Mastering the Circular Economy

Global consumption of raw materials currently goes beyond the earth's regenerative capacity, but the circular economy offers a more sustainable model which also provides new business opportunities. Mastering the Circular Economy is an introduction to circularity from a business and value chain management perspective. With many reflections and exercises throughout, the book draws a direct link between relevant recent theory and practice and offers students and practitioners a deeper understanding of the topic. It looks at both the macro and micro context of the circular economy, from the government and societal view to the impact of new business models in an individual company. Starting from the corporate imperative of moving from linear to circular business models, Mastering the Circular Economy covers the associated opportunities and challenges for organizations, from regulation and risk to value chain collaboration, reverse logistics and product quality. Part two of the book helps students to pull together everything they've learned and see how the concepts play out in the real world by guiding them through application in the online business simulation game The Blue Connection (free basic access is included with the book). Readers are continuously asked to reflect on the choices they would make in different roles to demonstrate a full understanding of the strategic and operational implications of the circular economy.

"The transition to a circular economy is a do-or-die choice facing business and society. More and more companies are willing to make the journey, but still lack the necessary insight, skills and tools to succeed. "Mastering the Circular Economy" is a must-have guidebook for transforming business into a proactive force for good. This vital book by Rozanne Henzen and Ed Weenk will broaden your perspective on the circular economy, deepen your knowledge and raise your aspirations to do more and better. The chapters weave together important concepts and best practice examples, while offering helpful tools to turn ideas into reality. This book gives vital clues to how we can and must avoid overshoot and collapse in nature, society and the economy. I highly recommend it.", "This book offers an excellent contribution to the important topic of circular economy. It is practically relevant and academically rooted, it is well-balanced and interesting and in combination with the circular business game it serves as a fun and inspiring teaching tool that deals with the realities of today and tomorrow. It is my sincere pleasure to recommend it!", ""Mastering the Circular Economy" provides comprehensive insights to our new reality post Covid-19. This book offers a theoretical and practical advice to rethink, reimagine, revalue and be resilient in a new business environment. The research by Henzen & Weenk reveals how the circular economy is the responsibility of every leader. This new approach is a major step toward the new humanity era.", "Mastering the Circular Economy is an honest and powerful resource to learn what the circular economy is and how people can master its application. The book will provide the reader with foundational knowledge, spark their curiosity, challenge their ideologies and fundamentally support the reader to take action. This is a book to not only sink your mind into but your whole being into. I am excited by what Mastering the Circular Economy will do for catalysing action, our most critical need now is to move beyond theory to implementation and this book has the power to catalyse that.", ""Through a business lens, the circular economy is a strategy framework allowing a company to mitigate linear risk and capture circular opportunities more effectively than its competition. Mastering the Circular Economy uses this perspective in equipping its readers with practical tools and replicable examples that allow them to start their circular transitions immediately.""

Ed Weenk is Senior Lecturer of Global Supply Chain Management at Maastricht School of Management and Senior Associate Professor at EADA Business School Barcelona. As a freelance trainer and consultant he also teaches at many other business schools around the world. He is based in Maastricht, the Netherlands.Rozanne Henzen is a researcher and circular economy expert within the Sustainable Transformation Lab (STL) of Antwerp Management School, based in Antwerp, Belgium. She is currently recognized as one of the Sustainable Young 100 of 2020 in the Netherlands.