@article{2025:leinonen:a_critique,
title = {A Critique of the Circular Economy from the Perspective of Sufficiency: Decoupling and Inequality},
year = {2025},
note = {Current growth-oriented efforts to build economies are not on a
sustainable and inclusive path: the well-being of the entire
population of the planet remains unattainable while planetary
boundaries are exceeded. Thus, instead of focusing on economic growth,
a more holistic approach to building economies needs to be taken.
Here, the concept of sufficiency as an organizing principle that
recognizes enoughness and excess is challenging the growth paradigm.
This article begins by discussing the circular economy as part of the
green growth approach but outside the post-growth agenda. Next, two
key criticisms of the circular economy raised by the
sufficiency-focused degrowth approach are reviewed: the limits to
decoupling and inequality. This article ends with an outlook on how
the sufficiency-focused approach has been embedded into policy
proposals and organizational activities, and how the circular economy
could foster sufficiency-focused economies.},
journal = {Swiss Journal of Business},
pages = {294--302},
author = {Leinonen, Heta and Lappalainen, Roni},
volume = {79},
number = {3}
}