Lost in Transition? Drivers and Barriers in the Eco-Innovation Road to the Circular Economy

Granjou C., Walker J., Salazar J.F.

In this article we describe how the historical emergence and rise of future studies, since the founding issue of Futures in 1968, has been intricately connected to the emergence and development of environmental anticipation as discourse and practice. We trace a dialectical and inter-twined relationship between technologies of environmental anticipation and forecasting, and technologies of anti-environmentalist anticipation and counter-intervention, one which we argue shapes not only the contemporary politics of anticipation, but in a very material sense, the future conditions of biological and social life on Earth. In so doing we want to address the possible contributions that the field of futures studies can make to reimagining collective agency and ways of being on Earth, whilst reflecting critically upon its genealogical relations to the political reason and strategic horizons of powerful fossil fuel interests, from the crisis of the 1970s to the present. The article also offers a more in-depth contextualization to the other articles in this special issue of Futures on “The Politics of Environmental Anticipation”. The aim is to bring to the fore the role that social scientists play in environmental anticipation − i.e. drawing attention to the fact that the future could always have been otherwise.

Bonnín Roca J., Vaishnav P., Morgan M.G., Mendonça J., Fuchs E.

Commercializing an emerging technology that employs an immature production process can be challenging, particularly when there are many different sources of uncertainty. In industries with stringent safety requirements, regulatory interventions that ensure safety while maintaining incentives for innovation can be particularly elusive. We use the extreme case of metal additive manufacturing (an emerging technology with many sources of process uncertainty) in commercial aviation (an industry where lapses in safety can have catastrophic consequences) to unpack how the characteristics of a technology may influence the options for regulatory intervention. Based on our findings, we propose an adaptive regulatory framework in which standards are periodically revised and in which different groups of companies are regulated differently as a function of their technological capabilities. We conclude by proposing a generalizable framework for regulating emerging process-based technologies in safety-critical industries in which the optimal regulatory configuration depends on the industry structure (number of firms), the performance and safety requirements, and the sources of technological uncertainty.

Wildschut D.

Society is changing towards a peer-to-peer society that is characterised by a new way to produce things, ranging from software to food, to cities, to scientific knowledge. This requires a new role for science. Instead of focusing on knowledge production for NGO's, governments and business, scientists should become aware that the citizen will be the new decision-maker in a future peer-to-peer (p2p) society, and produce suitable and accessible knowledge, and work together with citizen scientists.

Cecere G., Martinelli A.

The increased number and shorter life cycles of electronic devices are resulting in a rapidly growing stream of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) worldwide. The environmentally sound disposal of this waste stream is a complex activity that involves several steps and stakeholders. The aim of this article is to investigate the process of knowledge creation in WEEE management, based on publications data retrieved from the Thompson Web of Science (WoS). Using a dataset of publications dated between 1985 and 2013, we evaluate the role of three major drivers of knowledge creation: innovation induced by the high price of precious materials; technological advances; and regulatory stringency. Analysis of the global map of science highlights patterns of increased diversification of research domains and an impact of regulation and raw price material on the development of new research in different disciplines. This contributes to the policy debate on how to encourage more research in the field of WEEE management.

Chakraborty P., Chatterjee C.

Exploiting a quasi-natural experiment, which involves the imposition of a ban by Germany in 1994 on an input (‘Azo-dyes’) used by the Indian leather and textile industries, we estimate the indirect impact of the environmental regulation on innovation activities of upstream (dye-producing) firms in India and examine how it varies by different firm characteristics: size and ownership. We find robust evidence of a significant increase (11–61%) in innovation expenditure for the dye-makers in response to the ‘Azo-dyes’ ban. Additionally, we find: (i) increase in technology transfer to the tune of 1.2–2.5 times more than that of internal RD (ii) increase in innovation expenditure with firm size; (iii) domestic firms investing more in technology transfer as compared to R&D, whereas foreign firms only undertaking the latter and (iv) decrease in investments towards innovation by downstream firms, thereby pointing towards a possible substitution effect in aggregate innovation by upstream firms. Our results are consistent with a variety of estimation methods and robustness checks.

Stephan A., Schmidt T.S., Bening C.R., Hoffmann V.H.

