Circular Economy
With the continuous growth of the world population, a key challenge is to use resources much more efficiently and to explore alternatives for rare materials. A future circular economy consists of closed loops of resources to eliminate waste from production and consumption through maintaining, sharing, re-using and recycling.
In their study of a transition towards a circular economy, Copernicus researchers investigate sustainable consumption, technological innovations and new organizational arrangements. They also advise business leaders and policy makers at national and international levels on deep decarbonization, tax and regulation, and the implementation of sustainable business models.
Selected experts
Ernst Worrell Professor of Energy, Materials & Environment
Koen Frenken Professor of Innovation Studies
Marko Hekkert Professor Dynamics of Innovation Systems
Martin Junginger Professor Biobased Economy
Simona Negro Associate Professor of Dynamics of Innovation Systems
Li Shen Assistant Professor of Energy, Resources & Technological Change
Projects
Targeting the full potential of biotic waste streams and biotic feedstock
The Copernicus Institute and RIVM are looking towards industry to eliminate obstacles during innovation of green chemistry.
Policy brief: The Circular Economy
Marko Hekkert and Denise Reike contributed to a policy brief discussing how progress is being measured in the transition towards a circular economy.
The circular economy and the search for a new economic paradigm
Researchers at the Copernicus Institute have been working for some decades to move beyond the rusty linear economy of the past.
CHAPLIN XL
Can we use biobased asphalt at large scale anytime soon? The construction of test strips with bioasphalt in the Netherlands should provide the necessary knowledge to start applying this technology at large scale.
The Rise of the Platform Economy
The advent of online platforms enables private individuals to share goods on a massive scale, making people less reliant on private ownership. The sustainability effects such sharing platforms, however, are ambiguous.
Exploring urban metabolism—Towards an interdisciplinary perspective
In this white paper by Ernst Worrell, Martin Dijst and others, a combined natural and social science perspective on urban metabolism is discussed.
CRESTING
Three inconvenient truths about Circular Economy, results of the CRESTING project. In this project eight European universities and partners in Africa and Asia collaborate in deepening the understanding of Circular Economy discourses and practices across the world.
Producer still insufficiently responsible for circular economy
For a truly circular economy, producers should be further incentivized to use recycled materials and extend their products lifespan.
Assessing the social impacts of circular strategies in the Apparel Value Chain
This project aims at analysing the Fashion Value Chain from a global and local perspective with emphasis in India, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Pathways towards sustainable circular business models
Utrecht University and the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) are collaborating on circular business model implementation. This project supports firms in their transition to more circular business models, not by defining circularity, but by exploring the question of how we get there.
