Rethink: planetary perspectives on circularity

Circularity has advanced to a key strategy for transforming our society: closing the loop is expected to enable economic profits independent of resource consumption and its associated environmental impacts (Blomsma & Brennan, 2017; Bocken et al., 2021; Circle economy, 2023; Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2019; European Commission, 2020). Thinking in circles and in systems is paramount for transforming our society to stay within planetary boundaries (Desing, Brunner, et al., 2020), yet specific circular strategies must target specific problems. Circularity is not a panacea (Blum et al., 2020; Geissdoerfer et al., 2017), thus it is important to distill when and where circularity can contribute to planetary wellbeing (Wiedenhofer et al., 2025). "Rethink" emerges as the most influential strategy: from the way we use energy, over which activities deserve priority, all the way to the role circularity itself can play.