A Circular Economy Handbook

Catherine Weetman provides multiple and nuanced insights into the business opportunity of the circular economy. Her wide-ranging research and important skills of synthesis and exemplification make this new edition perhaps the most valuable - and certainly most readable - guide to a circular economy available today.

In response to an ever-growing set of goals, themes and voices, the circular economy has been undergoing a gradual evolution, and this handbook provides a sharp snapshot of all the things you should know about the circular economy today. It allows circular economy practitioners to explore and engage with circular business models from various entry points on their own terms, drawing both on Catherine Weetman's vast understanding of the circular economy and her humility and genuine curiosity in learning from and understanding the people that are trying to make the circular economy work out in the world.

The third edition of A Circular Economy Handbook is a powerful contribution to the global circularity agenda. Drawing from a wide range of practical examples and strategic frameworks, it connects the dots between ambition and implementation. As someone deeply involved in measuring circularity and identifying system-level levers for change, I find it an essential resource for anyone working to move beyond awareness and accelerate real progress toward a more circular and resilient economy.

For new business models centred on outcome-based services, we believe it's crucial to start with the customer value proposition design, exploring ways to 'co-create' new value for the provider, user, customer and the wider circular economy. This new edition draws out the many benefits, and the importance of clarifying those for all involved.

As the discussions on circular economies become more intense, the new edition of Weetman's A Circular Economy Handbook is a timely contribution to help practitioners work through the different aspects of becoming more circular. In particular, the book's concise overview of some of the materials-related challenges to greater circularity is welcome, reflecting as it does the growing recognition of the importance of this aspect - there is no transition to an equitable low-carbon, resource-efficient society without materials. The new edition situates materials in their environmental, social, economic and, of extreme importance nowadays, geopolitical context in a thought-provoking and informative manner.