Technological innovation systems (TISs) have found favor for analyzing a technology’s innovation dynamics. Complementary to TISs, the sectoral innovation systems approach focuses on sectoral peculiarities regarding innovation. This paper represents a first step towards integrating the sectoral dimension into TIS analysis. This seems particularly relevant for multi-component technologies, since their underlying innovation dynamics involve multiple sectors. We introduce the “sectoral configuration” of a TIS, which relates to the number and types of sectors linked via a TIS’s value chain, and elaborate how the sectoral configuration plays out for a TIS’s functional dynamics. We apply our theoretical framework to the knowledge development and diffusion function. Based on a quantitative analysis of patent data for lithium-ion batteries in Japan (1985–2005), we find that different sectors vary in importance for knowledge development and diffusion, especially with regard to the technology’s evolution over time. Our findings suggest that the sectoral configuration deserves more attention in future TIS analyses. This would support a better understanding of functional mechanisms, and therefore offer the potential to derive enhanced TIS-based policy recommendations regarding the nature and balance between demand-pull, technology-push and interface improvement policies.

Sperling K.

Community energy projects have been one of the pillars of Denmark's remarkable renewable energy history. The island of Samso has received worldwide attention as a model community in this regard, having been able to transform large parts of its energy system in a period of 10 years. Much of this attention is focused on the end-results of this transformation, on what Samso has achieved to date, including the technical infrastructure and the fact that the local community participated actively. Little attention has so far been paid to how these results were achieved in practice. In this paper, we examine the concrete contextual conditions that made the success of the Samso Renewable Energy Island project possible. As external contextual conditions, we identify guiding visions and plans, governmental technology support, governmental process support, and expert assistance. Internal contextual conditions include local traditions and history of cooperative projects, sense of locality and responsibility, community spirit, entrepreneurial individuals, networks, as well as guiding visions and plans. The results clearly show that the success of the REI project can be attributed to the combination of these varied contextual conditions, which in their entirety made the island's transformation possible. However, in order for these favourable contextual conditions to lead to a successful project, it required alignment through intermediaries between the external and internal context, as well as internally on Samso. Most importantly this alignment entailed the integration of the Renewable Energy Island project into the structure and needs of the local community through intensive processes of sensing and priming linked to the local population.

Kaltenborn B.P., Krange O., Tangeland T.

Since climate change mitigation likely will affect most sectors of society, adapting to climate change essentially requires the public to envision and adjust to alternative futures. There is a need for more studies on the social basis for climate change asking why people hold the attitudes they do, rather than the dominant tendency to ask how to change attitudes and behavior. Research in different fields show that fundamental life values and worldviews are shaped through life and heavily influenced by early life socialization and culture, which in turn can shape attitudes toward specific phenomena like climate change. We surveyed a representative sample of the Norwegian public and examined how cultural resources and trust in environmental governance institutions are related to attitudes toward climate change. High levels of trust are associated with a tendency to perceive climate change as human caused, and low levels of trust correspond with stronger beliefs that climate change are natural phenomena. High levels of cultural resources are found among climate change deniers as well as believers, indicating that groups with different political, professional and intellectual orientations, as well as life histories, may not trust climate change science. We argue that improved knowledge about the social basis for climate change is an imperative part of futures-oriented expertise.

Gans J.S., Murray F.E., Stern S.

This paper provides a theoretical investigation of the tension over knowledge disclosure between firms and their scientific employees. While empirical research suggests that scientists exhibit a “taste for science,” such open disclosures can limit a firm's competitive advantage or ability to profitably commercialize their innovations. To explore how this tension is resolved we focus on the strategic interaction between researchers and firms bargaining over whether (and how) knowledge will be disclosed. We evaluate four disclosure strategies: secrecy, patenting, open science (scientific publication) and patent-paper pairs providing insights into the determinants of the disclosure strategy of a firm. We find that patents and publications can be complementary instruments facilitating the disclosure of knowledge-providing predictions as to when stronger IP protection regimes might drive openness by firms.

Costantini V., Crespi F., Palma A.

