European environment policy for the circular economy : implications for business and industry stakeholders

Abstract

European Union (EU) institutions and agencies are increasingly raising awareness on the circular economy agenda. They are encouraging marketplace stakeholders to engage in sustainable production and consumption behaviors by reducing, reusing, restoring, refurbishing and recycling resources in all stages of their value chain. Therefore, this research evaluates the latest European environmental policies including its ‘new circular economy plans for a cleaner and more competitive Europe’. Afterwards, it presents a systematic literature review that is focused on the circular economy in the EU context. The findings suggest that there are a number of opportunities as well as challenges for the successful planning, organization, implementation and measurement of circular economy practices for sustainable supply chains in Europe. This contribution identifies key implications and provides reasonable recommendations to policy makers and industry practitioners.