Circular economy: a coevolutionary perspective on diversity

The research topic of circular economy has been discussed from different perspectives and with diverse foci in theory and practice. One of them is the idea of cradle-to-cradle. McDonough et al. (2003) emphasize three key tenets in their work: waste equals food, the use of solar energy and diversity. Diversity is the main focus of this paper. It is discussed from a biological perspective, the theory of coevolution. The aims of this paper are to discuss coevolution theory as a theoretical framework for diversity and to analyze the role of diversity within a manufacturer-customer relationship. Therefore, several coevolution scenarios of symbiotic relationships are discussed by referring to relevant elements of the coevolution theory and discussing them in an economic context. The enabling power of coevolution can be the adaptation to environmental changes through a diverse pool of materials and a good design.