The top 10 books on circular economy

circular-economy

The world is at a crossroads, and we have the opportunity to change our future by changing how we do business. The linear economy—which has dominated since the Industrial Revolution—is slowly being replaced by the circular economy, an economic model that promotes sustainability and aims to reduce waste. In this post, we’ll explore some of the best books on the topic of circular economy, covering everything from its history to what it means for business today.

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way we Make Things (2002, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart)

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart is a classic book on cradle to cradle design. The authors explain how to redesign products and processes so that they are safe for people and the environment. They also emphasize the importance of design for sustainability, as well as reducing waste.

This book is an excellent read if you want to learn more about how we can create a sustainable future while maximizing value from materials in our waste streams, rather than generating them.

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A Production-Possibility Frontier for Humans (2012, by Joshua Farley et al.)

This book explains how the production-possibility frontier (PPF) can be used to model the amount of goods and services that can be produced using a given set of resources. The PPF curve shows all combinations of two goods or services, each with a given quantity, that are possible without reducing total output. In other words, it is a graphical representation of the maximum amount of goods and services that can be produced given the available resources.

The Closed Loop Economy (2015, by Hélène Steiner et al.)

The Closed Loop Economy (2015, by Hélène Steiner et al.) is a summary of the current state of circular economy thinking and its future potential. It’s a must-read if you’re looking for an overview or want to get started with circular research yourself.

The Circular Economy Handbook: A Practical Guide to Transformational Growth (2016, by Magnus Wijkman and Måns Nilsson) is another good option for beginners who want to learn more about the basics of how businesses can transition into a circular economy. It’s written for CEOs and senior executives in particular, but there should be plenty here that can help anyone interested in figuring out how their role fits into this new paradigm shift toward sustainability.

The Circular Economy Handbook: A Practical Guide to Transformational Growth (2016, by Magnus Wijkman and Måns Nilsson)

The circular economy is the next industrial revolution. It is about using resources more efficiently and reusing and recycling them, which helps reduce waste and pollution. The concept has been around since the 1970s but has only recently gained traction in mainstream business circles. The Circular Economy Handbook: A Practical Guide to Transformational Growth (2016) explains how companies can develop a circular economy business model that makes money by reducing waste while also creating jobs and boosting economic growth.

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The Circular Economy: A Wealth of Flows (2016, by Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

The Circular Economy: A Wealth of Flows (2016, by Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

This book provides a concise overview of the circular economy and its importance for sustainable development. It lays out some of the key challenges that need to be addressed if we want to transition to a circular economy and describes how these challenges are being addressed by businesses and governments around the world.

Zero Waste Home (2013, by Bea Johnson)

Bea Johnson is one of the pioneers of the zero waste movement. In her book, she shares her tips and strategies on how to reduce your household waste as much as possible. Her approach is both realistic and easy to implement, so if you’re looking for a quick guide on how to reduce your household’s overall waste output while still enjoying life, this is the book for you.

The book also includes some great tips on how to reuse or recycle things that some people might just throw away. For example: if you have a candle that has burned down far enough but still has some wax left in it, don’t throw out the remaining wax; instead use it as a lip balm! Plus, there are lots of other creative uses for discarded items throughout the book—for example: old CDs can be used as coasters or trivets! And there are plenty more ideas along these lines too (no pun intended).

If reducing your personal waste output isn’t enough and you want to help fight climate change by reducing global emissions too then join one of Bea’s community groups!

Regenerative Business: How to Build a Restorative Enterprise (2014, by Carol Sanford)

In Regenerative Business: How to Build a Restorative Enterprise (2014, by Carol Sanford), the author defines regenerative business as one that creates more value than it consumes. A regenerative business can be sustainable in the sense that it’s not detrimental to the environment, but what makes it different is its focus on creating real value and building relationships with customers and suppliers.

The benefits of a regenerative business are many, including reduced costs through optimized resource use, increased resilience in times of crisis or disruption due to their increased collaboration with other businesses, higher quality products due to greater attention paid during production processes and improved employee morale because they’re working on something that matters.

To build your own regenerative enterprise you first need an understanding of how your industry works – what resources are needed for production? Who supplies those resources? What kind of waste does production create? Once you have this information you’ll be able to set up systems for reducing waste at every stage of production and use renewable energy sources where applicable.

circular-economy

The Upcycle Beyond Sustainability – Designing for Abundance (2013, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart)

  • The Upcycle Beyond Sustainability – Designing for Abundance (2013, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart)

This book is about how to design systems that produce abundance, not just sustainability. It’s a great read with tons of examples of circular economy businesses.

Biomimicry in Action – strategies for Innovation Inspired by Nature (2013, by Janine M. Benyus)

Biomimicry in Action – strategies for Innovation Inspired by Nature (2013, by Janine M. Benyus)

Biomimicry is the study of nature and its processes to solve problems. It’s a design process that mimics nature in order to create sustainable solutions for society’s needs. This book provides an overview of biomimicry and how it can be used as an innovation strategy to solve problems. It includes examples of successful applications of this approach, along with guidelines on how you can apply it in your own work or life.

Industrial Ecology in Action – Transforming the Industrial Landscape (2018, by David Kidd)

In Industrial Ecology in Action, you’ll get a clear understanding of the circular economy and its applications. This book is perfect for anyone who wants to know more about transforming the industrial landscape.

The author offers an overview of industrial ecology and its role in creating a sustainable society, along with case studies featuring companies that have implemented circular strategies.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but I hope that it gives you a good overview of the wide range of topics covered in the literature on circular economy. The ten books on this list cover a wide range of topics: from the practical aspects of how to deal with waste streams and build more sustainable production processes, to exploring new business models that can help us create a more circular economy.