This paper provides an empirical investigation of the role played by selected characteristics of the policy mix in inducing innovation in energy efficiency technologies. An original dataset covering 23 OECD countries over the period 1990–2010 combines the full set of policies in the energy efficiency domain for the residential sector with data on patents applied over the same period in this specific technological sector. The econometric results suggest that when the policy mix is characterised by a more balanced use in demand-pull and technology-push instruments, its positive effects on eco-innovation tend to be greater. Moreover, a more comprehensive policy mix is shown to be able to enhance innovation activities for the generation of new energy efficient technologies. However, the simple addition of an indiscriminate number of simultaneous policy instruments may reduce policy mix effectiveness. Finally, the empirical findings confirm previous evidence on the importance of policy spillover effects, and suggest that policy similarity between countries may represent an important aspect to be accounted for in policy mix design.

Huguenin A., Jeannerat H.

Brandt U.S., Svendsen G.T.

How do we deal with environmental management issues at the local level? Traditionally, the approach proposed from an environmental management perspective has involved various kinds of "top-down" regulatory measures, such as defining a standard that must be satisfied or a tax on pollution. Conversely, there has been less focus on the analysis of local, bottom-up approaches, as for example the effectiveness of various ways of organizing a local environmental transition process. Our focus is on analyzing of under what conditions it is possible for a "green entrepreneur" (GE) to manage a transition from brown to green energy? Theoretically, we consider four entrepreneurial skills, at least two of which must be present for the GE to succeed. In the case of the Danish island of Samsø and its rapid introduction of renewable energy, three of these skills are found to be present: profits, communication, and trustworthiness. The GE, however, failed to activate the fourth skill concerning the ability to persuade local non-green actors regarding the value of the green component. Thus, a main result is that it is crucial to convince non-green locals about the profitability of local environmental management rather than its potentially green components.

Schot J., Kanger L.

The unfolding of industrial modernity has led to high levels of wealth and welfare in the Western world but also to increasing global ecological degradation and social inequality. The routine mode of operation of a wide range of socio-technical systems, forming the material backbone of contemporary societies, has substantially contributed to these outcomes. This paper proposes that all these systems can be seen as a surface expression of fundamental meta-rules that for the past 250 years have driven the evolution of these systems and system innovation towards particular directions, thereby constituting the First Deep Transition. To meet the accumulated social and ecological challenges would therefore require a radical change not only in socio-technical systems but also in meta-rules underlying their functioning – the Second Deep Transition. This paper develops a new theoretical framework aiming to explain the emergence, acceleration, stabilization and directionality of Deep Transitions. It does so through the synthesis of three strands of literature: individual socio-technical systems, interconnected systems and industrialization-related macro-trends.

Hobson K., Lynch N.

Programmes and policies for a Circular Economy (CE) are fast becoming key to regional and international plans for creating sustainable futures. Framed as a technologically driven and economically profitable vision of continued growth in a resource-scarce world, the CE has of late been taken up by the European Commission and global business leaders alike. However, within CE debates and documentation, little is said about the social and political implications of such transformative agendas. Whilst CE proponents claim their agenda is ‘radical’, this paper outlines its inability to address many deeply embedded challenges around issues of consumption and the consumer, echoing as it does the problematic (and arguably failed) agendas of sustainable consumption/lifestyles. Using the Sharing Economy as an example, we argue here that the ontological and sociological assumptions of the CE must be open to more ‘radical’ critique and reconsideration if this agenda is to deliver the profound transformations that its advocates claim are within our collective reach.

Ilić M., Nikolić M.

Poor waste management in developing countries indicates that waste generation is mostly associated with the economic status of a society, their weak economy-social factors affected by the absence of proper environmental legislation, financial management and administrative capacities. Over the years, increasing amount of waste without any treatment is mainly disposed of on the existing dumpsites in the municipalities. This practice not allows the exploitation of resources from waste, and represents a huge loss of resources and threat to the environment and human health. Therefore, this problem is very complex and requires constant adjustment of the situation, fluctuations and the needs and demands of innovative solutions. This paper is focused on the drivers that have the biggest impact on waste management in Serbia and improvement of the system by changing the impact of the drivers. The objective is related to waste management drivers in the context of circular economy. This includes establishing baseline data on waste and assessment of the current waste management system, setting future goals, identification of issues, plans for integrated waste management and their implementation. The paper identifies bottlenecks that restrict Serbian’s sustainable development, such as low levels of reuse, recycling and recovery of waste, shortage of advanced technology, significant waste disposal amounts and weak economic incentives. The comparison is made with the Municipality of Ljubljana approach to Zero waste practice and circular economy. This analysis depicts real opportunities for more sustainable and efficient waste management in the municipalities and suggests a step forward towards the integrating best Zero Waste practices in the municipalities in developing countries.

