Why and how companies implement Circular Economy concepts – the case of Cradle to Cradle innovations
Driven by depleting resources and growing awareness for alternative economic models contrasting the current “take-make-waste” approach, the concept of Circular Economy (CE) presents an opportunity to combine environmental and social interests with the goal of economic growth. One potential operationalization to realize a circular system is the Cradle to Cradle paradigm (C2C). It reframes the general goal of reducing negative externalities in a more positive way seeking the design and production of healthy products made out of benign materials that circulate in an endless flow of resources after the use phase (Braungart et al. 2006). To pursue a shift towards Circular Economy, it is important that companies successfully implement measures such as C2C practices in their work resulting in products and services which positively contribute to the environment.
While the echo in the practical world was very positive and over 200 companies worldwide have already successfully implemented C2C in their product development activities, the coverage of this topic in academia is still relatively limited, especially in the context of innovation management. The dissertation project aims at identifying intersections of innovation management theory and C2C, with particular focus on the motivations and organizational factors that enable a successful C2C implementation.
For this purpose, a co-citation analysis has been conducted, followed by a qualitative pre-study in the form of semi-structured interviews and a quantitative exploratory online-survey with responses from over 70 C2C-certified companies. First results show that besides the success of the certified product, the collaboration with the certification partner and the integration of the whole value chain positively influence a company’s overall satisfaction with C2C. Companies which align the C2C implementation with their corporate strategy also achieve a higher satisfaction level. We conclude that there are more success factors to the implementation of CE methods than the success of the new product. The additional enablers are critical for a shift towards Circular Economy and should be addressed through adequate management practices, like e.g. ensuring better alignment of the envisaged CE concept with the company’s strategy or holistically integrating all of the company’s value chain elements.
