three-level education framework to meet theoretical and technological needs of CE implementation
 introduction of a new approach called Ecological Sanitation

Resource scarcity, environmental impact & economic benefit

References of review articles (previously published literature)
Yu et al., 2015a; Schetters et al., 2015; Bonciu, 2014; Stahel, 2013; Crainer, 2013; Webster, 2013; Andersen, 2007

Highlights
 use of LCA approach to evaluate the environmental benefits and costs of industrial symbiosis
 process changes in drinking water treatment
 analysis of a broader approach that places human activity into a long term CE perspective
 characteristics and advantages inherent in a CE arguing that the shift towards a CE can be accelerated by a shift in public policy
 examination of CE theory and the highlighting of initial best practices
 highlighting of systemic defects within education for sustainable development
 introduction to some of the fundamental principles and approaches in environmental economics

References of specific studies (industries and/or geographic regions)

Ge and Jackson, 2014; Ongondo et al., 2013; Li et al., 2012; Zhu, Geng, Sarkis, et al., 2011; Zhu, Geng & Lai, 2011; Zhang et al., 2009; Yang and Feng, 2008; Zhang et al., 2008;
Mayers et al., 2005

Highlights
 real-time data analytics for adaptive calibration and CE development
 analysis of operations enterprises involved in the reuse of information and technology equipment
 nonrenewable energy saving, ecological benefits and economic benefits by use of biogas fertilizer
 investigation of different Chinese manufacturer clusters and their extent of implementing green supply chain management
 examination of environmental supply chains cooperation practices with regard to CE practices and performance outcomes
 discussion on the current state of CE and the sustainable development of eco-industrial parks
 case study of industrial symbiosis “Nanning Sugar Co.”
 analysis of the current status of urbanization
 lifecycle assessment and costing to investigate the possible environmental effects of the WEEE Directive

References of development work (frameworks, tools, models and methods for decision-making)
(Chen et al., 2015; Ma et al., 2015; Wu et al., 2014; Park et al., 2010; Greyson, 2007)

Highlights
 methodological framework to measure target and planned resource-conserving and environmental-friendly development
 set of tools for chemical industries
 method of super-efficiency 'data envelopment analysis' window analysis to dynamically evaluate CE efficiency of 30 regions in China
 analysis of emerging integration of business value and environmental returns in the context of China's CE
 approach to prevent waste and other global impacts based on precycling, CE policy and recycling insurance

align with an overall formalized strategy as in the case of CE research
in China. Consequently, the identified research is spread over a
broader range of research fields as indicated in Fig. 3. Moreover,
Fig. 3 shows the same research fields as Fig. 4, but includes further
research fields summarized under “others”, which make up the
majority of geographically independent CE research. These addi-
tional research fields are diverse and comprise material science,
chemical engineering, industrial design, ecology, education, waste
management, information and communication technology, applied
physics and mathematics as well as architecture.
3.2. Related areas to circular economy
Like any multi-disciplinary field circular economy also contains
elements from various disciplines and paths of research that are the
predecessors of current knowledge. There are several theories and
aspects linked to CE-thinking which were referenced throughout
the review process described in Section 3.1 or furthermore indi-
rectly support CE through existing concepts. As these theories and
aspects are dispersed and deferred this section attempts to provide
a theme-oriented overview of CE-related developments as com-
plement to the previous, rather static, database search. In doing so,
an even more comprehensive picture of CE developments can be
obtained. In this section relevant theories and aspects have been
grouped to the following themes:
 Transformation of economic structures and business rationales
 Regenerative design and critical materials
 Industrial ecology
 Remanufacturing and closed-loop supply chains
 Resource conservative manufacturing
 Governmental CE initiatives
 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51 43

Fig. 3. Number of research articles for geographically independent CE research categorized into research field and type of research.

3.2.1. Transformation of economic structures and business
rationales
A number of discussions have emphasized the need of change in
the nature of the prevailing economic structure from one that is
characterized as open system with the assumption of unlimited
resource supplies towards one that is characterized as closed sys-
tem with limited resource supplies.
The very first research towards closed systems can be traced
back to 1966 (Boulding, 1966). Illustrating planet earth as spaceship
on a long journey in possession of limited resources the discussion
on open and closed systems in this article has been introduced with
particular focus on interaction of economy and environment. With
special regard to behavioral aspects a change of economic princi-
ples has been highlighted as a necessity in order to comply with the
nature and demands of a closed system. In this view, economic
success ought not to be measured by throughput of industrial
production, but rather “nature, extent, quality, and complexity” of
earth's available resource stock, which also includes humans.
Involving the private sector and highlighting business opportu-
nities e.g. in manufacturing industry, from 1981 onwards an
economy based on a system of product loops consisting of reuse,
repair, reconditioning and recycling activities has been promoted
(Stahel and Reday-Mulvey, 1981). Main focus here has been the
extension of product lives in order to minimize material flows,
energy flows and environmental damage to support a transition
towards a sustainable society which is consistent with the resource
limitations (Stahel, 1982). This line of thought persisted during the
following decades eventually emphasizing a shift towards selling
performance, i.e. services, instead of goods. In this shift towards a
service-oriented economy, CE is currently seen as a necessary
concept which emphasizes fundamental changes in today's domi-
nating business models (Stahel, 2010).
The first use of the term “Circular economy” as such has been
found in 1990 during the attempt to model an economy applying a
materials balance model which follows the first and second law of
thermodynamics (Pearce and Turner, 1990). In this materials bal-
ance model resource supply, waste assimilation and utility have
been identified as three economic functions of the environment in a
world where “everything is an input to everything else”. Hence, a
model for a circular economy has been designed that defines the
relationship between economics and environment. In a similar
context, another study uses the laws of thermodynamics to

Fig. 4. Number of research articles for CE research with explicit focus on China categorized into research field and type of research.
44 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51
examine economic and ecological systems and highlights in-
efficiency of (isolated) economics systems as well as overuse of
environmental resources (Amir, 1994).
Collaterally, the field of producteservice systems (PSS) has
emerged from the 1990s as a research field and is in most cases
associated with economic prosperity and sustainable resource
management. Using “a mix of tangible products and intangible
services designed and combined so that they are jointly capable of
fulfilling final customer needs” (Tukker and Tischner, 2006) it is
argued that an increase in service-orientation, rather than product-
orientation, will facilitate the design of systems with significantly
lower environmental impacts while maintaining economic
prosperity.
In line with the challenges of waste generation and resource
scarcity a new economy, termed blue economy, is proposed which
is stimulated by innovation and creativity as part of social entre-
preneurship (Pauli, 2010). In this context new business models are
promoted with the underlying motivation of combining disparate
environmental problems with scientific solutions based on physical
processes from the natural world. Examples are the exploitation of
gravity as primary source of energy or the use of cascading systems
to generate cash-flows based on waste. Aiming at a shift from an
economy that is based on scarcity towards an economy that is
based on resource abundance solutions are proposed that include a
series of innovations which possess ecosystem-like functions and
hence provide both economic and environmental benefits also
resulting in wider social benefits.
