Circular economy in corporate sustainability reporting: A review of organisational approaches

Abstract

A growing commitment from companies to implement circular economy (CE) strategies demands the development of guidelines for consistent related external communication. The fields of non-financial reporting and sustainability are well established with numerous available international reporting frameworks and approaches; however, there is still an absence of standardised reporting principles and procedures for publishing progress on circularity. In this context, this article aims to explore how companies could include CE within their corporate sustainability reports, through an academic literature review and content analysis of existent reporting approaches. Results showed a clear disconnection between CE and sustainability reporting literature. Overall, only a few of the revised reporting approaches explicitly mention CE, and the guidance given to companies is very general, inconsistent and places the responsibility of selecting performance assessment approaches on the companies. The analysis contributes to identifying opportunities for transparent external communication of CE issues, as well as exploring the challenges and limitations.

Exploring assessment practices of companies actively engaged with circular economy

“…However, we have found that companies obtained numerous benefits through the process of developing tailor‐made CE assessment approaches, benefits which would be potentially reduced, if standardisation was to occur in an overly prescriptive way. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that companies selecting their own CE indicators opens the doors for incidences of greenwashing, as observed in recent studies on CE assessment and reporting guidelines (Opferkuch et al, 2021; Pauliuk, 2018). These studies indicated that companies are able to cherry‐pick CE indicators, reporting more on aims and intentions, rather than actual performance.…”

“…Since sustainability assessment is a field with a longer history, more information on its degree of implementation by companies is available. In fact, sustainability tools, initiatives and approaches, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the GRI, are well known among companies (Lozano, 2020); however, their uptake of CE issues is lacking and less concrete (Opferkuch et al, 2021).…”

A New Retail Interior Design Education Paradigm for a Circular Economy

“…According to Opferkuch et al (2021), corporate sustainability reporting could address these barriers and allow stakeholders to make reliable evaluations of non-financial performance, including the social and environmental aspects of businesses within a circular economy. The authors draw attention to other benefits, including credibility, reduced legal risks, improved supplier relationships, increased access to capital and ethical behaviour along the supply chain [7]. However, the authors also highlight the need for guiding principles and procedures before corporate sustainability reporting can be introduced.…”

Business for ocean sustainability: Early responses of ocean governance in the private sector

“…Amini et al (2018) used content analysis to investigate non-financial reports and map corporate sustainability definitions and frameworks. More recently, Opferkuch et al (2020) analysed circular economy approaches and business models by a sample of international companies, building on the data and information contained in their sustainability reporting.…”