System priority
Triple bottom line (horizontal) (Blowfield and Murray 2014)
Economic system (hierarchical) (Geissdoerfer et al 2017)
Who benefits
Environment, society and the economy (Crane and Matten 2016)
Economic actors and then the economy and environment. Societal stakeholders benefit from the improvements undertaken by the circular economy (Pauli 2017)
How it is institutionalised
Different perspectives can be adapted to different contexts (Blowfield and Murray 2014)
Emphasizes the economic and environmental benefits (restoration and regeneration) (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2017a)
Influenced by
A range of stakeholders (Crane and Matten 2016; Blowfield and Murray 2014)
Governments; businesses; non-government agencies (Pauli 2017; Geissdoerfer et al 2017)
Timeframe
Indefinite with no defined end (Lewis and Maslin 2018)
Theoretical and practical limits to the implementation of the Circular Economy could provide the timeframe based upon current levels of knowledge (Moreno et al 2016)
Perceptions of Responsibilities
Shared responsibilities with a lack of clear definitions (United Nations SDGs 2019)
Private business; regulators and policymakers (Moreno et al 2016)
Commitments. Goals, and interests behind the use of the terms
Stakeholder interest aligned in areas such as reduction in waste being beneficial for the environment (Lewis and Maslin 2018; Geissdoerfer et al 2017)
Economic and financial benefits for businesses; less resource use and environmental degradation and pollution (Pauli 2017; Moreno et al 2016)
There are also differences in the goals of sustainability and the Circular Economy (Geissdoerfer et al 2017). For example, the secondary research indicates that the goals of sustainability tend to be open-ended and require the need to adapt to changes in the environment and societal needs (Blowfield and Murray 2014). In contrast to this, the objective of the Circular Economy is to develop a closed loop based upon the regeneration and restoration of materials (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2017a; Braungart and McDonough 2009). This perspective of the Circular Economy may therefore present it as benefitting businesses first and undertaking a narrower approach than that of sustainability which considers the impact on a wider range of societal stakeholders and environmental goals (Geissdoerfer et al 2017; Crane and Matten 2016; Moreno et al 2016). However, whilst the Circular Economy undertakes business-centric approach, it also provides the opportunity for the impacts of this business model design and innovation to benefit other stakeholders and this will be explored in more detail in the second and third research objectives.
4.2 Objective 2: To investigate the impacts of sustainability and the Circular Economy on business models and innovation.
The impacts of sustainability and the Circular Economy on business models and innovations can undertake a number of impacts.
Firstly, the business model and innovation may be based upon the creation and capture of value which has a wider value proposition for the organisation and its stakeholders (Geissdoerfer et al 2017). This includes the ability to undertake a different business model based upon the use of technological developments such as the Internet of Things (Conner 2015). The Internet of Things provides a business with the opportunity to undertake a higher level of connectivity between itself and its customers which supports improvements in communication and performance (Trott 2017; Conner 2015). One business which is currently using the Internet of Things as part of its business model is Bundles which operates a pay-per-use business model which enables customers to gain access to household goods, such as washing machines (Gilbert 2014). Bundles provides a household good, such as a washing machine, for free and charges its customers for its use which is monitored using the Internet of Things (Gilbert 2014). &