3.2.2. Regenerative design and critical materials
Since the 1970s landscape architectural regenerative design
strategies have been taught. As it has been apparent that the
character of regenerative systems is distinguished from the
prevailing industrial systems, strategies for regenerative design
(Lyle, 1996) were developed to support sustainable develop-
ment. In practice this means that daily activities are “based on
the value of living within the limits of available renewable re-
sources without environmental degradation” (Lyle Center,
2006). This biomimicry of ecosystems is intended to function
as a fully regenerative closed ecological-economic system
including both human as well as industrial systems, which re-
quires renewal or regeneration of sources of energy and mate-
rials that have been consumed. Efforts to close the material loop
by cradle-to-cradle design approaches have been researched
since 1990. In line with the regenerative design approach from
the 1970s the cradle-to-cradle approach mimics nature's eco-
systems from a toxicity and design perspective. Emphasis is put
on shifting from a linear consumption system as “make-use-
dispose” (cradle-to-grave) towards closed-loop cycles (cradle-
to-cradle) by applying reducing, reusing and recycling methods
(Lindhqvist, 2000). The cradle-to-cradle model puts special
attention on the precise definition of molecular composition of
materials. At end of the product use life a distinction between
two main categories is made, namely “biological nutrients” and
“technical nutrients”. This distinction is made to differentiate
materials that are able to re-enter the environment from ma-
terials that can remain within closed-loop industrial cycles.
Accordingly the design of products and systems ought to be
biomimetic.
Furthermore, product design is identified as crucial in the design
of sustainable circular systems, especially in connection with crit-
ical materials research. Product life spans have steadily declined
thus increasing material flows through society as well as waste
generation (Bakker et al., 2014). Proposed product design strategies
as options for improved material efficiency, i.e. more material ser-
vices with less production and processing, comprise longer-lasting
products, modularization and remanufacturing, component re-use,
and designing products with less material (Allwood et al., 2011).
These design strategies include decision points to be made during
the course of product design which are linked to the criticality of
materials. Various terms and definitions have been discussed when
it comes to the meaning of material criticality (Peck et al., 2015). In
the specific context of product design, materials are considered as
critical “if supply is concentrated in one country or could be
restricted by a few corporate interests, and because they are
important economically or for national security” (Ashby, 2012).
Supply risks, environmental implications and vulnerability to
supply restrictions are common characteristics associated with
material criticality and therefore directly related to the global
challenge of resource scarcity.
3.2.3. Industrial ecology
Originally not focusing on manufacturing-related objects ecol-
ogists adopted a view that included industrial systems and
perceived these as a type of ecosystem, thus resulting in the
research field industrial ecology (Erkman, 1997). Today industrial
ecology is a well-established research area considering a systemic
perspective, complex patterns of material and energy flows within
and outside of the industrial system and technological dynamics.
“Industrial ecology is the means by which humanity can deliber-
ately approach and maintain sustainability, given continued eco-
nomic, cultural, and technological evolution. The concept requires
that an industrial system be viewed not in isolation from its sur-
rounding systems, but in concert with them. It is a systems view in
which one seeks to optimize the total materials cycle from virgin
material, to finished material, to component, to product, to obsolete
product, and to ultimate disposal.” (Graedel and Allenby, 2010)
Industrial ecology operates at three levels, namely factory level,
inter-firm level and regional or global level (Chertow, 2000). On
factory level attention is put on cleaner production through e.g.
environmental protection or reduction of waste and emissions. On
inter-firm level collaboration and synergies are emphasized that
are enabled through geographic proximity, thus leading to indus-
trial symbiosis and developments of EIPs which include physical
exchange of materials, energy, water and by-products with the aim
of reaching competitive advantage as a collective approach. On
regional or global level rather sociological perspectives are taken. In
this context industrial metabolism is mentioned as study of ma-
terial and energy flows through societies and the sources as well as
causes of emissions including their connection to human activities
(Ayres and Simonis, 1994). Adjacent to studies of industrial meta-
bolism ecological modernization theory focuses on rather socio-
logical perspectives of industrial and environmental developments,
in particular ecological risks that are associated with industrialism
(Murphy and Gouldson, 2000).
3.2.4. Remanufacturing and closed-loop supply chains
Recovery of products or extension of their lives is to a large
extent driven by remanufacturing. Even though remanufacturing
has been practiced since the industrial revolution it gained strong
momentum in the automotive sector as a consequence of WW2
during the 1940s due to limited availability of natural resources and
strong need to reuse car and truck parts. Remanufacturing began
establishing itself as research area in the late 1990s where it has
been introduced as performing recycling by manufacturing
(Steinhilper, 1998). In doing so, used durable products are restored
to a “like new” condition. Key steps of remanufacturing as an in-
dustrial process are defined as disassembly, cleaning, inspection
and sorting, reconditioning and reassembly. Adjacent to practicing
remanufacturing and starting from the mid-1990s, the area of
closed-loop supply chains research has matured to a fully
 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51
recognized subfield of supply chain management research. In
closed-loop supply chains the entire flow of material from suppliers
to manufacturers, distributors, retailers and finally consumer is
considered (forward supply chain) as well as the reverse flows of
used products (reverse supply chain) (Souza, 2013). The combina-
tion of both flows is to a large extent researched from a business
perspective in combination with remanufacturing activities in or-
der to evaluate profitability of reverse supply chains (Guide and
Van Wassenhove, 2009). In this context, product return manage-
ment, remanufacturing operations and re-marketing of remanu-
facturing products have been of immediate interest and basis for
operations research models to provide decision support for
industry.
3.2.5. Resource conservative manufacturing
Arguing for a radical shift in the context of closed-loop product
systems the concept of Resource Conservative Manufacturing
(ResCoM) has been introduced as new paradigm for the realization
of sustainable manufacturing (Rashid et al., 2013). Since the pre-
vailing business models, products and supply chains have been
developed for operating in linear systems, they are unable to cope
with the dynamics of closed-loop systems. Therefore, a novel
approach is proposed in which dynamic interaction among busi-
ness models, product design, supply chains and customers are
essential and treated simultaneously as integral part of
manufacturing enterprises. The ResCoM concept includes the idea
of multiple product lifecycles and along with conservation of en-
ergy, material and added value with waste prevention and envi-
ronmental protection as integrated components of the product
design and development strategy. Studies highlighted that closed-
loop system according to the ResCoM concept are more robust in
terms of operations and faces less uncertainty in terms of timing,
quantity and quality of product returns as well as mismatch be-
tween the supply and demand of product returns in remanu-
facturing scenarios (Asif et al., 2012). Furthermore system dynamics
models have been developed to assist decision makers in assessing
and analyzing the potential gain of product multiple lifecycles
considering the dynamic relationships of material reserves, supply,
enterprise's performance and need for adopting product multiple
lifecycles approach (Asif et al., 2015).
Fig. 5. A comprehensive CE framework.
45
3.2.6. Governmental CE initiatives
In the past governments and policy makers mainly of the
developed countries have attempted to direct the growing material
waste streams back into industry through recycling programs in
order to close the material loop. Sweden, Germany and Japan are
frequently named in research as countries that have pushed legis-
lation towards waste reduction and recycling programs. Examples
are the concept of “extended producer responsibility” (Lindhqvist
and Lidgren, 1990), the “Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Man-
agement Act” (German Parliament, 1994) or the movement towards
a recycling-based society (Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry
Japan, 2003), and lately on European level the End-of-Life-Vehicle
Directive (ELV Directive) and the WEEE Directive. In line with the
outlined legislative direction and the steadily increasing amount of
directives towards waste minimization the implementation of a
circular economy is clearly supported by various EU member states
(European Commission, 2015a; House of Commons, 2014) and by
the EC (European Commission, 2012). The EC has published policy
recommendations in which the movement towards CE is explicitly
promoted (European Commission, 2014a). Recommendations are
given to tackle key policy challenges and furthermore aim at cre-
ation of jobs and growth, incentive for resource efficiency
improvement, clear information and measurement of progress,
promotion of new business models. Even a CE roadmap has been
proposed aiming at the main policy objective of creating conditions
for the development of CE by addressing barriers and enabling the
development of new markets (European Commission, 2015b).
