2.4 The relationship between sustainability and the Circular Economy
The relationship between sustainability and the Circular Economy is based upon the approaches towards increasing the awareness of the interdependencies between the economy, society and the environment but these may undertake different approaches, perspectives and methodologies (Pauli 2017; Geissdoerfer et al 2017; Moreno et al 2016). These concepts also have conceptual differences, such as sustainability being focused on the integration between economy, society and the environment presenting thee as equal factors (Lewis and Maslin 2018; Geissdoerfer et al 2017). In contrast to this perspective, the Circular Economy prioritises the economic perspective which then has a direct benefit on society and the environment and can be seen as a more business-centric approach (Pauli 2017; Geissdoerfer et al 2017). However, as contexts change and technological innovations are developed, there is a focus on how these can impact upon sustainability and the Circular Economy and these may provide a greater synthesis between the two concepts. Technological innovations, such as the Internet of Things, enable higher levels of data collection and analysis as regards issues such as the use of products, such as household goods, to support greater efficiencies and improvements (Trott 2017). The use of this data may assist in tracking the lifecycle of products and to support higher levels of recycling and reuse (Lewis and Maslin 2018; Pauli 2017; Trott 2017).
2.5 Research gaps
Whilst there is a relationship between these two concepts, there has been a lack of academic research into this relationship and the aforementioned similarities and differences remain under-researched (Geissdoerfer et al 2017). This research gap therefore provides an opportunity for an increased level of understanding in terms of increasing conceptual clarity and the rationale for the definition and use of these concepts by stakeholders including government, business and societal stakeholders (Feil and Schreiber 2017; Geissdoerfer et al 2017). By undertaking this research gap, this dissertation aims to address how the concepts of sustainability and the Circular Economy can be more successfully integrated to support social equality and inclusion; increase environmental resilience and support economic prosperity (Lewis and Maslin 2018; Geissdoerfer et al 2017; Moreno et al 2016).
This research gap also needs to address how the relationship between sustainability and the Circular Economy is being perceived by policy makers and businesses in order to gain a better understanding of the influence of this relationship on business models, supply chains and innovation systems (Geissdoerfer et al 2017). This also needs to consider a widening of the concepts of sustainability and the Circular Economy to include emerging concepts such as the Performance Economy (Stahel 2010) and the Sharing Economy (Bocken et al 2014). There is also a need to evaluate how the actual impacts of the Circular Economy are being evaluated and analysed against performance measureme
