Turning Finland into a country of circular economy: what kind of a process of change should we seek?

In recent discussions and policies, circular economy (CE) has been perceived as a promising way to solve environmental problems caused by our current economic system. To become reality CE calls for extensive, systemic changes in the design and production of goods, in consumption patterns, and in the ways in which companies create value. Though the transition characteristics of circular economy are self-evident, thus far few researchers have analysed it from transition theory perspectives. Transition approach could greatly enhance our understanding of processes aiming to achieve CE, including barriers and incentives that might affect them. Finland has often been seen as a forerunner in the change towards CE. We organised four workshops to explore how Finland could promote the change towards CE. In this chapter, we describe and analyse outcomes of the workshops focusing on the looked-for characteristics of a CE transition process in Finland. The findings point to a direction of a purposive transition with coordinated action, shared use of resources and shared creation of knowledge.