3.3. Discussion of state of the art research
As evident from state-of-the-art review in this paper, a growing
amount of research holds the concept of CE as accepted and desired
to be implemented. Assuming lasting interest in the field of CE in
China as well as in the global research community, it can be ex-
pected that the number of CE-related research articles will continue
growing (Fig. 2).
Even if research shows that the comprehensive CE perspectives
of resource scarcity, environmental impact and economic benefits
(Table 1) are covered two major results can be highlighted:
46 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51
 the coverage of the investigated CE research landscape is
fragmented
 the level of discussion is highly granular and rarely touching
implementation level
Most relevant, analyses and discussions about CE and towards
CE development is to largest extent done from a resource scarcity
and environmental impact perspective leaving economic benefits
of industrial actors in general and specifically on individual level
missing. This shortcoming in the parent CE research landscape is
critical considering the fact that essential activities for successful CE
implementation, such as business models, product design, supply
chain design and choice of material are in control and hence finally
determined by manufacturing companies with the underlying
motivation of gaining economic benefits. In this scenario it is
obvious that a transition towards the CE will not appear favorable
for manufacturing companies since it will be perceived as
constraint to industrial activities rather than an opportunity for
sustainable business and growth.
There are few research efforts and frameworks that have
included economic benefits or competitive advantages. On opera-
tional level often these issues are addressed by conventional
closed-loop supply chains where products are neither designed nor
manufacture to facilitate loop-closure by intent. Moreover, stake-
holders identified usually remain the governmental bodies
excluding manufacturing industry.
In summary, the prevailing CE research highlights elements of
the three comprehensive CE perspectives resource scarcity, envi-
ronmental impact and economic benefits. However, given the
aforementioned arguments the current CE research horizon cannot
yet be described as comprehensive, thus requiring a framework
necessary to facilitate a successful transition from linear to CE. The
comprehensive CE perspectives involve an environment where all
interests of stakeholders and motivation are equal and where in-
dividual businesses, limitations of natural resources as well as
waste and environmental aspects are considered including their
dynamic relationships.
4. A comprehensive framework on CE
In order to fulfill the lack of framework as previously discussed
in this paper the CE perspective resource scarcity, environmental
impact and economic benefits emphasize a combined view. Fig. 5
illustrates a comprehensive framework for CE based on these
three perspectives including their relationships.
 Economic benefits in CE: Each individual company strives for
gaining economic benefits in order to secure profitability and a
competitive edge. This requires an integrative approach towards
Fig. 6. Proposed CE implementation strategy applying top-down and bottom-up approach.
business models, product design, supply chain design and
choice of materials.
 Resource scarcity in CE: Social prosperity depends on planet
earth's finite resource supplies which makes regenerative use of
resources mandatory for CE realization. The underlying factors
in this context concern circularity of resources, material criti-
cality and volatility of resources in the light of the globally
increasing number of industrial activities.
 Environmental impact in CE: A society with minimum envi-
ronmental impacts is a desirable state of nations, governmental
bodies and individuals around the globe. CE aims at reducing
solid waste, landfill and emissions through activities such as
reuse, remanufacturing and/or recycling.
Resource scarcity, environmental impact and economic benefits
cover short-term as well as long-term objectives and are seamlessly
linked in this CE framework. As each of the three perspectives has a
systemic view with specific boundaries the relationships among
the perspectives need to be described:
To gain economic benefits industrial activity fundamentally
depends on resources necessary to perform manufacturing opera-
tions and transform raw materials into products. In return resource
price volatility and supply risks have direct influence on the
competitive edge of companies and their capability of performing
their industrial activity in sustainable and profitable manner.
At the same time, while pursuing economic benefits, industrial
activity influences the natural environment, as e.g. through waste
generation in a linear system. Perceiving end-of-life products as
resources rather than waste involves management of resource
values as part of standard business operations. The approach of
resource value management stands in contrast to the conventional
“waste management” approach in the prevailing linear economy
and does not differentiate between “waste” and “resources” (as
nature does not distinguish between these two either). In response
to waste generation and negative influences on the natural envi-
ronment industrial activity is restricted by legislation through e.g.
directives, thus putting constraints and affecting competitiveness.
However, in this scenario legislation is not a burden.
In a CE the speed of resource depletion and waste generation are
reduced. Assuming a rapidly growing population the speed of
resource depletion will be greater in a linear economy than in a CE.
Similarly, the speed of waste generation will be higher in a linear
economy than in a CE.
5. Practical implementation strategy for CE
Implementation of CE concept is a challenging task given the
prevailing linear mind-set and structures in industry and society.
While the benefits for the natural environment are simple to grasp
 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51
and understand, the economic benefits in the context of CE is
more complex to envisage. Despite existing success stories of cir-
cular system implementation in industry using case study ap-
proaches (Ellen Macarthur Foundation, 2014) large scale
implementation needs radical change in the way businesses
operate and requires commitment from higher management in
industry.
In order to give a practical way forward on how to implement CE
at large scale Fig. 6 suggests a concurrent approach which operates
through public institutions from top-down and through industry
from bottom-up. The motive for proposing a concurrent top-down
and bottom-up approach contains the assumption that inverse
motivations exist among the stakeholders of CE which need to be
aligned and converged. Governmental bodies and policy makers
advocate a collective consciousness about environmental issues as
well as societal benefit of industrial activities. Hence, there is a
notion of maximizing environmental benefits by strict control of
industrial businesses. On the contrary, manufacturing companies
possess potential awareness about environmental impacts of their
industrial activities. However, due to competitive pressure envi-
ronmental impacts will most likely remain unconsidered as pri-
mary focus is put on economic benefits and growth. Given the
scenario that industrial businesses do not see (economic) advan-
tages of CE will result in reluctance when it comes to pursuing CE-
initiatives. This scenario makes a concurrent process obligatory to
converge and compromise interests of public institutions (top) and
multiple industrials actors (bottom) with the aim to avoid priori-
tization of environmental benefits at the expense of economic
growth and vice versa. Ultimate objective is the achievement of the
CE, i.e. an economy which is environmentally and economically
regenerative. Fig. 6 conceptually illustrates the collective nexus
which stands for convergence of all relevant stakeholders.
The feasibility of this CE implementation strategy is related to
the following areas which are supportive in highlighting future
research.
Top-Down:
 Legislation and policy
 Support infrastructure
 Social awareness
Bottom-Up:
 Collaborative business models
 Product design
 Supply chain
 Information and communication technology (ICT)
As part of support infrastructure, which materializes the bene-
fits of policy and legislation, approaches or policy initiatives to
instigate CE movements seem missing around the globe. This is
confirmed by an examination of governments in the light of CE
(Dutch Sustainability Business Association, 2015) which resulted in
a report highlighting the lack of comprehensive approaches of
governments that support CE transitions. This is even the case
despite large benefits that are predicted for all areas around the
globe considering CE scenarios. Present arguments used by public
institutions for moving towards CE are provided from a resource
scarcity, environmental impact but also future job and competi-
tiveness perspective (European Commission, 2014a). Suggestions
are given on a business-to-business level such as the concept of the
product passport, network of industrial symbiosis initiatives or
sustainable sourcing standards. Governmentally funded research
emphasizes to largest extent environmental impacts (Zhao et al.,
2006). Research work has also been done in the area of taxation
in the context of CE (Stahel, 2013). The research emphasizes that a
47
shift to a tax system of not taxing renewable resources but taxing
non-renewable resources instead would accelerate the transition
towards CE. This research work also considers human labor as
renewable resources hence giving the incentive to increase
employment rates in a CE. Further proposals for creating economic
incentives to facilitate CE transitions are named as tax benefits for
“circular products” as well as a permanently reduced value-added
tax rate for recovery activities such as maintenance, repair, reno-
vation, recycling of products.
