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

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2

Theoretical Foundations

2 Theoretical Foundations

Before analyzing the circular economy and its economic benefits for corporations

this chapter will begin by providing some background information on sustainable

development and later elaborate the role that the circular economy can play in

achieving sustainable development.

Before illustrating the development of the term sustainable development to its

current well-known definition this chapter will present a terminological differen-

tiation between sustainability and sustainable development. Although the terms

sustainability and sustainable development are often used interchangeably, the

concepts can be differentiated: sustainable development is seen as the process of

satisfying the current needs of the population without compromising the capacity

to do so of future generations, as stated in the Brundtland Report in 1987 (World

Commission on Environment and Development 1987). On the other hand, sustain-

ability has its origin in the context of maintaining a certain number of populations,

e.g. in fisheries or forests. It is often understood as the protection of non-renewable

natural resources, biodiversity and avoidance of climatic changes (Lélé 1991). With

the main focus being on environmental issues this type of sustainability is also

framed as ecological sustainability. There is also social sustainability defined as

sustainability that “refers to actively supporting the preservation and creation of

skills as well as the capabilities of future generations, promoting health and sup-

porting equal and democratic treatments that allow for good quality of life both

inside and outside of the company context” (Longoni and Cagliano 2015, p. 218).

Hence, sustainability can be seen as part of sustainable development and the latter

term describes the transition process towards a sustainable world. This research

project is on sustainable development as the circular economy can be understood

as a concept contributing to this transition process.

© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2018
L. Frodermann, Exploratory Study on Circular EconomyApproaches,
Wirtschaftsethik in der globalisierten Welt, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-21949-9_