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Around the world, governments and businesses are talking more and more about the need to move from today’s "take, make, waste" economy to a circular one, where products are designed to last, materials stay in use, and waste is dramatically reduced. On paper, the case is compelling: recent assessments show that shifting to a circular economy offers both a major climate opportunity and a significant economic one. A study from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre finds that "reduction, reuse and recovery" measures could cut Europe’s heavy industrial emissions by up to 231 million tonnes of CO₂ each year, and global analyses estimate that circular models could generate around $4.5 trillion in value by 2030).

Yet progress may be stalling. The latest Circularity Gap Report shows that the share of secondary materials in the global economy fell from 9.1% in 2015 to 6.9% in 2021. Instead of becoming more circular, the world, in a recent timeframe, became less so.

What would actually help stakeholders such as consumers, companies and governments embrace circular models? In our recent research project, we reviewed more than 130 studies on circular business models to understand this very question. What we found is simple but often overlooked: circularity is not just a design or engineering challenge, it is also an engagement one. If consumers hesitate, or companies delay investments, or policymakers fail to create the right conditions, the circular shift stalls.

Our work identifies 6 practices that can boost circular economy engagement. They fall into 3 areas: helping stakeholders feel motivated, giving them opportunities, and ensuring they are able to act. Understanding these levers is key to accelerating the transition to a circular economy.

Motivation: Making the case for going circular

For circular behavior to emerge, stakeholders first need a clear reason to care. Motivation is about creating the desire to act by explaining why circular options matter, how they are beneficial and why they are worth choosing over familiar linear habits.

A first part of this involves strategic signaling: making the benefits of circular models visible, concrete and easy to grasp. Many companies now deliberately make a point of doing this. Mud Jeans, for example, communicates the exact water and CO2 savings associated with its "Lease A Jeans" model, helping customers immediately see the environmental value of extending product life. Fairphone similarly signals the impact of modular design by showing how repairable smartphones reduce e-waste and keep devices in use for longer.

But motivation also depends on convincing stakeholders that circular options are safe, reliable and worthwhile. Even when people like the idea of circularity, they may still worry about the quality or convenience of second-hand or refurbished products. Companies are responding by offering guarantees, services and financial incentives that lower perceived risks. Decathlon, for instance, promotes its repair services and spare-part availability, reassuring customers that products can be kept in good condition for longer.

Opportunity: Making circularity possible and socially acceptable

Even highly motivated stakeholders cannot engage in circular behavior if the environment around them makes it difficult or uncommon. Opportunity is about creating the partnerships, norms and systems that make circular actions feasible, convenient and socially accepted.

"Matching’ is a key part of this, in other words connecting the right stakeholders so that circular solutions can function. Few organizations can operate reuse, repair or recycling systems single-handedly; they need logistics partners, refurbishment specialists and intermediaries that help keep materials in circulation. We are witnessing more and more of these typically well-thought out matches. The fashion platform Vestiaire Collective, for example, collaborates with brands to authenticate and resell pre-owned items, creating a trusted ecosystem that individual firms would struggle to build alone. Cities such as Amsterdam foster circular procurement networks that bring together suppliers, waste operators, innovators, and citizens to jointly develop reuse and refurbishment pathways.

Opportunity also depends on legitimizing circular practices, which makes them appear commonplace, expected and in line with broader societal rules. Governments play a central role here through standards and regulations. The European Union’s Right to Repair legislation, for instance, requires manufacturers to make spare parts and repair information available for many household products. This reinforces the idea that repairing rather than replacing is the default. Companies contribute to legitimizing as well. When global brands like Apple promote refurbished devices as high-quality options and expand their certified repair networks, they help shift expectations about what counts as new or desirable.

Ability: Giving stakeholders the capacity to act

"Closing the loop" also requires skills, knowledge and resources. Ability is about ensuring that stakeholders are equipped with the funding, infrastructure, education or practical support that make circular actions realistic in everyday life.

A first part of this involves supporting stakeholders with the resources they need. Many organizations and individuals want to engage in circular behavior but simply lack the means. Companies may need finance to redesign products or set up reverse logistics. Households may need convenient places to return used goods. Cities may require infrastructure that enables citizens and organizations to share goods and materials. Increasingly, these needs are being addressed. The European Investment Bank, for example, has issued dedicated circular economy loans that help firms invest in recycling capacities, keep goods and materials in use, and design out waste. Startups such as Too Good To Go provide digital infrastructure that connects retailers with customers to reduce food waste, making it easier for small businesses to participate in circular practices without building new systems from scratch.

Ability also depends on empowering stakeholders with knowledge and skills to navigate circular models. Circularity requires understanding how products can be repaired, how materials flow through a system and how to be renters, sharers or repairers rather than one-time users. Education and training help build this understanding. Repair cafés, which have grown across Europe, offer hands-on opportunities for people to learn how to fix household items alongside volunteers. Many universities now provide open-access courses on circular design principles, giving students and professionals the tools to rethink production and consumption. These initiatives can help shift circularity from a niche practice to an accessible, everyday one.

A systemic shift requires all 6 practices—not just one

What becomes clear from our research is that isolated efforts rarely work. The studies we reviewed suggest that clear communication about the benefits of circular options may have little impact if people are not reassured that these options are reliable and worthwhile. Incentives or guarantees alone may fall short when companies lack the partners needed to run repair, reuse or return systems.

Even well-designed collaborations may struggle to gain traction when circular behavior is not supported by social norms or policy signals that make it feel like the normal thing to do. And investments in new infrastructure or funding may have limited effect if stakeholders do not have the knowledge or confidence to use circular services in practice. Progress is most likely to occur when all of these elements reinforce one another.

For all stakeholders, the key is to reflect on what is needed to make circular practices part of everyday life. This includes asking questions such as:

• How do we help those we interact with understand the value of circular choices?
• How can we collaborate to create systems that make it workable to share, repair and reuse?
• Do we, and those around us, have the infrastructure, resources and knowledge to participate in the circular transition with confidence?

Recognizing these shared responsibilities and needs helps ensure that consumers, companies and governments move forward together, rather than in isolation, which is essential for a successful circular transition.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Citation: The circular economy may not be taking off: Here are six ways stakeholders can make it happen (2026, January 29) retrieved 29 January 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-01-circular-economy-ways-stakeholders.html

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