The circular economy concept has recently gained prominence in political debate and corporate discourse around the world as a pathway towards sustainability. The academic debate is characterised by several and sometimes very contrasting definitions of the concept. We claim here that the issue is not finding silver-bullet solutions that will simultaneously support population growth, increasing affluence and environmental resource regeneration. We argue that a clearer definition is needed for the circular economy concept, in terms of strategies, objectives, future states and stakeholders’ needs. Also, assessment methods need to be developed for keeping track of the transition towards a circular economy. Within this context, this paper establishes the need for a multi-stakeholder, multi-dimensional and multi-criteria approach for the evaluation of the transition towards a circular economy across different time and spatial scales, as well as multiple sustainability dimensions.

This study investigates the applicability of the Dutch Green Deals policy instrument for use in projects that help the transition towards a Circular Economy in the Netherlands. Green Deals provide an opportunity for firms, NGOs, universities, and provincial, municipal, or waterboard governments to sign an agreement with the national government to take away barriers for a Circular Economy related innovation. Quantitative and qualitative content analysis has been performed, categorizing all green deals as being related to Circular Economy and those are further categorized thematically and analytically. A total of 50 relevant Green Deal agreements are selected for quantitative and qualitative content analyses that cover 9 themes, 20 industry classifications, and 10 types of action undertaken, being particularly popular in the biobased economy and construction industry. The policy instrument is believed to be successful in addressing a variety of barriers and as useful in strengthening national innovation systems, thus, it can be recommended for application in other countries. The instrument does lack clear policy indicators and would benefit from explanatory reviews with each agreement. Future research could compare this policy instrument to similar instruments employed in other EU countries and developing countries, the potential role of green financing for such green deal agreements should also be considered.

In the final chapter, we take a closer look at the role that consumers play in the transition to the CE. Ultimately, consumers must be willing to buy sustainable circular products over those products that have a single lifecycle. The CE can receive great impulses even from a single person or a small group of people as we have shown in the repair café and iFixit case studies. This can cause a ripple effect that can quickly reach millions of people all over the world. It is up to governments to spread awareness amongst their citizens, so they become responsible consumers, and play a role as one of the largest consumers in their own economy as well. We look at the city of Rotterdam for a collection of cases, specifically looking at several consumer initiatives and how the city has been improving its own consumption since governments are big consumers themselves. We end the chapter, and the book, by looking at the circularity gap and revisiting what has been discussed in this book regarding closing this gap.

This chapter adds to the body of literature on the Circular Economy (CE), urban mining, and their intersection with consumer behaviour, by first providing a review of existing and emergent EU regulations aimed towards enhancing the collection rate of household WEEE. The fast growth of the EEE waste stream and its potential for Urban Mining as well as the inability of WEEE collection to keep up with the growth of the EEE industry is showcased with statistical data. The final section critically analyses the literature the intersection between consumer behaviour and closed-loop supply chains for EEE, identified through a systematic keyword search to ensure replicability. The findings point at a lack of theoretical, methodological and product-case heterogeneity among the identified sources, with most of them employing the Theory of Planned Behaviour and survey methods and focusing on mobile phones or general WEEE. While the literature suggests important behavioural differences across EEE categories, this was not representatively explored. The final section contributes to filling this gap by developing a taxonomy of EEE categories based on characteristics that may predispose consumer behaviour. The identified dimensions are: size, involvement, long-term reliability expectations, value type, internet access, multifunctionality, the quality of being outdated and social meaning.