Social awareness is crucial for a successful transition from a
linear economy to a CE as customers are integral part of a CE. The
movement in the area of social awareness is ongoing and educa-
tional programs, public campaigns as well as seminars have
increased significantly during the last few years. So far this move-
ment has been well supported by the public institutions and
gradually gaining support from the industry as well Efforts of
raising awareness require change in people's mind-set in order to
orientate focus on performance of products and their fit-for-use
rather than thinking in terms of new or second-hand products.
For manufacturing companies the development of new inno-
vative business models that fit the CE context is vital. This involves
re-thinking of partnerships to allow for new collaborative business
models. In practice this might mean to incorporate activities such
as remanufacturing, which are generally known to be economically
beneficial (Atasu et al., 2008) but are currently considered rather as
side business, often outsourced and operated by third-party com-
panies. A step in the direction of new partnerships within CE
context would consequently promote a new perspective on re-
sources in terms of value management and new business models. In
this context, descriptive research is already done in the area of
sustainable business models (Bocken et al., 2014). Furthermore, the
implementation PSS business models is gaining attention (Tukker,
2013). As PSS enables the sale of functionality rather than owner-
ship the establishment of resource conservative business models
can be facilitated.
Re-thinking of business models for a CE is connected to
product design as well as forward and reverse supply chains in
order to reach and maintain operational efficiency. Hence,
products need to be designed with the awareness of CE with
multiple usage phases. This also requires economically feasible
value recovery activities as part of efficient closed-loop supply
chains. In addition, ICT offers potential as significant enabler on
e.g. company level through product lifecycle management sys-
tems and monitoring of products and parts in multiple lifecycles.
These developments are capable of recapturing, recovering and
reusing processes across successive product lifecycles through
concepts as product passport, i.e. “a set of information about the
components and materials that a product contains, and how they
can be disassembled and recycled at the end of the product's
useful life” (European Commission, 2013). Integrative approaches
of business models, product design and supply chain and product
lifecycle management are meanwhile discussed and approached
in research, thus promoting the concept of multiple product
lifecycles (ResCoM consortium, 2013).
6. Conclusions
Based on the review and analysis of prevailing research in the
context of CE, this paper concludes that CE relevant research has
been and is an active area. However, it has evolved primarily as
research on waste generation, resource use and environmental
impact while neglecting business and economic perspectives. This
neglect poses the risk of inhibiting CE implementation since ad-
vantages for industry are inexplicit. Only a comprehensive frame-
work unique to the concept of CE that is jointly supported by all
48 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51
stakeholders is able to support successful CE implementation. This
framework combines three major aspects:
 Waste and environmental to avoid and minimize environmental
impacts
 Resource scarcity motivating regenerative use of resources
 Economic benefits for industrial companies in order to sustain
and increase profitability
Simultaneous focus on the three perspectives ensures concur-
rent and equivalent visibility of limitations of natural resources,
environmental concerns including waste and individual business
needs. This systemic view will prevent biased interpretations of the
CE concept and can be taken as a basis for future research and
practice.
This work also concludes that for succeeding in CE imple-
mentation a concurrent top-down and bottom-up strategy is
required to maintain the interests of all stakeholders, i.e. policy
makers, governmental bodies and manufacturing industries. Pri-
oritization of either environmental or economic benefits at the
expense of each other must be avoided. The ultimate objective of a
concurrent CE implementation strategy is the achievement of a
fully regenerative economy and natural environment.
At the industrial level, multidisciplinary approaches involving
business perspectives, technological developments and policies
need to be considered. In this context implementation of CE should
begin with organizational development with due regard to change
management and managerial mindset since technological de-
velopments, as e.g. ICT, seem sufficiently mature to support CE
implementation at large scale.
Essential future developments for CE implementation will also
require more extensive work in the area of social awareness and
new business models as main triggers for initiating convergence of
the described top-down and bottom-up movement. Educational
approaches in the area of value management are necessary to
change the prevailing perception of waste and uncover the po-
tential of circular product systems and their competitive edge. To
enable and accelerate CE transition driven by industry, integrative
decision support tools to identify and tap potentials of CE transition
scenarios on company and inter-company level are necessary.
In a nutshell, this work proposes a comprehensive framework
and implementation strategy with inclusive approach on stake-
holder interests necessary to support a successful transition from
linear to circular economy. The proposed framework underlines the
need of a systemic perspective on waste and environmental, nat-
ural resources as well as economic aspects. Since the three per-
spectives go hand in hand as they interact simultaneously, future
developments towards CE implementation ought to avoid isolated
views on any of these aspects.
Acknowledgment
This work has been conducted as part of the ResCoM project that
has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Programs
for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration un-
der grant agreement No 603843.
Appendix A. Supplementary material
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.042.
References
Allwood, J.M., et al., 2011. Material efficiency: a white paper. Resour. Conserv. Recycl.
55 (3), 362e381. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.11.002.
Amir, S., 1994. The role of thermodynamics in the study of economic and ecological
systems. Ecol. Econ. 10 (2), 125e142.
Amouroux, J., et al., 2014. Carbon dioxide: a new material for energy storage. Prog.
Nat. Sci. Mater. Int. 24 (4), 295e304.
Ampelli, C., Perathoner, S., Centi, G., 2015. CO2 utilization: an enabling element to
move to a resource- and energy-efficient chemical and fuel production. Philos.
Trans. A 373 (2037).
Andersen, M.S., 2007. An introductory note on the environmental economics of the
circular economy. Sustain. Sci. 2 (1), 133e140.
Andrews, D., 2015. The circular economy, design thinking and education for sus-
tainability. Local Econ. Available at: http://lec.sagepub.com/lookup/doi/10.1177/
0269094215578226.
Ashby, M.F., 2012. Materials and the Environment: Eco-informed Material Choice.
Butterworth-Heinemann.
Asif, F.M.A., et al., 2012. Performance analysis of the closed loop supply chain.
J. Remanuf. 2 (1), 4. Available at: http://www.journalofremanufacturing.com/
content/2/1/4.
Asif, F.M.A., et al., 2015. System dynamics models for decision making in product
multiple lifecycles. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 101, 20e33. Available at: http://
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0921344915000907.
Atasu, a., Sarvary, M., Van Wassenhove, L.N., 2008. Remanufacturing as a marketing
strategy. Manag. Sci. 54 (10), 1731e1746.
Ayres, R.U., Simonis, U.E., 1994. Industrial Metabolism: Restructuring for Sustainable
Development. The United Nations University.
Bai, C., Sarkis, J., Dou, Y., 2015. Corporate sustainability development in China: re-
view and analysis. Ind. Manag. Data Syst. 115 (1), 5e40.
Bakker, C., et al., 2014. Products that go round: exploring product life extension
through design. J. Clean. Prod. 69, 10e16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2014.01.028.
Bilitewski, B., 2012. The circular economy and its risks. Waste Manag. 32 (1), 1e2.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2011.10.004.
Bocken, N.M.P., et al., 2014. A literature and practice review to develop sustainable
business model archetypes. J. Clean. Prod. 65, 42e56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2013.11.039.
Bonciu, F., 2014. The European economy: from a linear to a circular economy his-
torical models and concepts regarding economy and society: some past and
present concerns on the not so clear and bright future of humankind. Romanian
J. Eur. Aff. 14 (4), 78e91.
Boulding, K.E., 1966. The economics of the coming spaceship earth. In: Environmental
Quality in a Growing Economy: Essays from the Sixth RFF Forum, pp. 3e14.
Busch, J., et al., 2014. Managing critical materials with a technology-specific stocks
and flows model. Environ. Sci. Technol. 48 (2), 1298e1305.
