India, Sept. 21 -- The World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) concluded in Gandhinagar last week. Across the week-long event, circular economy (CE) was the central theme in nearly every session, but every time it was mentioned, it meant something different. In one panellists head it was strictly a recycling and recovery target. In another speakers mind, as a redesign of business models: Leasing, product-as-a-service, take-back schemes. A panel moderator's version of circular economy was a macroeconomic decoupling strategy.

This raised a series of questions in my head as a curious attendee of the WCEF: Where did the term actually come from, how has it evolved, and what, if anything, is agreed upon? And here's what I found:

Origin of the ter...