The Circular Economy: Barriers and Opportunities for SMEs

Authors :
Vasileios Rizos, Arno Behrens, Terri Kafyeke, Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers, Anastasia Ioannou

The ‘circular economy’ is gaining momentum as a concept in both academic and policy circles, and circular business models have been linked to significant economic benefits. This paper identifies barriers and enablers to adopting circular economy business practices, and presents key messages for policy-makers. It draws on input from a literature review, on discussions held in the context of the GreenEcoNet project and on an analysis of two SME circular business models.