How Cooperatives Embed Circularity in Their Business Models and Governance—Results From an International Survey

Citation

Ziegler R, Rey‐Sierro J, Novkovic S, Buendía‐Martínez I, Ballon J, Teasdale S & Roy M (2025) How Cooperatives Embed Circularity in Their Business Models and Governance—Results From an International Survey. Business Strategy and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70045

Abstract
Cooperatives as a democratic form of economic organization are an emerging focus in research on the social dimensions of circular economy. However, there is no international database on cooperatives and circular economy, impeding systematic analysis. Drawing on the first international database and survey of cooperatives and circular economy from 12 countries in Europe and the Americas, we explore how cooperatives embed circularity in their business models and governance, including the technology and partnership choices this involves, and how this uptake is currently facilitated. The analysis shows there to be a trend of new, usually small cooperatives that pursue circularity as a core value from inception, that tend to prefer upstream circularity strategies and that look for support from established cooperative networks. Already established, also larger cooperatives tend to explore circularity strategies both internally and by forming networks. There is potential for sectoral and intersectoral federations to facilitate circularity uptake.

Keywords
circular economy; cooperatives; embeddedness; governance; sustainability; technology

Journal
Business Strategy and the Environment

• How Cooperatives Embed Circularity in Their Business Models and Governance—Results From an International Survey