Diversity of circular economies from Global South evidence

Green and Circular Economy: Old Practices, New Nuances

This paper provides anecdotes and examples on a wide range of topics related to sustainability, circular economy, local governance, and community development in Nepal, and illustrates the disconnect between global concepts like the circular economy and the ground realities of rural Nepal. It discusses the origins of the circular economy concept, its benefits, and the challenges likely to be faced while transitioning from a linear model of production and consumption to one that is cyclical. The role of local governments in adopting new practices like waste management and the potential pitfalls of introducing modern solutions without considering traditional practices and local contexts have been analyzed within the complexities surrounding the circular economy, especially in relation to practicality in implementation in rural areas. Being based on secondary literatures, and the author’s own observation-based reflection, the article also discusses how imported ideas and practices, if not aligned with local traditions and resources, can lead to unintended consequences and challenges. The critique of initiatives that prioritize superficial modernization over addressing core issues like sustainable waste management or preserving traditional farming practices has also been discussed.

Decolonising the circular economy

The Circular Economy (CE) is widely promoted as a regenerative alternative to linear production, yet mainstream CE theories and frameworks are predominantly rooted in Global North and Eurocentric epistemologies and technocentrism. In this paper, I argue that such epistemologies and technocentrism ignores informal economies and indigenous knowledge systems. Furthermore, I argue that the current CE approaches often reproduce colonial patterns by externalising environmental and labour inequalities to poorer regions in the Global South. I propose a novel CE decolonisation framework. The framework focuses on epistemic plurality of CE, power redistribution, the technocentric widening of CE and the transformative impact of CE. I argue that these dimensions of CE decolonisation must be considered across knowledge production, governance, research, and the targeted outcomes.

Strengthening international evidence-informed policy making: lessons from the Global South.

Introduction Evidence-informed policy making (EIP) has generated substantial scholarship, but its contribution to the practicalities of policy making in international organisations is limited by the focus on a discreet and generally local level of governance. Furthermore, there is an acute bias in existing EIP literature, with the majority of studies derived from Global North countries. Methods To partially redress this geographic imbalance, the study produces four national case studies drawn from Sub-Saharan Africa, each reflecting on current, live policy processes within those national contexts, which are comparatively summarised within this article. Analytic plan Case studies are examined through an analytical framework based on Langer et al (2020) to identify replicable practices that may inform decision-making across multiple scales of governance, operating under the assumption that policy processes are transboundary and that lessons from national contexts can be translated to the international level. Results Findings emphasise integrating diverse stakeholders through inclusive approaches that enable meaningful participation of underrepresented knowledge. The centrality of political economy in shaping evidence use is highlighted, the need for structured evidence-demand and communication practices, and the value of clear guidelines around evidence categories to strengthen how diverse evidence types are interpreted across governance levels. Conclusion This article extends EIP's analytical reach beyond local and Global North contexts, offering a framework applicable to international policy-making institutions. Findings carry implications for designing inclusive and structured EIP mechanisms at national and international levels, and point to the need for future research that continues to diversify the geographic and institutional scope of EIP scholarship.

Think Global, Act Local: Envisioning Circular Futures as Networks of Circular Economy Villages

Despite growing policy interest, global circularity is declining — falling to just 6.9% in 2025. This paper argues that a key reason is the absence of a concrete vision of what a circular economy would look like as a physical place. To provide that vision, the argument traces a line across three bodies of work. Bauwens et al.’s (2020) scenarios of bottom-up sufficiency and peer-to-peer circularity offer the greatest potential for community empowerment. When pursued through a systematic application of circular economy principles to food, water, energy, and housing, these scenarios converge on a settlement model: the Circular Economy Village (CEV). Instantiating bottom-up sufficiency, the CEV is a walkable, mixed-use precinct in which resources circulate locally as a self-reinforcing system — eliminating waste, regenerating nature, and providing food, water, energy, and housing through integrated, community-governed infrastructure. Embodying peer-to-peer circularity, a network of CEVs can scale to constitute a global circular economy consistent with Herman Daly’s steady-state economy and the economy in equilibrium anticipated by the Limits to Growth Report (1972). The paper introduces a three-dimensional model of circularity — temporal, spatial, and relational — and proposes that a circular future can look like a network of Circular Economy Villages.

Bridging the Social Gap Between Circular Economy and Human Development: A Semi-Systematic Review Through the Lens of Capability Approach

Breaking the Loop to Close the Loop: A Thematic Synthesis of Social Barriers and the Legal-Policy Landscape Shaping Circular Business Models in Bangladesh

Circular business models (CBMs) are increasingly promoted as a means of balancing industrial growth with resource and environmental constraints, yet their adoption in lower-middle-income economies remains limited. This review synthesizes scholarly and policy literature on the social barriers and legal-policy conditions influencing CBM adoption in Bangladesh, where export-oriented manufacturing, extensive informal recovery networks, and growing environmental pressures make circular economy (CE) transition particularly urgent. Drawing on institutional theory and the multi-level perspective, the study examines how socio-cultural and regulatory factors interact across regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive dimensions. Three themes emerge. First, socio-cultural and market barriers include price-sensitive consumption patterns, low trust in secondary materials, perceptions linking status to new products, and limited community participation. Second, the regulatory framework is relatively extensive but remains fragmented, punitive, and weakly enforced, illustrated by implementation gaps in key waste management regulations. Third, a socio-institutional lock-in loop is identified, where regulatory uncertainty, delayed investment, weak market demand, and the marginalization of informal actors reinforce one another. The review develops six propositions explaining these reinforcing mechanisms, reframes informality as an institutional order rather than a residual category, and positions Bangladesh within the broader trajectory of South Asian CE research. A sequenced transition pathway is proposed that aligns institutional reform with industrial competitiveness and emerging international circularity requirements. The study explains why circular transitions stall and identifies practical pathways for accelerating change.