Envisioning just circularity: A scoping review of normative justice claims in circular economy literature

The circular economy (CE) is widely believed to have significant potential to achieve environmental,economic, and social sustainability. However, its social sustainability promises remain contested. We conducta scoping review of literature at the intersection of CE and justice, building upon earlier work on environmentaland energy justice to develop a novel framework. Using this framework, we map CE’s justice community(subjects, scale, time, knowledge), stakes (distribution, procedure, recognition), and relevant justice principles.Our analysis reveals multiple tensions, which future research on just CE should address. First, parameters tothe justice community require further scrutiny, especially surrounding agency of subjects; relative importanceof place; politicization of time-frames; and the balance between quantitative methods and socially constructedknowledge. Second, the stakes require further consideration, especially as they pertain to the distribution ofdwindling resources; political inclusion of essential stakeholders; and recognition of non-economiccontributions. Finally, we call for clear justice principles to arbitrate trade-offs, and visions for socialorganization in the just CE.