Towards a Just Circular Economy

Abstract

The just circular economy (JCE) has emerged as a structuring normative horizon in sustainability transitions, but its analytical value remains limited by two structural gaps: the absence of a constitutive definition integrating all justice dimensions identified in the literature, and the absence of a typology capable of distinguishing genuinely integrative configurations from partial or strategic uses of the concept. Drawing on a Weberian ideal-type theorisation approach, this article advances three interrelated contributions. It proposes a constitutive and normative definition of the JCE structured around five interdependent justice dimensions derived from three theoretical pillars: multidimensional environmental justice, intergenerational equity, and circularity justice. Four dimensions, namely distributive, procedural, and recognitive justice alongside intergenerational equity, rest on a consolidated theoretical corpus; the fifth, circularity justice, is formalised as an emerging construct that renders visible the injustices internal to circular value chains that existing tripartite frameworks cannot detect, notably the transfer of costs, risks, or injustices from one actor, one territory, or one generation to another. It further develops a configurational typology of five archetypal JCE forms, specifically the redistributive, procedural, recognitive, sustainable, and integrative forms. It finally formalises circularity justice as a fifth analytical dimension, initiating a research programme centred on the construction of intra-chain justice indicators capable of measuring the just circularity gap within global value chains. Taken together, these contributions provide an operational diagnostic framework enabling the distinction between a substantive JCE and a façade JCE, and open a structured empirical agenda for future research.