Towards a territorial definition of a circular economy: exploring the role of territorial factors in closed-loop systems

This paper deals with the territorial dimension of a circular economy. We review the territorial factors shaping closed-loop systems, upon which a territorial definition of a circular economy is developed. We consider six categories of territorial factors: (1) Land-based factors emphasize the significance of physical endowment to satisfy the growing demand of secondary and biotic materials in a circular economy; (2) agglomeration factors are important determinants for a circular economy, as these provide circular businesses with the necessary access to resources, knowledge and collaboration, as well as viable markets; some of these functions are enabled by (3) hard territorial factors, in particular by accessibility and connectivity infrastructures as well as by (4) access to state-of-the-art technologies; softer territorial factors, including (5) knowledge-related factors and (6) governance and institutional arrangements, support collaboration among companies and between them, as well as among consumers and public institutions. Our review shows that agglomeration and land-based factors contribute to define the framework conditions of circular transformations, the harder territorial factors (accessibility and technologies) enable the circular economy in practice, and the softer factors (knowledge, awareness, governance and milieus) contribute to catalyse circular transformations. These findings base and complement research done in the ESPON CIRCTER project.