Frugal Meets Circular: A Transformative Approach towards Sustainability

Sustainability is a holistic notion that encompasses environmental, social, and economic factors as its core components. Approaches attempting to balance the three pillars of sustainability have faced criticism due to the challenge of comparing values such as biodiversity, landscape beauty, costs, profitability, equity, health, and cultural values, which are not clearly commensurable. The concepts of Frugal Innovation and Circular Economy have made significant contributions to advance sustainability and SDGs. Frugal Innovation refers to developing affordable solutions with limited resources while maintaining quality. Circular economy refers to closing the material loop while minimizing waste and maximizing resource use. Scholars have discussed the role of Frugal Innovation and Circular Economy independently in achieving sustainability, however studies integrating these two concepts together are limited. This study explores the interaction between Frugal Innovation, Circular Economy and Sustainability. To advance this knowledge, a systematic literature review supported by PRISMA review methodology has been conducted from the year 2014 until 2024. Our results indicate the synergistic effect of frugal innovation and circular economy in advancing sustainability. Both concepts support each other by increasing efficiency, producing sustainable affordable solutions and scalability. From a policy level, there is a need to develop a conceptual framework integrated with the United Nation (UN) SDGs that are mostly targeted by Circular Economy and Frugal Innovation. Overall, it is particularly important that all stakeholders including government, industry and academia collaborate to promote integrated Circular Economy and Frugal Innovation strategies through aligned policies and joint initiatives.