How Can the Circular Economy Support the Advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? A Comprehensive Analysis

Circular economy (CE) as a framework to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has serious risks and various shortcomings.  Where CE and the SDGs are misaligned, there is a gap between products, the socioeconomic circumstances of the people who produce and use them, and the environment where the products are extracted and disposed of.  CE must deepen its understanding of the stakeholders and their socioeconomic and demographic circumstances to design new strategies that align the CE principles with and contribute to the SDGs.  The SDGs must also consider the social, economic, and environmental roles that products and materials have in society.  This research analyzed the potential impact that 27 circularity strategies have on each of the 17 SDGs and their associated 169 targets.