Unleashing the Power of the Circular Economy

Obstacle 13 Lack
of an information
exchange system
Obstacle 14
Confidentiality
and trust issues
hamper exchange
of information
Obstacle 15
Exchange of
materials is
limited by capacity
of reverse logistics
I.IV
Obstacle 16
Lack of awareness
and sense of
urgency, also in
businesses
The lack of an information and material exchange system is blocking the
exchange of materials between actors. As Interface points out: how do you
know where “left over” is (carpet) and how to collect and distribute this? [50]
Confidentiality and trust issues hamper exchange of information. This
barrier is closely related to the lack of an information exchange system and
to competition legislation inhibiting collaboration between companies.
In addition, growing from a local to a wider scale requires trust and most
often reduces the quality of the information. Cross-cycle and cross-sector
information exchange is very complex. Confidentiality issues regarding access
to information form one of the most important topics and certainly require
further discussion. [24] Since trust is a condition for value co-creation [144] , lack
of trust often forms a barrier for co-creation and open innovation. Finally,
the possibility that the outside world may deduct information concerning
a company’s profit margins from increased transparency concerning e.g.
business processes, added value and environmental costs, may deter
companies from sharing this information.
Reverse infrastructure is underdeveloped compared to forward infrastructure:
the capacity is lower and there are fewer channels available. Cost-efficient,
user-friendly and high-quality reverse collection systems with guarantees,
together with infrastructure that maintains the quality of the products, are
missing. [8, 24] However, today, value chains are geared for linear economy.
Adding reverse logistics makes existing value chains even more complex. [108]
Furthermore, health and safety issues may appear in reverse logistics and limit
recycling. [71]
Societal and value-related obstacles
Public awareness of the importance of the circular economy is limited.
Material consumption is highly embedded in our society. Product ownership
has become part of peoples’ self-esteem. [73] Non-financial aspects of our
economy are less valued by our society. [36] This is severely hampering the
transition, because it prevents the circular economy from being a political
priority. As a result, mainstreaming top-down governmental measures like a
tax shift are currently impossible. In addition, while more and more companies
show circular economy leadership, many business leaders are either not yet
aware of the urgency of the transition towards a circular economy or refuse
to believe the scientific evidence (see Chapter 2). This limits the speed of the
transition from the bottom up.
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