Chang, I.S., et al., 2011. Comprehensive utilizations of biogas in Inner Mongolia,
China. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 15 (3), 1442e1453. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.rser.2010.11.013.
Chang-Ming, Y., Dai-Gong, C., Bo, Z., 2012. Regional coal industry evaluation in
perspective of its supportiveness of circular economy. Res. J. Appl. Sci. Eng.
Technol. 4 (5), 521e525.
Chen, X., et al., 2012. The impact of scale, recycling boundary, and type of waste on
symbiosis and recycling: an empirical study of Japanese eco-towns. J. Ind. Ecol.
16 (1), 129e141.
Chen, X., Liu, X., Hu, D., 2015. Assessment of sustainable development: a case study
of Wuhan as a pilot city in China. Ecol. Indic. 50, 206e214. Available at: http://
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1470160X14005251.
Chertow, M.R., 2000. Industrial symbiosis: literature and taxonomy. Annu. Rev.
Energy Environ. 25 (1), 313e337.
Chertow, M., Ehrenfeld, J., 2012. Organizing self-organizing systems: toward a
theory of industrial symbiosis. J. Ind. Ecol. 16 (1), 13e27.
Crainer, S., 2013. Squaring the circle. Bus. Strategy Rev. 24 (4), 13e19.
Dai, T., 2015. A study on material metabolism in Hebei iron and steel industry
analysis. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 95, 183e192. Available at: http://www.scopus.
com/inward/record.url?eid¼2-s2.0-84921710422&partnerID¼tZOtx3y1.
Dienst, C., et al., 2013. On track to become a low carbon future city? First findings of
the integrated status quo and trends assessment of the pilot city of Wuxi in
China. Sustainability 5 (8), 3224e3243.
Dodson, J.R., et al., 2015. Bio-derived materials as a green route for precious &
critical metal recovery and re-use. Green Chem. 17 (4), 1951e1965. Available at:
http://xlink.rsc.org/?DOI¼C4GC02483D.
Dong, L., Zhang, H., et al., 2013a. Environmental and economic gains of industrial
symbiosis for Chinese iron/steel industry: Kawasaki's experience and practice
in Liuzhou and Jinan. J. Clean. Prod. 59, 226e238. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2013.06.048.
Dong, L., Fujita, T., et al., 2013b. Promoting low-carbon city through industrial
symbiosis: a case in China by applying HPIMO model. Energy Policy 61,
864e873. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.06.084.
Dururu, J., et al., 2015. Enhancing engagement with community sector organi-
sations working in sustainable waste management: a case study. Waste
Manag. Res. 33 (3), 284e290. Available at: http://wmr.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/
10.1177/0734242X14567504.
 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51
Ellen Macarthur Foundation, 2013. Towards the Circular Economy: Economic and
Business Rationale for an Accelerated Transition.
Ellen Macarthur Foundation, 2014. Towards the Circular Economy: Accelerating the
Scale-up across Global Supply Chains.
Erkman, S., 1997. Industrial ecology: an historical view. J. Clean. Prod. 5 (1e2), 1e10.
Esrey, S. a., 2001. Towards a recycling society: ecological sanitation e closing the
loop to food security. Water Sci. Technol. 43 (4), 177e187.
Farmer, T.D., Shaw, P.J., Williams, I.D., 2015. Destined for indecision? A critical
analysis of waste management practices in England from 1996 to 2013. Waste
Manag. 39, 266e276. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/
S0956053X15001257.
Ferna ndez, J.E., 2007. Resource consumption of new urban construction in China.
J. Ind. Ecol. 11 (2), 99e115. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.
1162/jie.2007.1199/abstract.
Fusco Girard, L., 2014. The regenerative city and wealth creation/conservation: the
role of urban planning. Int. J. Glob. Environ. Issues 13 (2/3/4), 118e140.
Gao, C., et al., 2006. Education for regional sustainable development: experiences
from the education framework of HHCEPZ project. J. Clean. Prod. 14 (9e11),
994e1002.
Ge, X., Jackson, J., 2014. The big data application strategy for cost reduction in
automotive industry. SAE Int. J. Commer. Veh. 7 (2), 588e598. Available at:
http://papers.sae.org/2014-01-2410/.
Geldermann, J., Treitz, M., Rentz, O., 2010. Technique assessment for eco-industrial
parks in China. World Rev. Sci. Technol. Sustain. Dev. 8 (1), p.47.
Geng, Y., Doberstein, B., 2008. Developing the circular economy in China: challenges
and opportunities for achieving “leapfrog development”. Int. J. Sustain. Dev.
World Ecol. 37e41 (February 2014). Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/
doi/abs/10.3843/SusDev.15.3:6.
Geng, Y., et al., 2009. Implementing China's circular economy concept at the
regional level: a review of progress in Dalian, China. Waste Manag. 29 (2),
996e1002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2008.06.036.
Geng, Y., et al., 2010. Emergy analysis of an industrial park: the case of Dalian, China.
Sci. Total Environ. 408 (22), 5273e5283. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.scitotenv.2010.07.081.
Geng, Y., et al., 2011. Regional societal and ecosystem metabolism analysis in China:
a multi-scale integrated analysis of societal metabolism (MSIASM) approach.
Energy 36 (8), 4799e4808. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2011.05.014.
Geng, Y., et al., 2012. Towards a national circular economy indicator system in
China: an evaluation and critical analysis. J. Clean. Prod. 23 (1), 216e224. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.07.005.
Geng, Y., et al., 2013. Measuring China's circular economy. Science 339 (6127),
1526e1527.
Graedel, T.E.H., Allenby, B.R., 2010. Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Engineering.
Prentice Hall.
Gregson, N., et al., 2015. Interrogating the circular economy: the moral economy of
resource recovery in the EU. Econ. Soc. 1e26 (June). Available at: http://www.
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03085147.2015.1013353.
Greyson, J., 2007. An economic instrument for zero waste, economic growth and
sustainability. J. Clean. Prod. 15 (13e14), 1382e1390.
Grosse, F., 2011. Quasi-circular growth: a pragmatic approach to sustainability for
non-renewable material resources. S. A. P. I. En. S. 4 (2).
Grundmann, V., et al., 2013. Risk-based management of chemicals and products in a
circular economy at a global scale e impacts of the FP7 funded project RISK-
CYCLE. Environ. Sci. Eur. 25 (1), p.14. Available at: http://www.enveurope.com/
content/25/1/14.
Guide, V.D.R., Van Wassenhove, L.N., 2009. The evolution of closed-loop supply
chain research. Oper. Res. 57 (1), 10e18.
Hara, K., et al., 2011. Energy intensity trends and scenarios for China's industrial
sectors: a regional case study. Sustain. Sci. 6 (2), 123e134.
Hu, J., et al., 2011. Ecological utilization of leather tannery waste with circular
economy model. J. Clean. Prod. 19 (2e3), 221e228. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2010.09.018.
Huang, K., Guo, J., Xu, Z., 2009. Recycling of waste printed circuit boards: a review of
current technologies and treatment status in China. J. Hazard. Mater. 164 (2e3),
399e408.
Jiliang, Z., et al., 2013. Building and application of a circular economy index system
frame for manufacturing industrial chain, 5 (24), 5646e5651.
Johansson, N., Krook, J., Eklund, M., 2012. Transforming dumps into gold mines.
Experiences from Swedish case studies. Environ. Innov. Soc. Transit. 5, 33e48.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2012.10.004.
Jones, P.T., et al., 2013. Enhanced landfill mining in view of multiple resource re-
covery: a critical review. J. Clean. Prod. 55, 45e55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2012.05.021.
Kama, K., 2015. Circling the economy: resource-making and marketization in EU
electronic waste policy. Area 47 (1), 16e23.