De Jesus A., Aguiar Borges L.

As major hubs for energy and resource consumption and carbon emissions, cities are at the forefront of the discussion on the impacts of megatrends, such as demographic changes, technological advancements, and the shift toward climate neutrality. Despite growing literature suggesting pathways for cities to cope with these challenges, the intersection between circular economy and urban agriculture for sustainable urban development has been little explored, especially concerning practical applications. To bridge this gap, this study aimed to explore the role of urban agriculture in promoting the circularity of resources at the city level. Aarhus, in Denmark, and Ås, in Norway, provide the empirical context for this discussion that uncovers the barriers that impact the successful implementation of C-E practices in the context of UA and delves into how these obstacles challenge cities in transitioning to circular and sustainable food production models. Using a case study approach and qualitative data sources, the findings suggest that while urban agriculture demonstrates potential in reducing resource consumption, it requires further evidence-based research and clear monitoring tools to assess its environmental impact and economic viability. Obstacles to urban agriculture implementation include regulatory challenges, social acceptance of waste, high investment costs, and limited recognition of its indirect impacts. Concerning recommendations, local governance and public policies were found to play a central role in fostering circular urban agriculture by promoting collaboration, fostering innovation, developing regulatory frameworks, and showcasing successful examples.

Nandha Gopan S., Balaji M.

PurposeThe present paper examines the barriers hindering the implementation of circular economy practices in Indian automotive industries and identifies the most critical barriers to be eradicated during the circular economy implementation.Design/methodology/approachUsing a questionnaire survey-based analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach, 21 barriers to circular economy implementation are identified through a literature review and ranked using the opinions of relevant industrial experts.FindingsBarriers, minimal or no proper economic incentives, difficulty in ensuring product quality and costing of CE products are identified as top barriers to be eliminated first to boost the chances of successful implementation of circular economy practices in Indian automotive industries.Practical implicationsThe study not only offers a roadmap on the order of elimination of barriers towards a circular economy but also provides insights from industrial experts on how these barriers can be eradicated and the ill effects of each barrier from an automotive industry perspective.Originality/valueThe authors develop a theoretical framework for barrier analysis for circular economy implementation in the Indian automotive sector using the classic AHP approach to identify the most critical barriers against successful implementation. Further, this study offers managerial implications on how these barriers can be eradicated in real.

Alkaraan F.

Dijkstra H., van Beukering P., Brouwer R.

Entrepreneurs working to tackle marine challenges are contributing to the Blue Economy by developing new technologies, services and products that can simultaneously stimulate economic growth and deliver environmental benefits. We study a subset of these blue entrepreneurs focused on marine plastic pollution mitigation, since little is known about the business models deployed and their associated drivers and barriers in this emerging industry. We utilize a multiple case study approach to analyze the business models of 96 startups working to manage marine plastic and identify four business model categories: 1) consumer targeted solutions, 2) government and business solutions, 3) companies focused on value chain development, and 4) startups that generate revenue to fund plastic waste recovery. These four BMs differ in how they create environmental benefits, as well as their economic value capture or revenue models. We then conducted 19 interviews with entrepreneurs (20% of the sample) and six experts to understand the conditions that support or hinder business model development. We find that entrepreneurial challenges and motivations associated with starting a new business are experienced by all companies, regardless of the business model chosen. Other relevant drivers include the availability of financing early on in business development, a supportive culture and positive and constructive market response. Challenges include competition from less sustainable businesses that may negatively influence the legitimacy of the industry, as well as slow government responses. Finally, we propose recommendations for policy makers to encourage blue entrepreneurship and for practitioners to prepare for identified barriers and predict avenues of support.

Miller E.M.

Rudolf S., Blömeke S., Niemeyer J.F., Lawrenz S., Sharma P., Hemminghaus S., Mennenga M., Schmidt K., Rausch A., Spengler T.S., Herrmann C.

