This study addresses the problem of the slow take-up of ecodesign in industry by identifying and categorising the implementation challenges faced by practitioners. Case studies from nine manufacturing companies from five different countries are reported based on interviews with key ecodesign personnel. A literature-derived framework is used to analyse each case, allowing for robust cross-case analysis. Challenges are identified in five areas: strategy, tools, collaboration, management and knowledge. The management category of challenges is the most frequently mentioned by the companies sampled. The tools category is not as prominent as might have been expected given the on-going focus on tool development within this field. The main contributions of the study are the updating of the main challenges for ecodesign implementation faced by industry, and the development of a rich framework of challenges, including new challenges not previously mentioned in the literature. It is suggested that the framework can be used (and evolved) by other ecodesign researchers when developing surveys or questions for indepth case study interviews as this will facilitate more robust comparisons between studies and support the development of a more consolidated body of knowledge in this field.

Summary The circular economy (CE) is a new model for the production and consumption of goods, which has attracted wide political attention as a strategy toward sustainability. However, the theoretical foundation of CE remains poorly structured and insufficiently explored. Recent studies have shown that the CE model draws on different schools of thought and that its origins are mainly rooted in fields such as industrial ecology (IE) and ecological economics (EE). In this article, we investigate the links between CE, IE, and EE and provide an overview of the similarities and differences between these fields. At the same time, we analyze to what extent the linkages between IE and EE can create a coherent body of knowledge for CE, and be used to identify further research opportunities. This paper shows that, until now, research on CE seems to be mainly rooted in the field of IE and based on concepts and tools that already exist in other fields, rather than inventing new ones. The reconciliation of IE and EE could provide a mechanism to extend beyond such a narrow focus, and increase knowledge of the theoretical and practical framework of CE to benefit sustainability.

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