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The Relevance of the Circular Economy for Climate Change: An Exploration through the Theory of Change Approach

Author

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  • Manav Khanna

    (Institute of Management, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, 56127 Pisa, Italy)

  • Natalia Marzia Gusmerotti

    (Institute of Management, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, 56127 Pisa, Italy
    Department of Management and Law, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy)

  • Marco Frey

    (Institute of Management, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, 56127 Pisa, Italy)

Abstract

The relevance of the circular economy for climate change is still a developing area of research that needs to be explored. This paper aims to provide an overview of the relevance of the circular economy for climate change through the theory of change approach framework. For this purpose, we analysed 96 articles from the Scopus and WoS databases in the “Arts and Humanities, Business, Management and Accounting, Economics, Econometrics and Finance and Social Sciences,” with the keywords “Circular economy” and “Climate Change”. Our analysis shows that 87% of the reviewed articles showed a strong relevance of the circular economy for climate change. However, most of the articles focused on the mitigation aspect of climate change. The circular economy is widely practised in countries such as the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, and China. Our main theoretical contribution is in developing a logical framework through the theory of change, which is a novel approach in social science research apart from monitoring and evaluation studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Manav Khanna & Natalia Marzia Gusmerotti & Marco Frey, 2022. "The Relevance of the Circular Economy for Climate Change: An Exploration through the Theory of Change Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:3991-:d:781430
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    2. Ashish Dwivedi & Claudio Sassanelli & Dindayal Agrawal & Md. Abdul Moktadir & Idiano D'Adamo, 2023. "Drivers to mitigate climate change in context of manufacturing industry: An emerging economy study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4467-4484, November.
    3. John Vakros & Evroula Hapeshi & Catia Cannilla & Giuseppe Bonura, 2023. "Synthesis, Characterization and Performance of Materials for a Sustainable Future," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-3, December.
    4. Caitriona Corr & Niamh Murphy & Barry Lambe, 2023. "Harnessing Systems Science and Co-Creation Techniques to Develop a Theory of Change towards Sustainable Transport," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-22, October.
    5. Iordanis Eleftheriadis & Evgenia Anagnostopoulou, 2024. "Developing a Tool for Calculating the Carbon Footprint in SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-23, February.
    6. Bhavesh Kumar & Love Kumar & Avinash Kumar & Ramna Kumari & Uroosa Tagar & Claudio Sassanelli, 2024. "Green finance in circular economy: a literature review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(7), pages 16419-16459, July.
    7. Yasanur Kayikci & Nazlican Gozacan‐Chase & Abderahman Rejeb, 2024. "Blockchain entrepreneurship roles for circular supply chain transition," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 197-222, February.

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