Concepts, Strategies and Business Models of the Circular Economy for the Manufacturing Industry: A Systematic Literature Review

In view of the increasing environmental and economic challenges, the transition to a circular economy in the manufacturing industry is becoming ever more urgent. This development calls for new business models that reduce resource consumption and environmental impact without compromising economic performance. Against this background, this study provides a systematic literature review in which circular business models and strategies that can promote change in the industry were analyzed. Six main groups were identified: ‘circular economy and design’, ‘resource efficiency and optimization’, ‘service-oriented models’, ‘sharing and collaboration’, ‘product life extension’ and ‘recycling, recovery and reverse logistics’ with the analysis showing that the latter two clusters are intensively discussed in the existing literature. This taxonomy highlights current overlaps and inconsistencies in the naming and classification and provides users with a complete overview of circular economy strategies.