Print Email Facebook Twitter A policy framework for the circular economy Title A policy framework for the circular economy: Lessons from the EU Author Hartley, Kris (City University of Hong Kong) Schülzchen, S. (TU Delft Circular Product Design) Bakker, C.A. (TU Delft Circular Product Design) Kirchherr, J.W. (Universiteit Utrecht; Roskilde University; University of Cambridge) Date 2023 Abstract Transitioning from the ‘take-make-dispose’ linear production system to a circular economy can strengthen sustainability, and governments play a vital role. Recent scholarship has investigated policies for circular economy transition, but few studies take a perspective on circularity reform that spans geographies, industries, and product life-cycle stages. This article fills that gap by introducing a policy framework for the circular economy that includes over 100 policy instruments. The framework is developed from a review of 572 studies published in the academic and grey literature, along with policy databases and other documents. The findings are validated and supplemented by data from 33 semi-structured interviews with circular economy experts including scholars, policymakers, and representatives from NGOs and businesses. Derived primarily from the EU context but broadly applicable, the framework categorizes circular economy policies into nine groups. Six groups correspond to stages of the product life-cycle and three are overarching, capturing a holistic perspective mostly lacking in the literature. This study aims to promote a more structured discussion about circular economy policies and provides directions for future research by identifying topics where scholarship is thin. In addition to advancing theory, the framework can also serve as an assessment lens for designing circular economy policies. Subject Circular economyIndustrial ecologyPublic policyRegulationResource efficiencySustainability transition To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:59c894b1-9b25-41f3-ba7d-21356ffa49a1 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137176 Embargo date 2023-11-11 ISSN 0959-6526 Source Journal of Cleaner Production, 412 Bibliographical note Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public. Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2023 Kris Hartley, S. Schülzchen, C.A. Bakker, J.W. Kirchherr Files PDF 1_s2.0_S0959652623013343_main.pdf 2.92 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:59c894b1-9b25-41f3-ba7d-21356ffa49a1/datastream/OBJ/view