Exploratory Study on Circular Economy Approaches A Comparative Analysis of Theory and Practice

2.3 Circular Economy 23

23

Non-academic literature on circular economy benefits

Kienbaum Manage-

ment Consulting

2014

n/a •   Reduced material costs

•   Reduced energy costs

•   Competitive advantage

Accenture 2014 n/a •    Additional income streams through selling

of refurbished products

•   Reduced labor costs

•   Material cost savings

•   Enhanced customer value

•   Enhanced differentiation

Ellen MacArthur

Foundation 2012

and

Ellen MacArthur

Foundation 2013

n/a •   Annual net material cost savings up to

USD 630 billion in the European economy

•   Less expenses for disposed material

through reuse and better product design

•   Reduced labor and energy costs

•   Reduced costs for carbon emissions

•   Decreased dependency on resource prices

through reuse of material

•   Improved customer interaction and loyalty

•   Reduced warranty risks

•   Less product complexity and more man-

ageable lifecycles

Table 1 not only provides an overview of the existing literature drawing particular

attention to the positive impacts of circular economy but identifies two distinct types

of impact: monetary and non-monetary aspect. Monetary in this sense describes

impacts related to financial aspects. This includes not only directly related impacts

such as cost savings but also indirect related impacts such as reduced warranty

risk. In Figure 2, a further categorization is conducted and impacts are grouped

into two monetary and two non-monetary categories with several sub-categories.