Rebound Effects in Circular Manufacturing: Overview of Potential Rebound Mechanisms Activated by Circular Strategies Across Key Business Processes

Circular economy (CE) is increasingly adopted by the manufacturing industry to decouple economic growth from environmental impacts by optimizing resource use and minimizing waste generation. Nevertheless, circular manufacturing often triggers systemic responses that diminish or offset their potential environmental gains, resulting in the so-called rebound effects (REs). To address the limited understanding of REs within circular manufacturing, the present paper aims to identify the rebound mechanisms triggered by CE strategies within manufacturing business processes. In addition to contributing to a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of how CE strategies are implemented across manufacturing business processes, this paper describes how circular strategies might inadvertently trigger rebound mechanisms and lead to REs. In particular, the paper provides practical examples of REs triggered by CE strategies and offers a foundation for future research aimed at mitigating REs in the context of circular manufacturing.