The circular economy and the bio-based sector - perspectives of European and German stakeholders
Open accessAbstract
The European Union has recently introduced the ’circular economy’ as a high-level strategy to move our societies beyond the limits to growth. In the eyes of European policy makers, we will reach a circular economy through business innovation or the promotion of existing sustainable business models based on circular economy principles. Yet, we know next to nothing about how European businesses perceive or take up this strategy and whether it contributes to business innovation or the promotion of sustainable business models. To fill this gap, this paper analyses the business community’s view on the circular economy. It focuses on the bio-based sector as one of the most resource-intensive in Europe and scrutinizes EU level debates as well as business practices in Germany. Based on a document analysis and participant observation data, the results show that business stakeholders currently relate the circular economy predominantly to established practices and to technological business models. This leaves considerable room for innovation in areas like social or organizational business models. Yet, the directions and effects of current activities remain uncertain. Connecting the debates about the circular economy and the bioeconomy could benefit the discussion of these possible directions and their effects. As our results show, exploring the relation between the circular economy and the bioeconomy highlights the need to define which cycles contribute most to a sustainable future economy. Existing guidelines and standards developed for businesses have been criticized for lacking exactly this definition. Hence, strengthening the link between circular economy and bioeconomy debates may provide a crucial step towards defining the sustainability of the circular economy, thereby setting clear priorities for sustainable business practices.
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These potential technical barriers appear to remain under-appreciated in current political and stakeholder debates on the CE.
“Notably, these potential technical barriers appear to remain under-appreciated in current political and stakeholder debates on the CE (Kirchherr et al., 2018;Leipold and Petit-Boix, 2018).”
From Transforming the bio-based sector towards a circular economy: What can we learn from wood cascading? (2020) · cites this paper as Leipold and Petit-Boix, 2018
The Conclusion reports that European stakeholders do not mention the unavailability of secondary raw materials and that the EU Circular Economy Action Plan largely ignores this issue. But German stakeholders identify it as a major obstacle, so the paper supports under-appreciation in some political and stakeholder discussions, not across those debates generally. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe main factors influencing a transformation to wood cascading will likely provide important lessons for the establishment of a CE in bio-based sectors.
“Hence, the main factors influencing a transformation to wood cascading will likely provide important lessons for the establishment of a CE in bio-based sectors, i.e., a circular bioeconomy, as envisioned by several political debates in Europe (cf.Leipold and Petit-Boix, 2018).”
From Transforming the bio-based sector towards a circular economy: What can we learn from wood cascading? (2020) · cites this paper as Leipold and Petit-Boix, 2018
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Eversberg, D., Holz, J., & Pungas, L. (2022) · Sustainability Science · doi:10.1007/s11625-022-01237-5 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
The Stakeholders’ Perspective within the B Corp Certification for a Circular Approach
Poponi, S., Colantoni, A., Cividino, S., & Mosconi, E. (2019) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su11061584 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“, [2,4,76,77]) to support the transition to a circular economy demonstrates the wide nature of the subject and its huge contemporary impact.”
BackgroundTemmes, A., & Peck, P. (2020) · Forest Policy and Economics · doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2019.03.013 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Leipold, S., Weldner, K., & Hohl, M. (2021) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107086 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Self-citationMicroalgal biorefineries in sustainable biofuel production and other high-value products
Dutta, S., Kataki, S., Banerjee, I., Pohrmen, C. B., Jaiswal, K. K., & Jaiswal, A. K. (2025) · New Biotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.nbt.2025.02.007 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Ghinoi, S., Silvestri, F., & Steiner, B. (2020) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106446 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
The socio-economic impacts of introducing circular economy into Mediterranean rice production
Chen, W., Oldfield, T., Katsantonis, D., Kadoglidou, K. I., Wood, R., & Holden, N. (2019) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.334 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Okorie, O., Obi, M., Russell, J. D., Charnley, F., & Salonitis, K. (2021) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2021.02.013 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“We envision that these stakeholders, as identified in several CE studies (Leipold and Petit-Boix, 2018; Okechukwu Okorie, Salonitis, Charnley, Moreno, et al., 2018; Bertassini et al., 2021), will engage in helping to set and guide this research agenda, especially as this area is emergent.”
MethodLee, R. P. (2019) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.316 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Avila, L. B., Schnorr, C., Silva, L., Morais, M. M., Moraes, C., da Rosa, G. S., Dotto, G., Lima, E., & Naushad, M. (2023) · Foods · doi:10.3390/foods12081692 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Designing Business Models for the Bioeconomy: What are the major challenges?
