Advancement of Circular Economy
This chapter provides an overview of the topic circular economy from a European perspective. It focuses on the actual implementation of circular models and processes. Although the European Commission has been trying to address the issue for years and provides many measures, the results of different indicators show a lack of implementation. Therefore, the main challenge of the next stage of development of Circular Economy 4.0 is to develop an inclusive system that involves all relevant stakeholders. This is because only through the efforts of limited groups of stakeholders (e.g., companies), the concept cannot be fully implemented in practice. Instead, the circular economy must become part of the broader culture, the way of thinking and acting of all stakeholders involved. This issue represents the main challenges for the next 10-year period in Europe.