Kiss, A. a., Grievink, J., Rito-Palomares, M., 2015. A systems engineering perspective
on process integration in industrial biotechnology. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol.
90 (3), 349e355. Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/jctb.4584.
Kopnina, H., 2014. Consumption, waste and (un)sustainable development: re-
flections on the Dutch holiday of Queen's day. Environ. Syst. Decis. 34 (2),
312e322.
Kosseva, M.R., 2009. Processing of Food Wastes, first ed. Elsevier Inc. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1043-4526(09)58003-5
Kuo, L., Yu, H.-C., Chang, B.-G., 2015. The signals of green governance on mitigation
of climate change e evidence from Chinese firms. Int. J. Clim. Change Strat.
49
Manag. 7 (2), 154e171. Available at: http://www.serialssolutions.com/en/
magazines-for-libraries/detail/international-journal-of-climate-change-strategies-
and-management.
Lahl, U., Zeschmar-Lahl, B., 2013. Risk based management of chemicals and products
in a circular economy at a global scale (risk cycle), extended producer re-
sponsibility and EU legislation. Environ. Sci. Eur. 25 (1), 3. Available at: http://
www.enveurope.com/content/25/1/3.
Lee, J., Pedersen, A.B., Thomsen, M., 2014. The influence of resource strategies on
childhood phthalate exposuredthe role of REACH in a zero waste society. En-
viron. Int. 73, 312e322. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/
pii/S0160412014002517.
Leontief, W., 1991. The economy as a circular flow. Struct. Change Econ. Dyn. 2 (1),
181e212.
Li, Y., Ma, C., 2015. Circular economy of a papermaking park in China: a case study.
J. Clean. Prod. 92, 65e74. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/
pii/S0959652614014000.
Li, J., Yu, K., 2011. A study on legislative and policy tools for promoting the circular
economic model for waste management in China. J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manag.
13 (2), 103e112.
Li, H., et al., 2010a. Energy conservation and circular economy in China's
process industries. Energy 35 (11), 4273e4281. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.energy.2009.04.021.
Li, K., Li, P., Li, H., 2010b. Earthworms helping economy, improving ecology and
protecting health. Int. J. Glob. Environ. Issues 10 (3/4), 354.
Li, J.S., et al., 2012. Renewable resource for agricultural ecosystem in China:
ecological benefit for biogas by-product for planting. Ecol. Informat. 12,
101e110.
Li, N., Zhang, T., Liang, S., 2013. Reutilisation-extended material flows and circular
economy in China. Waste Manag. 33 (6), 1552e1560. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.wasman.2013.01.029.
Lindhqvist, T., 2000. Extended Producer Responsibility in Cleaner Production:
Policy Principle to Promote Environmental Improvements of Product Systems.
Available at: http://swepub.kb.se/bib/swepub:oai:lup.lub.lu.se:19692?tab2¼
abs&language¼en.
Lindhqvist, T., Lidgren, K., 1990. Modeller Fo €r Fo
€rla
€ngt Producentansvar (Model for
Extended Producer Responsibility). Ministry of the Environment, Från vaggan
till gravenesex studier av varors miljo € påverkan, pp. 7e44.
Liu, Y., Bai, Y., 2014. An exploration of firms' awareness and behavior of developing
circular economy: an empirical research in China. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 87,
145e152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2014.04.002.
Liu, Q., et al., 2009. A survey and analysis on public awareness and performance for
promoting circular economy in China: a case study from Tianjin. J. Clean. Prod.
17 (2), 265e270. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2008.06.003.
Liu, D., et al., 2012. Constructivism scenario evolutionary analysis of zero emission
regional planning: a case of Qaidam circular economy pilot area in China. Int. J.
Prod. Econ. 140 (1), 341e356. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.04.008.
Lu, Y., 2014. Circular economy development mode of coastal and marine areas in
China and its evaluation Index research e the example of Qingdao. Int. J. Bio-
autom. 18 (2), 121e130.
Lu, C.L., et al., 2015. An overview of e-waste management in China. J. Mater. Cycles
Waste Manag. 17 (1), 1e12.
Lyle, J.T., 1996. Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development.
Ma, S.H., et al., 2014. Mode of circular economy in China's iron and steel industry: a
case study in Wu'an city. J. Clean. Prod. 64, 505e512. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2013.10.008.
Ma, S., et al., 2015. A case study of a phosphorus chemical firm's application of
resource efficiency and eco-efficiency in industrial metabolism under circular
economy. J. Clean. Prod. 87, 839e849.
Mathews, J. a., 2011. Naturalizing capitalism: the next great transformation. Futures
43 (8), 868e879. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2011.06.011.
Mathews, J. a, Tan, H., 2011. Progress toward a circular economy in China: the
drivers (and inhibitors) of eco-industrial initiative. J. Ind. Ecol. 15 (3), 435e457.
Mattila, T., et al., 2012. Methodological aspects of applying life cycle assessment to
industrial symbioses. J. Ind. Ecol. 16 (1), 51e60.
Matus, K.J.M., Xiao, X., Zimmerman, J.B., 2012. Green chemistry and green engi-
neering in China: drivers, policies and barriers to innovation. J. Clean. Prod. 32,
193e203.
Mayers, C.K., France, C.M., Cowell, S.J., 2005. Extended producer responsibility for waste
electronics: an example of printer recycling in the United Kingdom. J. Ind. Ecol. 9
(3), 169e189. Available at: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1162/1088198054821672.
Meadows, D., et al., 1972. The Limits to Growth. Available at: http://www.
donellameadows.org/wp-content/userfiles/Limits-to-Growth-digital-scan-
version.pdf.
Mirabella, N., Castellani, V., Sala, S., 2014. Current options for the valorization of
food manufacturing waste: a review. J. Clean. Prod. 65, 28e41. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.10.051.
Mo, H., Wen, Z., Chen, J., 2009. China's recyclable resources recycling system and
policy: a case study in Suzhou. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 53 (7), 409e419.
Moriguchi, Y., 2007. Material flow indicators to measure progress toward a sound
material-cycle society. J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manag. 9 (2), 112e120.
Murphy, J., Gouldson, A., 2000. Environmental policy and industrial innovation:
integrating environment and economy through ecological modernisation.
Geoforum 31 (1), 33e44.
Naustdalslid, J., 2014. Circular economy in China e the environmental
dimension of the harmonious society. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 21 (4),
50 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51
303e313. Available at: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid¼2-
s2.0-84900370282&partnerID¼tZOtx3y1.
Ongondo, F.O., et al., 2013. ICT reuse in socio-economic enterprises. Waste Manag.
33 (12), 2600e2606. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2013.08.020.
Park, J.Y., Chertow, M.R., 2014. Establishing and testing the “reuse potential” indi-
cator for managing wastes as resources. J. Environ. Manag. 137, 45e53. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.11.053.
Park, J., Sarkis, J., Wu, Z., 2010. Creating integrated business and environmental
value within the context of China's circular economy and ecological moderni-
zation. J. Clean. Prod. 18 (15), 1492e1499. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2010.06.001.
Pauli, G., 2010. Blue Economy e 10 Years, 100 Innovations, 100 Million Jobs. Para-
digm Pubns.
Pauliuk, S., Wang, T., Müller, D.B., 2012. Moving toward the circular economy: the
role of stocks in the Chinese steel cycle. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46 (1), 148e154.
Pearce, D.W., Turner, R.K., 1990. Economics of Natural Resources and the Environ-
ment. Johns Hopkins Univ Press.
Peck, D., Kandachar, P., Tempelman, E., 2015. Critical materials from a product
design perspective. Mater. Des. 65, 147e159. Available at: http://linkinghub.
elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S026130691400658X.
