A Review of Reductionist versus Systems Perspectives towards ‘Doing the Right Strategies Right’ for Circular Economy Implementation

Abstract

This systematic review examines the importance of a systems/holistic approach in analyzing and addressing the footprints/impacts of business-as-usual activities regarding the development of a circular economy (CE). Recent works on why current CE approaches have to be examined in terms of reductionist vs. systems perspectives are reviewed to tackle questions pertaining to the right or the wrong way of CE implementation. ‘Doing the right thing right’ is essential for sustainability—the ultimate goal of a CE, which must be viewed as a system to begin with. The limited reductionist approach overlooks and thus cannot prognosticate on the formidable unintended consequences that emerge from ‘doing the right things wrong’, consequences that become too costly to undo. The systems approach, being holistic, is complicated and difficult to pursue but open to exciting opportunities to integrate innovations in CE analysis and implementation. Complexity is an inherent downside of the systems approach. However, both approaches are complementary, as reductionist models can be combined to create a system of comprehensive analysis to correct the approach towards implementation of current CE initiatives. This review reports that advancements in systems analytical frameworks and tools are highly important for creating general guidelines on CE analysis and implementation.

System thinking approaches for circular economy: enabling inclusive, synergistic, and eco-effective pathways for sustainable development

“…This research gap is emphasized in recent studies advocating integrated socioeconomic approaches to CE (Kirchherr et al, 2018;Korhonen et al, 2018a;Inigo and Blok, 2019). The assessments of CE strategies by practitioners often lack scientific grounding, leading to reductionist viewpoints and overlooking wider systemic impacts (Balanay and Halog, 2021;Skene, 2022). Implementation challenges, such as the absence of collaborative innovation, higher costs, policy deficiencies, incoherent strategies, unintended consequences, and market misalignment (Balanay and Halog, 2021), highlight the need for analysing sustainability context and suggesting appropriate solutions for CE to serve as a legitimate, sustainable development model.…”

“…Moreover, owing to the diverse origins of CE concept, current literature present fragmented strategies that often end up in businessas-usual scenarios or produce negative outcomes when implemented in isolation (Kalmykova et al, 2018;Balanay and Halog, 2021). Adopting a systems perspective provides the capacity to examine these CE strategies in an integrated, holistic manner, shedding light on the potential for productive synergies.…”