Expanding perceptions of the circular economy through design: Eight capitals as innovation lenses

Abstract

We widely recognize that systems approaches are necessary to tackle the complex and urgent challenges of the unsustainability of human actions on the planet. However, how we perceive systems is largely framed by who is in included in the discussion and the experiences and interests that they bring to bear. Efforts to create the circular economy aim at closing material loops, but these efforts are limited because they only consider the flows of a few types of capital - natural, manufactured and financial, and are based on specific interests of a few actors. Other types of capital - human, social, political, cultural and digital - are often ignored, and as such the full scope of dynamics in a system is missed. Even though there will always be a discrepancy between what is perceived, and the actual system in operation, there are greater opportunities to expand such perception by drawing more deeply on systems thinking and the concept of capitals. This involves expanding not only the notion of the system itself, but also acknowledging different actors and their interests, types of capital in the system, and interactions between the actors and capital stocks and flows. We develop a systems thinking framework using eight capitals, and apply it in multi-level contexts in the Chicago region to demonstrate how they provide new insights and critical pathways for the transition to the circular economy.

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