Developing a model of circular economy engagement for public sector organizations

Humans face an existential crisis if we fail to transition to a circular economy (CE) and reduce fossil fuel consumption. Public service organizations (PSOs) are major employers and owners of significant physical estates and procure hundreds of billions in products and services annually. The UK government aims to achieve ‘net zero’ environmental targets by 2030 but has left PSOs to operationalize strategy without clear methodologies and with ambiguous terms. This article explores and articulates public service practitioners’ understanding of CE principles and their approaches to implementation, to develop a model that enhances practitioners’ understanding of CE and enables practitioners to more fully understand how to approach implementation of circle economy principles. This article presents evidence from practitioners from multiple PSOs, located in Wales, who are engaged with contextualizing CE and implementing CE principles at an organizational level.