Circular Economy at Micro Level—A System Engineering Perspective

This chapter discusses the principles and definitions of the circular economy. The concepts of system engineering are used to explain the key elements of circular economy in the engineering context. In this chapter, the basic theories of sustainable development are explained. The natural step theory is explained via the system thinking approach. It is defined by an event-oriented system approach and system thinking. Then, the definition of circular economy based on the different resources is analyzed. The key elements in each definition are extracted and the common definition based on what, how, and why questions are provided. The principles of system engineering as defined by Blanchard and Blyler (System engineering management, Wiley, Hoboken, 2016) are explained, and the essential features of circular economy based on these terms are explained.