The DOI matches its Crossref record; 69 of the 71 references it cites were found in a registry or an index, and 2 are not checked yet.
Green, circular, bio economy: A comparative analysis of sustainability avenues
Open accessAbstract
Despite their evidently different assumptions and operationalization strategies, the concepts of Circular Economy, Green Economy and Bioeconomy are joined by the common ideal to reconcile economic, environmental and social goals. The three concepts are currently mainstreamed in academia and policy making as key sustainability avenues, but a comparative analysis of such concepts is missing. The aim of this article is thus to comprehensively analyse the diversity within and between such concepts. The results are drawn from a bibliometric review of almost two thousand scientific articles published within the last three decades, coupled with a conceptual analysis. We find that, for what concerns environmental sustainability, Green Economy acts as an ‘umbrella’ concept, including elements from Circular Economy and Bioeconomy concepts (e.g. eco-efficiency; renewables), as well as additional ideas, e.g. nature-based solutions. In particular, Circular Economy and Bioeconomy are resource-focused, whereas in principle Green Economy acknowledges the underpinning role of all ecological processes. Regarding the social dimension, Green Economy is more inclusive of some aspects at local level (e.g. eco-tourism, education), while there is an emerging discussion in Bioeconomy literature around local processes in terms of biosecurity and rural policies. When considering weak/strong sustainability visions, all concepts remain limited in questioning economic growth. By comparing the different sustainability strategies promoted by these concepts we do not advocate for their substitutability, but for their clarification and reciprocal integration. The findings are discussed in light of the concepts' synergies and limits, with the purpose to inform research and policy implementation.
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“Moreover, both the circular economy and the bioeconomy are resource-oriented concepts (e.g., renewable materials, material recycle), which essentially fail to address synergies and conflicts with broader ecological processes and ecosystem services such as water, carbon and nutrient cycles (including emissions and waste), quality of energy source and efficiency in production and use, and main”
From Circular Bioeconomy Concepts—A Perspective (2021) · cites this paper as D'Amato et al., 2017
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“We agree with some researchers that the circular bioeconomy should be viewed as an emerging concept aiming to address the debate on the definite contribution of the circular economy and the bioeconomy to resolving sustainability challenges (D'Amato et al., 2017, 2018).”
From Circular Bioeconomy Concepts—A Perspective (2021) · cites this paper as D'Amato et al., 2017
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Research works printed but not linked: 2
- The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2012, Towards a circular economy - Economic and business rationale for an accelerated transition, Greener Manag. Int., 97
- USA, 2012, National bioeconomy blueprint, Ind. Biotechnol., 8, 97
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Barriers to the Circular Economy: Evidence From the European Union (EU)
Kirchherr, J., Piscicelli, L., Bour, R., Kostense-Smit, E., Muller, J., Huibrechtse-Truijens, A., & Hekkert, M. (2018) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.04.028 · Cited by 1,903
How do scholars approach the circular economy? A systematic literature review
Merli, R., Preziosi, M., & Acampora, A. (2017) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.112 · Cited by 1,544
Principles for a sustainable circular economy
Velenturf, A. P. M., & Purnell, P. (2021) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2021.02.018 · Cited by 1,350
Biorefineries in circular bioeconomy: A comprehensive review
Ubando, A. T., Felix, C. B., & Chen, W. (2019) · Bioresource Technology · doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122585 · Cited by 922
Chauhan, C., Parida, V., & Dhir, A. (2022) · Technological Forecasting and Social Change · doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121508 · Cited by 726
Metadata
- Authors
- D'Amato, D., Droste, N., Allen, B., Kettunen, M., Lähtinen, K., Korhonen, J., Leskinen, P., Matthies, B. D., & Toppinen, A.
- Affiliations
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE)
- Institute For European Environmental Policy (GB)
- University of Vaasa (FI)
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- European Forest Institute (FI)
- Venue
- Journal of Cleaner Production
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-12
- Volume
- 168
- Pages
- 716-734
- ISSN
- 0959-6526 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2753436765
- Cited by
- 1,077
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 100 · 2025: 114 · 2024: 127 · 2023: 153 · 2022: 174 · 2021: 152 · 2020: 130 · 2019: 87 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 185.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Cleaner Production (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja (submittedVersion)
- Osuva (University of Vaasa) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Metsäteollisuustuotteiden Vientikaupan Edistämissäätiö
- Academy of Finland, Strategic Research Council (293380)
- EU 7th Framework Programme for Research and Development (278363)
- Academy of Finland
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Sustainable Development and Environmental Management
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
- Keywords
- circular economy, green economy, bioeconomy, sustainability concepts, eco-efficiency, nature-based solutions, weak and strong sustainability, economic growth, local sustainability, biosecurity, rural policy, ecotourism, conceptual blending
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