The concept of circular economy has recently moved from specialized academic settings to the circles of decision makers. Not only has the concept been popularized by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, it has also been anchored into institutional thinking, as for example through the EU Commission’s Circular Economy Package of 2015.

As defined by the EU, circular economy is about minimizing waste and maintaining the value of products, materials and resources in the economy for as long as possible. In order to reach these goals, decision makers look for solid research in order to help them define policies and practices.

Circular economy research must necessarily tap into already existing research fields, such as industrial ecology, environmental policy and green business modelling, just to mention a few.

Call for papers

We invite contributions from a variety of research fields, in order to nurture discussions of the following questions: 

·         What are the newest findings concerning circular economy?

·         How do we manage the interfaces between the different scientific disciplines?

·         How do we communicate new insights to decision makers with no scientific background?

·         How do we encourage awareness about potential unintended consequences that might surge in the wake of circular economy-initiatives?

In order to enlighten these questions, the conference will be both interdisciplinary and inter-sectorial. The morning session will be primarily dedicated to research presentations. The afternoon sessions will be structured as panel debates and workshops, where scholars and decision makers from both private and public sectors can mingle and discuss concerns and challenges, innovative approaches and plans for the future.

Your contribution

Authors are invited to address a broad array of subjects concerning Circular Economy. We especially encourage contributions linked to the priority sectors of the EU-circular Economy Package, e.

• Plastics
• Food Waste
• Critical Raw Materials
• Construction and Demolition
• Biomass & Bio-based Products

An extended abstract of maximum 1000 words should be sent to CircularEconomy@btech.au.dk

• Deadline: 1 August

• Authors will be notified of abstract acceptance or non-acceptance before 15 August.

We look forward to an interesting and inspiring conference on 12 October 2017 at Campus Herning