Peters, G.P., et al., 2007. Policy analysis China's growing CO2 emissions e a race
between increasing consumption and efficiency gains. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41
(17), 5939e5944.
Rashid, A., et al., 2013. Resource conservative manufacturing: an essential change in
business and technology paradigm for sustainable manufacturing. J. Clean.
Prod. 57, 166e177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.06.012.
Reh, L., 2013. Process engineering in circular economy. Particuology 11 (2), 119e133.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2012.11.001.
Riding, M.J., et al., 2015. Harmonising conflicts between science, regulation,
perception and environmental impact: the case of soil conditioners from bio-
energy. Environ. Int. 75, 52e67. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/
retrieve/pii/S0160412014003195.
Sakai, S., et al., 2011. International comparative study of 3R and waste management
policy developments. J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manag. 13 (2), 86e102.
Schetters, M.J. a, et al., 2015. Circular economy in drinking water treatment: reuse of
ground pellets as seeding material in the pellet softening process. Water Sci.
Technol. 71 (4), 479. Available at: http://www.iwaponline.com/wst/07104/
wst071040479.htm.
Schulte, U.G., 2013. New business models for a radical change in resource efficiency.
Environ. Innov. Soc. Transit. 9, 43e47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.
2013.09.006.
Sevigne -Itoiz, E., et al., 2014. Environmental consequences of recycling aluminum
old scrap in a global market. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 89, 94e103. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2014.05.002.
Shi, L., Yu, B., 2014. Eco-industrial parks from strategic niches to development
mainstream: the cases of China. Sustainability 6 (9), 6325e6331. Available at:
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/9/6325/.
Siegle, L., 2006. Recycle the Essential Guide. Black Dog Publishing.
Smol, M., et al., 2015. The possible use of sewage sludge ash (SSA) in
the construction industry as a way towards a circular economy. J. Clean.
Prod. 95, 45e54. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/
S095965261500164X.
Souza, G.C., 2013. Closed loop Supply chains: a critical review, and future
research. Decis. Sci. 44 (1), 7e38. Available at: <Go to ISI>://WOS:
000315110200001\nhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-
5915.2012.00394.x/full.
Stahel, W.R., 2010. The Performance Economy. Palgrave Macmillan.
Stahel, W.R., 2013. Policy for material efficiency  sustainable taxation as a de-
parture from the throwaway society. Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. A 371 (1986).
Stahel, W.R., Reday-Mulvey, G., 1981. Jobs for Tomorrow: the Potential for
Substituting Manpower for Energy. Vantage Press.
Steinhilper, R., 1998. Remanufacturing: the Ultimate Form of Recycling.
Strasser, S., 2000. Waste and Want: a Social History of Trash. Henry Holt.
Su, B., et al., 2013. A review of the circular economy in China: moving from rhetoric
to implementation. J. Clean. Prod. 42, 215e227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2012.11.020.
Thomas, J.-S., Birat, J.-P., 2013. Methodologies to measure the sustainability of
materials e focus on recycling aspects. Rev. Me tall. 110 (1), 3e16. Available at:
http://www.revue-metallurgie.org/10.1051/metal/2013054.
Tu, W., et al., 2011. The development of renewable energy in resource-rich region: a
case in China. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 15 (1), 856e860. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.rser.2010.07.046.
Tukker, A., 2013. Product services for a resource-efficient and circular economy e a
review. J. Clean. Prod. 97, 76e91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.049.
Tukker, A., Tischner, U., 2006. Product-services as a research field: past, present
and future. Reflections from a decade of research. J. Clean. Prod. 14 (17),
1552e1556.
Usapein, P., Chavalparit, O., 2014. Development of sustainable waste management
toward zero landfill waste for the petrochemical industry in Thailand
using a comprehensive 3R methodology: a case study. Waste Manag. Res. 32
(6), 509e518. Available at: http://wmr.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/
0734242X14533604.
Veenstra, A., et al., 2010. An analysis of E-waste flows in China. Int. J. Adv. Manuf.
Technol. 47 (5e8), 449e459.
Velis, C.A., 2015. Circular economy and global secondary material supply chains.
Waste Manag. Res. 33 (5), 389e391. Available at: http://wmr.sagepub.com/cgi/
doi/10.1177/0734242X15587641.
Vermeulen, W.J.V., 2013. Self-governance for sustainable global supply chains: can
it deliver the impacts needed? Bus. Strategy Environ. 85, 73e85.
Walls, J.L., Paquin, R.L., 2015. Organizational perspectives of industrial symbiosis: a
review and synthesis. Organ. Environ. 28 (1), 32e53. Available at: http://oae.
sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/1086026615575333.
Wang, N., Chang, Y.C., 2014. The development of policy instruments in supporting
low-carbon governance in China. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 35, 126e135.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.03.021.
Wang, X., Geng, Y., 2012. Municipal solid waste management in Dalian: practices
and challenges. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. China 6 (4), 540e548.
Wang, L., et al., 2013. Experimental study on volume for fly ash of building block.
Res. J. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol. 5 (11), 3243e3248.
Wang, P., et al., 2014. Ownership governance, institutional pressures and circular
economy accounting information disclosure. Chin. Manag. Stud. 8 (3), 487e501.
Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/CMS-10-2013-
0192.
Wang, Y., et al., 2015. Promoting regional sustainability by eco-province construc-
tion in China: a critical assessment. Ecol. Indic. 51, 127e138. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.07.003.
Webster, K., 2013. Missing the wood for the trees: systemic defects and the future of
education for sustainable development. Curriculum J. 24, 295e315 (June).
Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09585176.2013.
802585.
Wen, Z., Li, R., 2010. Materials metabolism analysis of China's highway traffic system
(HTS) for promoting circular economy. J. Ind. Ecol. 14 (4), 641e649.
Wen, Z., Meng, X., 2014. Quantitative assessment of industrial symbiosis for the
promotion of circular economy: a case study of the printed circuit boards in-
dustry in China's Suzhou New District. J. Clean. Prod. 90, 211e219. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.03.041.
Wheeler, K., Glucksmann, M., 2013. Economies of recycling, “consumption work”
and divisions of labour in Sweden and England. Sociol. Res. Online 18 (1).
Article Number 9.
Winkler, H., 2011. Closed-loop production systems e a sustainable supply chain
approach. CIRP J. Manuf. Sci. Technol. 4 (3), 243e246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.cirpj.2011.05.001.
Withers, P.J. a, et al., 2015. Stewardship to tackle global phosphorus inefficiency: the
case of Europe. Ambio 44 (S2), 193e206. Available at: http://link.springer.com/
10.1007/s13280-014-0614-8.
Wu, H.Q., et al., 2014. Effectiveness of the policy of circular economy in China: a
DEA-based analysis for the period of 11th five-year-plan. Resour. Conserv.
Recycl. 83, 163e175. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.10.003.
Wübbeke, J., Heroth, T., 2014. Challenges and political solutions for steel
recycling in China. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 87, 1e7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.resconrec.2014.03.004.
Xi, F., et al., 2011. Contributing to local policy making on GHG emission reduction
through inventorying and attribution: a case study of Shenyang, China. Energy
Policy 39 (10), 5999e6010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.06.063.
Xu, J., Li, X., Wu, D.D., 2009. Optimizing circular economy planning and risk analysis
using system dynamics. Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. Int. J. 15 (2), 316e331.
Xue, B., et al., 2010. Survey of officials' awareness on circular economy development
in China: based on municipal and county level. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 54 (12),
1296e1302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.05.010.
Xue, B., et al., 2014. A review on China's pollutant emissions reduction assessment.
Ecol. Indic. 38, 272e278. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.11.020.
