Towards a novel circular maturity model to foster circular economy in the healthcare industry

The healthcare industry heavily contributes to environmental and economic challenges. Circular economy can solve these challenges, but its implementation in healthcare is complex and requires structured paths. Maturity models can promote the implementation of circular economy. Literature on maturity models was reviewed to understand how to develop the novel circular maturity model, then an exploratory empirical analysis was conducted to conceptualize and apply it. The proposed circular maturity model enables to structure, assess, and foster circular economy implementation in healthcare with a focus on operating theatres, a major contributor to environmental challenges in healthcare. The model integrates all essential domains necessary for achieving circularity in operating theatres, namely procurement, surgery, waste management, personnel, and governance. This research posits the need for a structured comprehensive perspective to assess the progress and successfully implement circular economy in healthcare. The novel circular maturity model represents a valuable tool for both scholars and practitioners. This paper contributes to the academic debate about circular economy in healthcare by providing a one-of-its-kind circular maturity model. Practitioners can apply the circular maturity model to assess the implementation level of circular economy and identify improvement opportunities.