Category: Sustainability

8 Domains of Circularity

There are many sides to the circular economy. Even though many people consider resource usage and economic growth as indicators of the circular economy, there aren’t any generally acknowledged aspects. The various academic papers that discuss indicator systems for …

10 Enablers of the Circular Economy

To make our economy a bit more circular, many sectors will need to adapt and change. Since, many developments in these sectors and processes interdependent, the road to a circular economy is a major challenge. That makes each of …

A hype of economic paradigms!?

In recent years various economic paradigms have come by. Some are more concepts and fit within our current economic model, others aim for a transition to a new status quo. Why are so many paradigms emerging, are they just a …

An extensive history of the Circular Economy

Even though there is no clear moment in time when the Circular Economy came into being, we can describe the history of related paradigms and ways of thinking that led to our current understanding of the Circular Economy. …

Risks of the Circular Economy

The Circular Economy is seen by many as the holy grail for a sustainable and future proof economy. Billions of euros of cost reductions and the creation of many new jobs are expected as a result. Also the recently …

Resource Hierarchy Explained

Within the Circular Economy people often refer to the waste hierarchy as main guideline. The higher up the hierarchy, the less energy and material is spilled and therefore achieving a higher level of circularity. However, there are a …

An extended vision for a Circular Economy – part 1

I have been asked various times what my take on the Circular Economy is. Since I have had a dedicated focus on the Circular Economy both academically as well as practically I feel that I developed one that …

What is Understood by the Circular Economy Concept?

Recently a organisation of Dutch academics, Het Groene Brein, published 10 research questions they consider important for developing the Circular Economy. The first question is directly a philosophical one: does the concept of Circular Economy mean the same for everybody? …

Master Thesis Circular Economy & Sustainable Business cases

Two weeks ago I finished my thesis on the inclusion of the Circular Economy in Asset Management. I wrote this thesis based on a 9-month research at the Dutch energy distributor and network operator Liander. The research focussed …

Biofuels a renewable or limited energy resource?

After a quick research done on the topic of the Double Counting policy induced by the Renewable Energy Directive of the European Union I came to several preliminary conclusions about biofuels. Basically the question is whether biofuels are …