10. Toward a Circular Economy

So far, the book has introduced vectoring as an effective model for architecting corporate sustainability efforts. By focusing on a limited number of material sustainability issues and developing the appropriate leadership, culture, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) profile, vectoring provides sound foundations for purposeful contributions to society at large. With the moral compass heading in a few selected, impactful directions, the book then proceeded to elaborate on the most effective execution strategies—that is, sustainability acceleration. The previous chapter highlighted the contributions from broad-based value chain collaborations and partnership arrangements. A method for selecting suitable strategic partners for innovation was proposed and the concept of many alternative sustainable solutions (MASS) was introduced to support the acceleration of sustainability innovation. These topics are extended here by developing the concept of circular economy, a radical departure from the more traditional linear way of thinking, that is, take–make–dispose. After introducing the potential impact of the transition to circular economy thinking, the chapter provides several examples of different forms of circular economy improvement strategies.