Developing Countries in the Transition towards Circular Practices: Opportunities and Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

Among the major issues of international research and practice, the issue of circular economy has become increasingly central to addressing the current needs of society, and innovative solutions for the future are required (Hysa et al., 2020). It has been argued that, currently, the impact of economic activities on our planet has become unsustainable, and therefore there is an urgent need for new development models and approaches to help the world transition towards sustainable development based on decarbonization, energy efficiency, the use of renewable sources, and a progressive reduction in carbon emissions.

In this scenario, the circular economy (CE) has emerged as a new paradigm of society and as a possible solution to various problems, such as global warming and resource scarcity. CE is defined as an “industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design. It replaces the ‘end-of-life’ concept with restoration, shifts towards the use of renewable energy, eliminates the use of toxic chemicals, which impair reuse, and aims for the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products, systems, and, within this, business models” (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015). The CE aims to guide society towards a sustainable model by radically transforming the way we use resources to generate value by introducing closed production systems and replacing previous linear production and consumption models based on ‘take, make and dispose’ with a closed-loop model where no waste exists (Urbinati et al, 2020; Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015). The central idea behind the circular approach is imitating the behavior of nature, in which there is no concept of waste, and each element becomes an input for another process (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2020; Urbinati et al, 2017).

While there are relevant challenges to the initiation of this transition, it is worth noting that this new economic model presents significant opportunities for optimizing the efficient use of resources and products and for reducing production and consumption, as well as related greenhouse gases emissions, while offering competitive advantage opportunities for businesses (EMF, 2020). The relevance of this new paradigm is also evidenced by recent EU policy and recovery packages (EU Commission, Recovery and Resilience Plan, 202; EU, 2019;), international and national governmental agenda, business reports, and an increasing number of scientific articles (Brennan et al., 2015).

The implementation of practices related to CE business models is being considered critical (Ndou, 2021) and relevant due to the promise of an “integrative and instructive framework for encouraging more sustainable practices” (Manniche at el., 2021, p. 2). Practices of reusability, recycling, and reduction are also being used in all sectors in tourism, food, construction, packaging, manufacturing, etc. (Urbinati et al, 2021; Ndou, 2021, Del Vecchio et al. 2020). In addition, different actors and players are adopting and implementing circular economy business models. Studies have exploded recently in attempts to demonstrate the potential of such models and their positive social, economic, and environmental impact on our ecosystem (Panaiti et al., 2022).

Even though scientific works on circular economy are increasing, research on circular economy practices and initiatives in developing countries and non-EU countries are still in early infancy. Many additional efforts are needed to understand the approaches and mechanisms required to adopt circular economy principles and to overcome the barriers that developing countries may encounter in this transition.

Accordingly, this Special Issue aims to collect contributions that bring forth research and case studies focused on practices and initiatives of the CE in developing countries. More specifically, we aim to collect contributions focusing on:

• The role of technologies for CE;
• Circular economy in tourism;
• Circular economy in agrifood;
• The CE entrepreneurship opportunities;
• Education on theCE;
• Circular economy through innovation;
• Sharing economy and circular economy;
• Innovation through frugal economy;
• Key technological enablers for circular economy;
• Circular economy and big data;
• Circular economy and artificial intelligence;
• Digital industryand Industry 4.0 for circular economy;
• Circular economy impact indicators and statistics.

Dr. Eglantina Hysa
Dr. Valentina Ndou
Dr. Kozeta Sevrani
Dr. Nevila Baci
Dr. Kreshnik Vukatana
Guest Editors

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• circular economy
• sharing economy
• entrepreneurship opportunities