The paper "Conceptualizing the Circular Economy: An Analysis of 114 Definitions" by Julian Kirchherr, Denise Reike, and Marko Hekkert examines the varying understandings of the circular economy (CE) among scholars and practitioners. The authors collected 114 definitions from peer-reviewed journals and non-peer-reviewed sources, coded them using a 17-dimensional framework, and analyzed the results to identify common themes and gaps in the literature. Key findings include: 1. **Core Principles**: The most frequent depiction of CE is as a combination of reduce, reuse, and recycle activities, with a focus on recycling being the most common. However, few definitions emphasize the systemic shift required for CE. 2. **Aims**: Economic prosperity is the primary aim of CE, followed by environmental quality. Social equity and future generations are often overlooked. 3. **Enablers**: Business models and consumers are rarely highlighted as key enablers of CE. 4. **Systems Perspective**: Only 40% of definitions include a systems perspective, emphasizing the need for holistic systemic change. 5. **Waste Hierarchy**: Only 30% of definitions explicitly mention a waste hierarchy, which is crucial for guiding effective CE implementation. The authors argue that the lack of coherence in CE definitions poses a significant challenge to the field, potentially leading to the collapse or stagnation of the concept. They propose a more coherent definition of CE and suggest that describing good implementation examples can help clarify the concept for both scholars and practitioners.The paper "Conceptualizing the Circular Economy: An Analysis of 114 Definitions" by Julian Kirchherr, Denise Reike, and Marko Hekkert examines the varying understandings of the circular economy (CE) among scholars and practitioners. The authors collected 114 definitions from peer-reviewed journals and non-peer-reviewed sources, coded them using a 17-dimensional framework, and analyzed the results to identify common themes and gaps in the literature. Key findings include: 1. **Core Principles**: The most frequent depiction of CE is as a combination of reduce, reuse, and recycle activities, with a focus on recycling being the most common. However, few definitions emphasize the systemic shift required for CE. 2. **Aims**: Economic prosperity is the primary aim of CE, followed by environmental quality. Social equity and future generations are often overlooked. 3. **Enablers**: Business models and consumers are rarely highlighted as key enablers of CE. 4. **Systems Perspective**: Only 40% of definitions include a systems perspective, emphasizing the need for holistic systemic change. 5. **Waste Hierarchy**: Only 30% of definitions explicitly mention a waste hierarchy, which is crucial for guiding effective CE implementation. The authors argue that the lack of coherence in CE definitions poses a significant challenge to the field, potentially leading to the collapse or stagnation of the concept. They propose a more coherent definition of CE and suggest that describing good implementation examples can help clarify the concept for both scholars and practitioners.