Written by Georgia Nicolaou
EU Project Manager
Center for Social Innovation
12/01/2023
In regards to skills needed to effectively implement and manage CE in companies, several reports and articles deal with co-working management & skills needed to effectively implement and manage circular economy companies.
More specifically, according to the European Commission “by 2030, the European Union could record a 30% increase in productivity with the transition to a circular economy, which would simultaneously influence job creation and GDP growth”. Also, according to Brendzel-Skowera, shifting a business model to a circular economy model requires highly qualified staff and knowledge about what solutions can be implemented. In a likewise manner, Laubscher and Hopkinson suggest that to effectively implement and manage a circular economy business, employers and employees need new skills and knowledge like understanding the core concepts of a circular economy model and being able to explain and promote the model convincingly in a business way to both internal and external stakeholders.
In addition to gaining new skills on the circular economy, it is also suggested by De los Rios and Chanley that practical skills are also needed in order to effectively implement and manage CE in companies. For example, there is a ‘need for a balance between design-specific knowledge and transdisciplinary skills, as crucial to engage in problem solving using a wider perspective for circular economy practices’. Similarly, they suggest that ‘Human capital skills are central to achieving resource optimisation, rather than solely relying on solutions provided by automation’.
Sources: https: //ec.europa.eu/environment/pdf/circular-economy/new_circular_economy_action_plan.pdf
https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/ce100/Phillips-Co.project-Summary-Final.pdf
https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1826/10989/Skills_and_capabilities_for_a_sustainable_and_circular_economy-2016.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y