Regions in Context II: Principles of circular economics in regional management leading to increased efficiency of systems

As of late, it has been possible to observe the growing importance of the concept of the circular economy, which plays a very important role in the lives of individuals, companies and policymakers. The circular economy is just one way to attain sustainable development with special characteristics and has both similarities and differences when compared to the concept of sustainability. Many authors list differing ways of understanding this concept. This paper attempts to suggest a consensual view of the basic concepts of the circular economy framework in the context of the concepts of closed loops, the concept of sustainability, and business models that are developing in connection with the concept of the circular economy. The paper focuses on systematic literature review, other research studies on the subject and the view of professional institutions on the issue to fulfil the outputs of the paper. These include: overview analysis of the main terms, concepts, approaches and principles of the circular economy and overview analysis of the development of business models and their basic elements in terms of the circular economy.