Bröring, S., & Vanacker, A. (2022) · EFB Bioeconomy Journal · doi:10.1016/j.bioeco.2022.100032 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Success factors in sustainable textile product innovation: An empirical investigation
Rese, A., Baier, D., & Rausch, T. M. (2021) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129829 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Circular Economy and Economic Development in the European Union: A Review and Bibliometric Analysis
Martinho, V., & Mourão, P. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12187767 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Grifoll, V., Bravo, P., Pérez, M. N., Pérez-Clavijo, M., García-Castrillo, M., Larrañaga, A., & Lizundia, E. (2024) · ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering · doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c01260 · Cited by 40
A Review on Utilization Routes of the Leather Industry Biomass
Ayele, M., Limeneh, D. Y., Tesfaye, T., Mengie, W., Abuhay, A., Haile, A., & Gebino, G. (2021) · Advances in Materials Science and Engineering · doi:10.1155/2021/1503524 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Simoens, M., & Leipold, S. (2020) · Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning · doi:10.1080/1523908x.2021.1931063 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“4, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Freiburg, Germany technological barriers (de Jesus &Mendonça, 2018; Kirchherr et al., 2018; Leipold & Petit-Boix, 2018; Ritzén & Sandström, 2017).”
Self-citationLettner, M., Hesser, F., Hedeler, B., Schwarzbauer, P., & Stern, T. (2020) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120520 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Kang, X.-H., Lin, R., O'Shea, R., Deng, C., Li, L.-H., Sun, Y.-M., & Murphy, J. (2020) · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120211 · Cited by 38
Siddiqui, S., Sundarsingh, A., Bahmid, N. A., Nirmal, N., Denayer, J., & Karimi, K. (2023) · Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety · doi:10.1111/1541-4337.13202 · Cited by 37
A transitions framework for circular business models
Susur, E., & Engwall, M. (2022) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13363 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Brahmi, M., Bruno, B., Dhayal, K. S., Esposito, L., & Parziale, A. (2024) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34504 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
“The energy crisis made clear the need to move towards an increasingly renewable and sustainable generation of energy and also pushed the strategic choice to encourage the production of biogas and on the path towards sustainability, energy efficiency, and the circular economy [13,14].”
Biowaste to bioenergy nexus: Fostering sustainability and circular economy
Garg, A., Basu, S., Shetti, N. P., Bhattu, M., Alodhayb, A. N., & Pandiaraj, S. (2024) · Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.118503 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Prevailing theoretical approaches predicting sustainable business models: a systematic review
Ferreira, J., Fernandes, C., Veiga, P., & Hughes, M. (2021) · International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management · doi:10.1108/ijppm-12-2020-0653 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Perspectives on the bioeconomy as an emerging policy field
Vogelpohl, T., & Töller, A. E. (2021) · doi:10.1080/1523908x.2021.1901394 · Cited by 36
“In recent years, however, this take on the concept of the bioeconomy is increasingly contested as broader and alternative concepts and visions of a post-fossil economy such as the circular economy attract more and more attention (see, e.g. Bugge et al., 2016; Leipold & Petit-Boix, 2018).”
BackgroundSquaring the circle: Refining the competitiveness logic for the circular bioeconomy
DeBoer, J., Panwar, R., Kozak, R., & Cashore, B. (2020) · Forest Policy and Economics · doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2019.01.003 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
From Biotechnology to Bioeconomy: A Review of Development Dynamics and Pathways
Wei, X., Luo, J., Pu, A., Liu, Q., Zhang, L., Wu, S.-W., Long, Y., Leng, Y., Dong, Z.-Y., & Wan, X. (2022) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su141610413 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
“…the output end is to provide sustainable products and abundant and extensive healthy foods from plants and animals with the least unwanted by-products and emissions adversely affecting ecosystems and biodiversity and to return the produced products to natural circulation as much as possible [54].”
BackgroundPriorities in Bioeconomy Strategies: A Systematic Literature Review
Papadopoulou, C.-I., Loizou, E., & Chatzitheodoridis, F. (2022) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en15197258 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“…[47] Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Finland [62] Germany [90] United Kingdom [97] Italy, Spain, Belgium [109] Germany [98] Germany [107] Poland [100] Germany [102] Germany, Belgium [19] Germany International [46] France [58] Germany [50] Sweden, Belgium, Kenya, Thailand, USA [31] Italy [94]…”
Aarikka-Stenroos, L., Kokko, M., & Pohls, E.-L. (2023) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136380 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Circular business models in biological cycles: The case of an Italian spin-off
de Angelis, R., & Feola, R. (2020) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119603 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Social Innovation as a Prospect for the Forest Bioeconomy: Selected Examples from Europe
Ludvig, A., Živojinović, I., & Hujala, T. (2019) · Forests · doi:10.3390/f10100878 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“Since then, both have developed into increasingly prominent concepts for political leaders and policy administration [10,11].”