The increasing amount of waste from electrical and electronic equipment and the resulting environmental issues are challenging, since product life cycles are too short, and companies continue to rely on linear (business) models. The Circular Economy is an approach to meet these challenges by extending the product lifetime. One way to extend the product lifetime is to repair them. However, since there has been no detailed research on the repair sector yet, this article aims at conducting a repair study in Germany to understand the repair process and get insights into typical failure patterns. Therefore, we analyze the repair sector’s current barriers from different perspectives, especially of customers and businesses. We discuss the results of the repair study, where 382 repair attempts were conducted, with a total success rate of 55%. Moreover, the participants were interviewed to understand their barriers and motivation for repair. Based on the study’s interim findings, recommendations for action are given to make the repair services more attractive for the repairer and customer. Based on the findings, an interdisciplinary approach to improve repair processes by using a digital repair portal is derived.

Khan S., Maqbool A., Haleem A., Khan M.I.

PurposeThe successful transition towards the circular economy is a requirement of this technological era. The objective of this study is to identify critical success factors behind the successful transition to the circular economy.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review and experts' inputs are used to identify the major critical success factors of a successful transition towards a circular economy. Further, DANP is applied to discover the interrelationships among the critical success factors dimensions by analyzing causal relations between the relevant critical success factors. Additionally, the ranking of significant critical success factors for the successful transition towards the circular economy is determined.FindingsThis study has used the DANP methodology to understand the relationships among the five dimensions and the twenty-two critical success factors and identified the key influencing critical success factors through their global weights. Research findings suggest that “vision regard to a circular economy” has the highest weights, followed by “financial sustainability” which is regarded as the most important CSF.Research limitations/implicationsThe outcomes of this work may help organizations on issues related to the transition of the linear economy towards circular economy, in understanding the degree of importance of the each critical success factors, based on which the organizations can formulate an effective strategy to systematically emphasize critical success factors as per their importance for the successful transition towards circular economy.Originality/valueThis study tries to explore and analyze critical success factors of the transition from the linear economy to a circular economy. Further, the finding of this study provides deeper insights into academia and mangers that helps to formulate their action plan for moving towards the circular economy.

Sehnem S., Vazquez-Brust D., Pereira S.C., Campos L.M.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate overlaps, complementarities and divergences between the literature on circular economy (CE) models and related literature in non-linear production models and frameworks, including CE, reverse logistics, closed-loop, industrial symbiosis and industrial ecology. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was conducted focussing on the benefits of non-linear modes adoption. Findings The results show a high degree of convergence in findings, gaps and weaknesses of these literatures. Negative environmental, economic and operational impacts are understudied. There is a scarcity of studies identifying practices resulting in empirically tested benefits. The business and society case for non-linear production is still largely built upon conceptual studies, modelling and a few case studies. Despite a normative focus, there is very little use of theory, in particular, management theories. Research limitations/implications First, the authors use only one, albeit highly recognized database, Scopus. This database may have omitted some relevant research, journals such as the Journal of Cleaner Production and Resources Conservation & Recycling that are more likely to publish such research and also have a more interdisciplinary approach. This is an important gap and interesting result to claim for more interdisciplinary research. Second, the filtering process used and the focus on Association of Business Schools top journals may have also omitted some relevant research, such as a large stream of literature in specialist journals such as Resources Conservation and Recycling and the Journal of Cleaner Production. Practical implications There are contradictions, tensions and epistemological ambiguity that needs to be critically addressed. Such tensions may be associated with the knowledge field that gave rise to these different non-linear production approaches. Many of them appeared at the same time, but from different sciences and disciplines with their own perspectives. Then in doing so, they create confusion in the definitions of CE, assumptions underlying modelling and business choices arising from this complexity. This can be minimized through the critical interpretation of knowledge to elucidate epistemological quandaries to improve the understanding of the economic, social and environmental impacts of practices. Social implications In some way, this result makes sense, as the authors have limited the search to management, business and accounts journals, especially talking about Operations Management journals. This is an important gap and interesting result to claim for more interdisciplinary research. Originality/value In addition to gaps previously described, the authors identified areas of tensions where the literature offers inconclusive – often contradictory – findings requiring further exploration. A better understanding of these tensions is required to understand the impacts of non-linear production and develop policy guidelines for industry and policymakers to scale-up CE.