Department of Management, University of Zaragoza, 50005 Zaragoza, Spain.
Department of Marketing, University of Zaragoza, 50005 Zaragoza, Spain.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Mar 8;16(5):851. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16050851.
The Circular Economy is a paradigm shift attempting to replace the end-of-life concept with reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering materials and to slow down, close and narrow material and power loops. This concept is much discussed in the academic literature, but limited progress has been accomplished so far regarding its empirical analysis. The objective of this work is to study circular economy practices and analyze in depth the circular economy behavior in European firms. We find that firms' circular economy behavior is a gradual process where measures are implemented gradually, starting with activities involving control measures and ending with putting preventive practices in place. We discovered also that the most proactive companies in implementing circular economy measures generally come across certain common barriers such as administrative processes, regulations and a lack of human resources to perform these practices, while firms that have not implemented circular economy measures view financing, investment and cost⁻benefit barriers as the most significant. Significant efforts need to be undertaken by firms to accomplished circular economy. Also circular economy regulation should be improved to make it easier for companies to implement strategies that will make them more sustainable.
循环经济是一种范式转变，试图用减少、再利用、回收和再利用材料来取代寿命终结的概念，并减缓、关闭和缩小材料和能源循环。这一概念在学术文献中讨论得很多，但迄今为止，在其实证分析方面进展有限。本工作的目的是研究循环经济实践，并深入分析欧洲企业的循环经济行为。我们发现，企业的循环经济行为是一个渐进的过程，措施是逐步实施的，从涉及控制措施的活动开始，以采取预防措施结束。我们还发现，在实施循环经济措施方面最积极主动的公司通常会遇到一些共同的障碍，如行政程序、法规以及缺乏人力资源来执行这些措施，而尚未实施循环经济措施的公司则认为融资、投资和成本效益障碍是最重要的。企业需要付出巨大的努力才能实现循环经济。同时，也应改善循环经济监管，使公司更容易实施战略，从而提高其可持续性。