BackgroundInfluencing factors driving collaboration in circular business models
Leder, N., Kumar, M., & Rodrigues, V. S. (2023) · International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications · doi:10.1080/13675567.2023.2254258 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“…there is not yet a consensus about how to incorporate all stakeholders in one big circular setting, including identifying the challenges and benefits of such collaborative partnerships or their implementation alongside (Leipold and Petit-Boix 2018; Millar, McLaughlin, and Börger 2019).”
Examining Knowledge Diffusion in the Circular Economy Domain: a Main Path Analysis
Rejeb, A., Rejeb, K., Zailani, S. H. M., Kayıkçı, Y., & Keogh, J. G. (2022) · Circular Economy and Sustainability · doi:10.1007/s43615-022-00189-3 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“Conceptually, the bioeconomy represents a complex mechanism that replaces the economy based on fossil, non-renewable natural resources [64, 94, 163].”
BackgroundXavier, V., Finimundy, T., Heleno, S., Amaral, J., Calhelha, R., Vaz, J., Pires, T. C. S., Mediavilla, I., Esteban, L. S., Ferreira, I., et al. (2021) · Molecules · doi:10.3390/molecules26247472 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“It has been pushing the industry to transition towards a green, sustainable and circular economy, improving energy efficiency by using renewable raw materials [1,2].”
BackgroundLuo, A., & Leipold, S. (2021) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.130047 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Self-citationTöller, A. E., Vogelpohl, T., Beer, K., & Böcher, M. (2021) · Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning · doi:10.1080/1523908x.2021.1893163 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“…explore the links between the bioeconomy and similar concepts such as the circular economy or the green economy (see, e.g. D’Amato et al., 2017; Leipold & Petit-Boix, 2018) or deliver cross-country comparisons of bioeconomy policies and strategies (see, e.g. Besi & McCormick, 2015; Bugge et…”
BackgroundValue Retention Options in Circular Economy: Issues and Challenges of LED Lamp Preprocessing
Rahman, S. M. M., Kim, J., Lerondel, G., Bouzidi, Y., & Clerget, L. (2019) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su11174723 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“Leipold and Petit-Boix [38] mentioned that there is a two-fold barrier to the business implementation of CE: conflicting policy incentives and a lack of value chain relations.”
BackgroundTowards a Sustainable Bioeconomy through Industrial Symbiosis: Current Situation and Perspectives
Bijon, N., Wassenaar, T., Junqua, G., & Dechesne, M. (2022) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su14031605 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“Circular bioeconomy has emerged as a combined approach to BE and CE [11,12], but is more than a mere combination.”
BackgroundAlazzam, F., Aldrou, K., Berezivskyy, Z., Zaverbnyj, A., & Borutska, Y. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Impacts · doi:10.18280/ijei.060401 · Cited by 26
Innovation in the bioeconomy: Perspectives of entrepreneurs on relevant framework conditions
Wilde, K., & Hermans, F. (2021) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127979 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Patterns of European bioeconomy policy. Insights from a cross-case study of three policy areas
Vogelpohl, T., Beer, K., Ewert, B., Perbandt, D., Töller, A. E., & Böcher, M. (2021) · Environmental Politics · doi:10.1080/09644016.2021.1917827 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“Another focus is on the comparison of the bioeconomy with partly similar concepts like the circular or the green economy (e.g. D’Amato et al. 2017, Leipold and Petit-Boix 2018) or of bioeconomy strategies of different countries (e.g. Bugge et al. 2016, Meyer 2017, Dietz et al. 2018).”
BackgroundThe Role of Consumers in Business Model Innovations for a Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy
Lang, S., Minnucci, G., Müller, M., & Schlaile, M. P. (2023) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su15129573 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Kumar, L., Kamil, I., Ahmad, M., Naqvi, S. A., Deitch, M. J., Amjad, A. Q., Kumar, A., Basheer, S., Arshad, M., & Sassanelli, C. (2022) · Frontiers in Environmental Science · doi:10.3389/fenvs.2022.1002319 · Cited by 24
“These unsustainable methods are significant unjustifiable changes in our natural ecosystem and biospheres, with catastrophic values for human life (Bell et al., 2018; Leipold and Petit-Boix, 2018).”
