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Chapter 7
The power of network governance
It is my firm belief that network governance is key in effectuating
a circular economy. It will not replace conventional public
governance, but rather complements it. Network governance
bolsters the positive forces in a democratic society, thereby making
a crucial contribution to the circular objectives of countries and
regions.
The main message of this book is that network governance fills
an important gap in the implementation of circular initiatives.
Conventional public governance is insufficiently connected to the
people who are supposed to help realise the circular economy
goals set by the national government. Circular economy requires a
fundamental system change, which implies that we need radically
different implementation strategies than those used in the past.
When the national government introduced environmental policies
in the 1970s, in response to increasing pollution, its major focus
was on regulating industrial emissions. The roles were clear: the
government made the regulations and industry had to comply.
NGOs acted as watchdogs and pressured the government to be
strict with industries.
Nowadays, environmental problems have become so overwhelmingly
huge that just regulating emissions is not enough. This
notably holds for one of the most major worldwide environmental