On the contribution of eco-innovation features to a circular economy: A microlevel quantitative approach
The circular economy (CE) and eco-innovation (EI) are two concepts deemed instru-mental in achieving a sustainable transition. They have been proposed in the aca-demic literature and by practitioners and have acquired very high public policyrelevance, being endorsed by policymakers and ultimately le...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión enviada para evaluación y publicación |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/263741 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/263741 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Circular economy Eco-innovation, Small- and medium-sized firms Spain Transition Renewable energy sources |
| Sumario: | The circular economy (CE) and eco-innovation (EI) are two concepts deemed instru-mental in achieving a sustainable transition. They have been proposed in the aca-demic literature and by practitioners and have acquired very high public policyrelevance, being endorsed by policymakers and ultimately leading to regulationssupporting them. It has been argued that both concepts are compatible and interre-lated and that EI is instrumental in achieving the CE. However, little is known abouthow different EI features contribute to the CE at the microlevel. This article tries tocover this gap. Its aim is to assess and quantify the causal relationship betweendifferent EI features and the CE with the help of a unique dataset of small- andmedium-sized firms in Spain and an econometric analysis. Our results show that onlysystemic EIs contribute to a global CE, whereas other EI types such as componentadditions or small changes in existing production processes could even be barriers tohigh levels of circularity. It is found out that technological novelty is not relevant forreaching the CE. The results support the understanding of how EIs enable a transitionto the CE. Care should be taken not to promote incremental EIs that do not onlyachieve low (or no) circularity but that effectively lock-in the economic system insolutions that entail a barrier to the achievement of high-level circularity. |
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