Circular Economy and Information Technologies: Identifying and Ranking the Factors of Successful Practices

Abstract

Optimal resource utilization and sustainability are gaining importance in the last decades, raising awareness about the circular economy principles. The transition toward the circular economy demands appropriate culture, environment and technology. The developments in information and communication technologies could form the base for these requirements. Our study targets identifying factors that affect the implementation of circular economy principles. In addition, the role of information technologies in their implementation is targeted. A structured literature review was conducted to define these factors. These factors are categorized into four categories: cultural, automation, sharing, and measurement. The importance of these factors is ranked based on a questionnaire. The results show that the found factors are considered success factors in implementing circular economy practices. With respect to categories, the highest impact was noticed by the cultural category, emphasizing the impact of human factor, relations, and communication on the success of circular economy policies. In addition, factors related to appropriate infrastructure and data collection support the transition toward circular economy.