BackgroundCelestino, É., Carvalho, A., & Palma-Oliveira, J. (2022) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134446 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Davidescu, A. A., Apostu, S. A., & Paul, A. (2020) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en13184752 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“In this sense, measures are being taken in the field of sustainability, cities and communities being encouraged to apply ingenious strategies to address circularity on urban scale [27], reducing the breadth of global waste streams and emissions [28].”
Wilkes-Allemann, J., Ludvig, A., & Hogl, K. (2020) · Forest Policy and Economics · doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2020.102158 · Cited by 20
New Forms of Land Grabbing Due to the Bioeconomy: The Case of Brazil
Cudlínová, E., Sobrinho, V. G., Lapka, M., & Salvati, L. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12083395 · Cited by 20
“Although circular bioeconomy and bioeconomy are conceptually distinct [43], they essentially advocate the use of renewable resources to enact economy-wide changes, with the aim of o ff ering viable alternatives to the current fossil fuel-based economy [44].”
Ezeudu, O. B., & Kennedy, C. A. (2024) · Business Strategy & Development · doi:10.1002/bsd2.349 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Circular Economy Research in the COVID-19 Era: a Review and the Road Ahead
Rejeb, A., Rejeb, K., Appolloni, A., Treiblmaier, H., & Iranmanesh, M. (2023) · Circular Economy and Sustainability · doi:10.1007/s43615-023-00265-2 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“Leipold and Petit-Boix [118] develop an eco-design action guide that supports the fabrication of specialized masks that can minimize the adverse impact of these products on the environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Najmaei, A., & Sadeghinejad, Z. (2022) · Scientometrics · doi:10.1007/s11192-022-04577-2 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“Relatedly, Leipold and Petit-Boix (2018) argue that strengthening the link between circular economy and established linear economic activities via public debates is crucial for the success of an industrial symbiosis.”
BackgroundBusiness model development in the circular bioeconomy: A focus on the fashion-textile industry
Basile, V., Capobianco, N., & Vona, R. (2025) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.144944 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Arias, A., Cinelli, M., Moreira, M. T., & Cucurachi, S. (2024) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2024.09.027 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
A converging path: a decade’s reflection on net zero emissions and the circular economy
Munir, M. T., Naqvi, M., & Li, B. (2024) · Frontiers in Energy Research · doi:10.3389/fenrg.2024.1332174 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Grodzińska-Jurczak, M., Krawczyk, A., Akhshik, A., Dedyk, Z., & Strzelecka, M. (2022) · Waste Management · doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2022.01.036 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Khan, S. A. R., Umar, M., Yu, Z., & Nawaz, M. (2023) · Environmental science and pollution research international · doi:10.1007/s11356-023-29537-y · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Takala, T., Tikkanen, J., Haapala, A., Pitkänen, S., Torssonen, P., Valkeavirta, R., & Pöykkö, T. (2019) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.007 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Biomass Expansion Factors for Hedgerow-Grown Trees Derived from Terrestrial LiDAR
Berge, S. V. D., Vangansbeke, P., Calders, K., Vanneste, T., Baeten, L., Verbeeck, H., Moorthy, S. M. K., & Verheyen, K. (2021) · Bioenergy Research · doi:10.1007/s12155-021-10250-y · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Bakili, S., Kivevele, T., Kichonge, B., Salifu, A., & King'ondu, C. K. (2025) · Discover Sustainability · doi:10.1007/s43621-025-01644-5 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“This surge is driven by heightened sustainability awareness and demand for renewable resources, further propelled by policy initiatives promoting bio-economy and circular economy models [87, 88].”
Yang, P., Cai, X., Hu, X., Zhao, Q., Lee, Y. S., Khanna, M., Cortes-Pena, Y. R., Guest, J. S., Kent, J., Hudiburg, T. W., et al. (2022) · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.rser.2022.112745 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Two Birds with One Stone: Bioplastics and Food Waste Anaerobic Co-Digestion
Kakadellis, S., Lee, P.-H. H., & Harris, Z. M. (2022) · Environments · doi:10.3390/environments9010009 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
- Authors
- Leipold, S., & Petit-Boix, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Leipold, Sina
- ORCID
- Leipold, Sina
- Venue
- Journal of Cleaner Production
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-11
- Volume
- 201
- Pages
- 1125-1137
- ISSN
- 0959-6526 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2885385666
- Cited by
- 193
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 35.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Cleaner Production (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (031B0018)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering › Sustainable Industrial Ecology
- Keywords
- circular economy, bioeconomy, business innovation, sustainable business models, stakeholder perspectives, social business model, sustainability standards
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