Circular economy through objectives - development of a proceeding to understand and shape a circular economy using value-focused thinking

The circular economy is a framework that sets into a relationship different ways of value creation and conservation, e.g. through reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing or recycling. It origins from different schools of thought and makes use of concepts developed independently, adding a systemic perspective of joint actions with the potential to harmonize economic, environmental and societal objectives. The richness of possibilities and the absence of a comprehensive definition of the circular economy however makes is hard for companies new to this concept to find an approach suitable for their situation and values. This paper presents an analysis of the elements and objectives of the circular economy and condenses knowledge from both literature and practice to a framework of goals using the methods of value-focused thinking. The results presented make the circular economy tangible and help companies to find their angle towards the CE, thus promoting the broad acceptance of the concept.