RT Journal Article
T1 Decoupling or 'decaffing'? : the underlying conceptualization of circular economy in the European Union monitoring framework
A1 Llorente González, Leandro Javier
A1 Vence Deza, Xavier
K1 Circular economy
K1 Monitoring framework
K1 Circularity metrics
K1 Trade in recyclable materials
K1 Secondary raw materials
K1 Systemic change
AB In recent years, the shift to a circular economy (CE) has become an increasingly importantcomponent of the European Union’s development strategy. However, no consensus has yet beenreached on the depth of the transformation this implies, nor on the most appropriate strategy for itsmeasurement. In 2018, the European Commission presented a monitoring framework to evaluatethe progress made in this transition, focused on the priority objectives of the European strategyfor the CE. This article aims to discuss the conceptualization of the CE behind the selection andinterpretation of the metrics proposed by the commission. It is argued that the chosen indicators aremostly concerned with material self-su ciency and recycling, neglecting other dimensions of theconcept more closely related to systemic change. Moreover, some issues that are relevant from a CEperspective, such as the disparate distribution of recyclable material flows among EU Member Statesin terms of value and environmental impact, are overlooked in the interpretation of the availableinformation. Consequently, a more ambitious and diverse selection of metrics is suggested to reflectthe wider socio-economic and environmental objectives of the CE, thus preventing the disseminationof a limited version of the concept
PB MDPI
YR 2019
FD 2019-09-07
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/20915
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/20915
LA eng
NO Llorente-González, L. and Vence, X., 2019. Decoupling or ‘Decaffing’? The Underlying Conceptualization of Circular Economy in the European Union Monitoring Framework. Sustainability, 11(18), p. 4898
NO The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC ED431C 2018/23, to the CRETUS Strategic Partnership (ED431E 2018/01) and to the “R2π: Transition from linear 2 circular: Policy and Innovation” H2020 Project. This research was supported by the Spanish Innovation Agency (AEI) through the project ECO-CIRCULAR: “La estrategia europea de transición a la economía circular: un análisis jurídico prospectivo y cambios en las cadenas globales de valor”—ECO2017-87142-C2-1-R. All these projects are co-funded by FEDER (UE)
DS Minerva
RD 24 abr 2026