The similarities between Sustainability and the Circular Economy include the following:
Both concepts include the need to address intra and intergenerational commitments (Mulvihill and Harris Ali 2017; Geissdoerfer et al 2017; George et al 2016).
Both concepts include integrating non-economic aspects such as the environment and society (United Nations Sustainable Development Goas 2019; Lewis and Maslin 2018).
Both concepts undertake an approach which has a global focus such as the Paris Agreement and a national focus (United Nations Climate Change 2019; Blowfiedl and Murray 2014).
Both concepts include the need to undertake a systems-led approach to develop and implement changes in processes and to innovate (Pauli 2017; Moreno et al 2016 Braungart and McDonough 2009).
Both concepts have arisen from a multi-disciplinary research including environmental studies; entrepreneurship; operations management; business; social policy and other areas (Mulvihill and Harris Ali 2017; Geissdoerfer et al 2017; Beder 2006).
Both concepts include the issues of risk and potential cost which include both the potential threat of not undertaking any activity in this area and the opportunity of undertaking activity in this area (Pauli 2017; Moreno et al 2016). These concepts also include diversification in areas such as material and resource use and the value creation and capture which may be produced by this to create competitive advantage (Johnson et al 2018; Crane and Matten 2016).
Both concepts stress the importance of stakeholder collaboration and co-operation to both support the level of knowledge and address uncertainty (Mulvihill and Harris Ali 2017). This stakeholder collaboration includes policy-makers; members of the scientific community; business stakeholders and societal stakeholders (Geissdoerfer et al 2017; Crane and Matten 2016).
Both concepts include the role of regulation and incentives as being fundamental implementation tools (Lewis and Maslin 2018; Crane and Matten 2016). Examples of these includes the UK legislation regarding single use plastic waste which has seen a tax on single use carrier bags to reduce the level of waste created by these (Gov.UK 2018).
Both concepts are presented as being the central role of private sector businesses due to the level of control and use of resources and capabilities (Crane and Matten 2016). However, the issue of stakeholder collaboration also infers that public sector organisations also need to be part of this drive towards increased implementation of sustainability and the Circular Economy.
Both concepts present the issue of business model innovation as the key driver for transformation of industry process. This process of innovation will include the need to undertake complex problem-solving (Proctor 2014); innovation (Trott 2017) and the development of new business models (Osterwalder and Pigneur 2010; Teece 2010). The issue of business model innovation will also draw from business research into entrepreneurship and business models supporting a multi-disciplinary approach to the concepts of sustainability and the Circular Economy (Lewis and Maslin 2018; Pauli 2017; Geissdoerfer et al 2017).
Both concepts agree that technological solutions are important but that these also present implementation problems (Geissdoerfer et al 2017). For example, complex human activities such as those undertaken in logistics are difficult to replicate based on the current level of technology (Cosimato and Troisi 2015). Furthermore, the materials required for technology may also create harm for both the environment and for societal stakeholders due to the issue of mining and the exploitation of workers in developing countries to acquire these minerals (Blowfield and Murray 2014).
The secondary data also indicated that there was also a time lag between expected activities to address increased levels of sustainability and the Circular Economy and the actual level of activities. One of the global initi
