Circular literacy. A knowledge-based approach to the circular economy

ABSTRACT

This paper applies a knowledge-based approach to study the role of circular economy (CE) for sustainable development. An analysis of publications from practice-oriented CE advocates is deployed to study the types of knowledge actors foster when they pursue the transition towards a CE. With the proposed term ‘circular literacy’ (CL), an analytical framework is provided to differentiate between different types of knowledge relevant for a transition towards the CE: system, target, and transformation knowledge. The main emphasis is on identifying knowledge-related prerequisites that prevent or stimulate the transformative potential of CE thinking and practices for sustainable development. The analysis reveals how the CL in the sample is confined by a narrow economic vision of the CE, lacking a reflection of political and sociocultural aspects that are needed to be addressed in future research to gain a robust concept of a CE-driven systemic transition towards sustainability.

KEYWORDS:

• Circular economy
• circular literacy
• sustainable development
• transformation knowledge

Acknowledgements

Jakob Zwiers would like to thank the IZT – Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment (in Berlin) for supporting his research. Melanie Jaeger-Erben and Florian Hofmann are members of the interdisciplinary research group ‘Obsolescence as a challenge for sustainability’ (Obsoleszenz als Herausforderung für Nachhaltigkeit – OHA) which is funded from July 2016 to June 2021 by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the frame of the Research for Sustainability programme. Furthermore, Florian Hofmann is supported and funded by Heinrich Böll Stiftung – The Green Political Foundation, Germany.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Florian Hofmann http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0111-9607

Notes

1 A similar term is mentioned by Wilts and Berg (2017) in a discussion paper on the digital circular economy, when referring to the need for ‘circular economy literacy’ as an answer to the question of ‘How can such comprehensive change processes [the CE] be made possible, evaluated and set on the right tracks?’ (Wilts and Berg 2017, 4). Their focus mainly is on how to support authorities in establishing appropriate frameworks for CE, making use of the tools provided by digital transformation.