Xunhua, Z., Yan, W., 2013. Essentials of the construction of an ecological civilization.
Soc. Sci. China 34 (4), 180e192. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/
abs/10.1080/02529203.2013.849098.
Yabar, H., et al., 2009. Integrated resource management towards a sustainable Asia:
policy and strategy evolution in Japan and China. Int. J. Environ. Technol.
Manag. 11 (4), 239.
Yang, S., Feng, N., 2008. A case study of industrial symbiosis: Nanning Sugar Co., Ltd.
in China. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 52 (5), 813e820.
Yong, R., 2007. The circular economy in China. J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manag. 9 (2),
121e129.
Yu, C., De Jong, M., Dijkema, G.P.J., 2014. Process analysis of eco-industrial park
development e the case of Tianjin, China. J. Clean. Prod. 64, 464e477. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.09.002.
Yu, F., Han, F., Cui, Z., 2015a. Assessment of life cycle environmental benefits of an
industrial symbiosis cluster in China. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 22 (7),
5511e5518. Available at: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11356-014-3712-z.
Yu, F., Han, F., Cui, Z., 2015b. Evolution of industrial symbiosis in an eco-industrial
park in China. J. Clean. Prod. 87, 339e347. Available at: http://linkinghub.
elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0959652614011019.
Yuan, Z., Bi, J., Moriguichi, Y., 2006. The circular economy: a new development
strategy in China. J. Ind. Ecol. 10 (1e2), 4e8. Available at: http://www.
thecirculareconomy.org.
Zhang, H., et al., 2008. Analysis of land use changes and environmental loads during
urbanization in China. J. Asian Archit. Build. Eng. 7 (1), 109e115.
Zhang, H., et al., 2009. Comparative analysis of socio-economic and environmental
performances for Chinese EIPs: case studies in Baotou, Suzhou, and Shanghai.
Sustain. Sci. 4 (2), 263e279.
 M. Lieder, A. Rashid / Journal of Cleaner Production 115 (2016) 36e51
Zhang, L., et al., 2010. Eco-industrial parks: national pilot practices in China. J. Clean.
Prod. 18 (5), 504e509. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2009.11.018.
Zhang, T., et al., 2011. Development pattern and enhancing system of automotive
components remanufacturing industry in China. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 55 (6),
613e622. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.09.015.
Zhang, F., et al., 2013a. Fatty acids production from hydrogen and carbon dioxide by
mixed culture in the membrane biofilm reactor. Water Res. 47 (16), 6122e6129.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2013.07.033.
Zhang, H., et al., 2013b. Investigation of the residual heat recovery and carbon
emission mitigation potential in a Chinese steelmaking plant: a hybrid material/
energy flow analysis case study. Sustain. Energy Technol. Assess. 2 (1), 67e80.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2013.03.003.
Zhao, M.Y., et al., 2006. Multiple criteria data envelopment analysis for full ranking
units associated to environment impact assessment. Int. J. Environ. Pollut. 28 (3/
4), 448.
Zhijun, F., Nailing, Y., 2007. Putting a circular economy into practice in China. Sus-
tain. Sci. 2 (1), 95e101.
Zhou, W., et al., 2012. Energy consumption patterns in the process of China's ur-
banization. Popul. Environ. 33 (2e3), 202e220.
Zhou, Z., Chen, X., Xiao, X., 2013. On evaluation model of circular economy for iron
and steel enterprise based on support vector machines with heuristic algorithm
for tuning hyper-parameters. Appl. Math. Inform. Sci. 7 (6), 2215e2223.
Zhu, Q., Geng, Y., Lai, K.H., 2010. Circular economy practices among Chinese man-
ufacturers varying in environmental-oriented supply chain cooperation and the
performance implications. J. Environ. Manag. 91 (6), 1324e1331. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.02.013.
Zhu, Q., Geng, Y., Sarkis, J., et al., 2011a. Evaluating green supply chain management
among Chinese manufacturers from the ecological modernization perspective.
Transp. Res. Part E Logist. Transp. Rev. 47 (6), 808e821. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.tre.2010.09.013.
Zhu, Q., Geng, Y., Lai, K.H., 2011b. Environmental supply chain cooperation and its
effect on the circular economy practiceeperformance relationship among
Chinese manufacturers. J. Ind. Ecol. 15 (3), 405e419.
Zhu, Q., Sarkis, J., Lai, K.H., 2012. Internationalization and environmentally-related
organizational learning among Chinese manufacturers. Technol. Forecast. Soc.
Change 79 (1), 142e154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2011.08.018.
Web references
Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association, 2015. History of Automotive
Remanufacturing. Online. Available at: http://www.apra-europe.org/main.php?
target¼history.
Dutch Sustainability Business Association, 2015. Governments Going Circular.
Available at: http://www.govsgocircular.com/.
51
European Commission, 2015a. Circular Economy Strategy. Available at: http://ec.
europa.eu/smart-regulation/impact/planned_ia/docs/2015_env_065_envþ_
032_circular_economy_en.pdf.
European Commission, 2014a. European Resource Efficiency Platform (EREP):
Manifesto & Policy Recommendations. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/
environment/resource_efficiency/documents/erep_manifesto_and_policy_
recommendations_31-03-2014.pdf.
European Commission, 2013. European Resource Efficiency Platform Pushes for
“product passports”. Online. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/
ecoap/about-eco-innovation/policies-matters/eu/20130708_european-
resource-efficiency-platform-pushes-for-product-passports_en.htm (accessed
30.06.15).
European Commission, 2012. Manifesto for a Resource-efficient Europe. The
Members of the European Resource Efficiency Platform Are Available at: http://
europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-12-989_en.htm.
European Commission, 2015b. Netherlands pulls Ahead in Circular Economy Race.
March 2015. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap/about-eco-
innovation/policies-matters/netherlands/netherlands-pulls-ahead-in-circular-
economy-race_en.htm (accessed 30.06.15).
European Commission, 2014b. Report on Critical Raw Materials for the EU, Report of
the Ad Hoc Working Group on Defining Critical Raw Materials, p. 41 (May).
Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/raw-materials/files/docs/
crm-report-on-critical-raw-materials_en.pdf.
German Parliament, 1994. Recycling Management and Waste Law, x 5 KrW-/AbfG
(Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz). Available at: http://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/
start.xav?startbk¼Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo¼bgbl194s2705.pdf#__bgbl__
%2F%2F*[%40attr_id%3D%27bgbl194s2705.pdf%27]__1435684665631.
House of Commons, October 2014. Environmental Audit Committee, Growing a
Circular Economy: Ending the Throwaway Society: Government Response to
the Committee's Third Report of Session 2014e15, Eighth Special Report of
Session. Available at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/
cmselect/cmenvaud/699/699.pdf.
Lyle Center, 2006. History of the Lyle Center. Available at: http://www.cpp.edu/~crs/
history.html (accessed 30.06.15).
Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry Japan, 2003. Handbook on Resource
Recycling Legislation and 3R Trends in 2003. Available at: http://www.meti.go.
jp/policy/recycle/main/data/pamphlet/pdf/cRecycle3R.pdf.
ResCoM consortium, 2013. ResCoM e from Linear to Closed-loop Manufacturing.
Available at: http://www.rescoms.eu/rescom (accessed 30.06.15).
Stahel, W., 1982. Product-life Factor. An Inquiry into the Nature of Sustainable Soci-
eties, pp. 1e10. Available at: http://www.product-life.org/en/major-publications/
the-product-life-factor/nhttp://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/33/32217.pdf.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress China, 2008. Circular
Economy Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China. Online. Available at:
http://www.fdi.gov.cn/1800000121_39_597_0_7.html.