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The circular economy (CE) is regarded as a new concept to promote sustainable development issues by improving economic, environmental and social goals. Essentially, the key idea of the CE is to assist modern economies to shift from linear economic thinking to a circular one in order to ensure that components of products could have a second use in new products and services. The majority of the relevant literature has focused on the relationship between CE principles and firms. However, to achieve CE principles, data and information from the macro level is also required; something which is currently under examined by the literature. Consequently, a significant gap in this field is the explanation of how the CE affects the macro economy and vice versa. To fill this gap, this paper aims to examine the relationship between a macro-level Circularity Rate and various macroeconomic variables across a sample of 28 European countries employing panel data. The findings suggest a robustly positive relationship between real GDP and the circularity rate over the long-run while higher environmental taxes are associated with an increase in the Circularity Rate. Southern European countries exhibit a significantly lower level of Circularity Rates compared to their northern counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to a circular economy is often presented as a straightforward, neutral and apolitical process, characterised by an implicit techno-optimistic and eco-modernist stance. However, in their recent paper on 'circular futures', Bauwens et al. (2020) illustrate that the circular economy is best understood as an umbrella term that might come to define very contrasting visions of sustainable development. Despite this, there continues to be a lack of discussion about the basic assumptions regarding social and economic structures on which the circular economy should be based, with research predominantly focusing on technical and practical questions. Therefore, in this conceptual paper, we assess the a priori compatibility of different plausible configurations of the circular economy with the principal theories of value found in mainstream and heterodox economics. We argue that these futures are themselves value articulating institutions that implicitly adhere to a theory of value even if this is not recognised. Moreover, given that theories of value go to the heart of how economies and societies function and reproduce themselves, we argue that circular economy research should recognise the importance of value and acknowledge how value theory might enable or contradict the visions of sustainable development articulated. • Circular economy literature lacks grounding in economic theory. • The compatibility of different circular futures and theories of value is examined. • Futures are value articulating institutions implicitly adhering to a theory of value. • Theories of value can help articulate more ambitious CE visions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses a poorly documented issue in the literature, namely the role of clusters in green transformation, including processes related to green, low-carbon, and circular economies. The purpose was to identify and understand the practices of clusters in this area. The adopted mixed research strategy consisted of both qualitative and quantitative research. Both research phases were conducted in a group of Polish Key National Clusters. Through qualitative research, the authors abductively identified practices that are vital for green transformation and categorized them into three thematic areas: Integration, Access to resources, and Education and awareness building. On this basis, the authors developed a method to measure the clusters' level of advancement in green practices, which was used in quantitative research. The results show that the surveyed clusters undertake a number of practices to promote green transformation. They are active in each of the distinguished areas and also engage in its most demanding forms. The study sheds new light on the concept of the clusters, showing how such organizations can be used as agents of change in favor of green transformation. • Research on clusters in relation to green transformation is at a very early stage. • Clusters can pursue various practices to promote green transformation. • Cluster green practices can be grouped as: Integration, Resources, and Education. • Advancement of Polish National Key Clusters in green transformation is rather high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moving towards a circular economy (CE) has become one of the main strategic initiatives on a global scale in the search for sustainable economic systems. However, the conceptual relationship between sustainable development and the circular economy is a matter of ongoing debate. In particular, the extent to which CE initiatives are contributing to the mitigation of resource extraction seems to be a still unclear topic. This paper investigates the relationship between the extraction of natural resources and the CE, and also analyses the effects of critical socioeconomic drivers such as economic and population growth and economic structures. The analysis is based on a panel data covering 28 European countries during the period 2010–2019. Results confirm that promoting a shift towards more circular economic systems can reduce the extraction of primary resources. However, the mitigating effect of CE initiatives remains rather marginal when compared to the impact of economic growth. Namely, estimates show that the primary resources extracted annually linked to economic growth are roughly four times the resources saved by CE initiatives. The findings provide evidence that the circularity of economic systems should be approached from a systemic perspective that includes both production and consumption as well as waste management. In particular, complementary measures addressing behavioural consumption are needed if we want to achieve a sustainable development. • GDP growth increases resource extraction 4 times more than the savings achieved by CE initiatives. • A 1% increase in GDP can increase resource extraction between 0,3 and 0,6%. • Promoting circular material use and circular economy activities contribute to reduce raw material extraction. • More effective policy interventions should be sought targeting behavioural consumption [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]