Adopting a circular economy: Current practices and future perspectives

All scientists, researchers, and citizens are involved in achieving sustainable goals. Their current actions contribute to writing a story for future generations, and interesting perspectives can be narrated based only on a great sense of social responsibility. The literature gives a great deal of attention to the models of a Circular Economy (CE). This topic is multidisciplinary and different sectors are involved in its development. This Special Issue aims to underline the relevance of the CE models in the scientific field and its applications in real contexts in order to achieve sustainability goals

Scaling up circular economy initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean

This document analyses the possibility of scaling up the potential of the circular economy through financial instruments in Latin America and the Caribbean. It reviews progress in the circular economy in four business cases, selected based on priorities and representativeness for the Latin American and Caribbean region, and assesses the prospect of scaling them up using financial mechanisms and environmental, social and governance (ESG) schemes. The findings show that investment in circular economy business models has multiple benefits for companies, such as profitable operating margins and improved corporate reputation, thereby lowering the cost of debt and of financing circular economy projects. Various financial mechanisms are applied to scale up circular economy initiatives and circular economy indicators are aligned with broader ESG frameworks. To unlock the full potential of the circular economy in the region, new —and cheaper— financing alternatives should be considered. ESG funding has proven to be a reliable source of funding, even for circular economy projects, and has attracted the attention of investors the world over.Introduction .-- I. Dimensions involved in scaling up circular economy (CE) initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) .-- II. Finance mechanisms for scaling up circular economy (CE) initiatives .-- III. ESG frameworks and circular economy (CE) .-- IV. Case studies on scaling up circular economy (CE) initiatives .-- V. Recommendations for scaling circular economy (CE) initiatives in LAC .-- VI. Conclusions

Supply chain management for circular economy: conceptual framework and research agenda

Circular economy (CE) initiatives are taking hold across both developed and developing nations. Central to these initiatives is the reconfiguration of core supply chain management (SCM) processes that underlie current production and consumption patterns. This conceptual article provides a detailed discussion of how supply chain processes can support the successful implementation of CE. The article highlights areas of convergence in hopes of sparking collaboration among scholars and practitioners in SCM, CE, and related fields

Some Overviews on Organic Agriculture Apply Circular Economy

The paper provides an overview on agriculture apply circular economy (CE). It provides the concepts of circular economy and organic agriculture. The paper used secondary researches from topics, documents related to organic agriculture apply CE. With results which the previous studies mentioned, the paper bases on different CE theoretical approaches to clarify the concept of organic agriculture in the direction of circular economy. Keywords: organic agriculture, circular economy DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-20-01 Publication date:October 31st 202

Circular Economy (CE) applied to Asset Management/Tech safety: study case on Oil & Gas Asset Decommissioning

The CE has been fast erupting in terms of its relevance. It has tried to be implemented to achieve sustainable development and most importantly, reap economic benefits since it is reflected as attractive for business but it has not been implemented to its full potential. Due to a lack of awareness and understanding of the impacts of CE, theoretical knowledge was gathered and it was necessary to do a literature review. A question-based survey was conducted as well; however, the survey findings were inconclusive as a result of insufficient participants. As a case study, a further study was discussed on oil and gas asset decommissioning and how it is impacted by the CE. Considering the numerous years an oil and gas project could be running, the field production eventually ends after which the assets or equipment on the platform will have to be removed. A lot of materials are obtained in this phase of the oil and gas projects. An amount of the platform structures and equipment offshore are transported to onshore where a good amount is recycled, and the rest is being disposed of in landfills as scrubs. These practices are not environmentally and economically friendly and therefore the Circular Economy comes in to save the day by various methods such as refurbishment, reusing, remanufacturing and repurposing rather than abandoning the equipment or just recycling. Another aspect of the thesis was mainly on developing a CE assessment tool. The CE assessment tool was built based on literature and theoretical knowledge gathered. It was focused on the decommissioning phase of the assets where the End of life(EoL) stage has been reached. Two study cases or examples were used to demonstrate the two functionalities of the CE assessment tool. Other functionalities of the tool were summarised as well. Finally, a product development process framework in terms of the CE applied to equipment/product in their EoL phase was developed.It was developed on basis of a generic product development process consisting of six phases and based on CE concepts and theoretical knowledge. The objective of the framework is to be able to have a structured plan for when products are to be looped into the CE when they reach their EoL phase to extend their life

Standardization Framework for Sustainability from Circular Economy 4.0

The circular economy (CE) is widely known as a way to implement and achieve sustainability, mainly due to its contribution towards the separation of biological and technical nutrients under cyclic industrial metabolism. The incorporation of the principles of the CE in the links of the value chain of the various sectors of the economy strives to ensure circularity, safety, and efficiency. The framework proposed is aligned with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development regarding the orientation towards the mitigation and regeneration of the metabolic rift by considering a double perspective. Firstly, it strives to conceptualize the CE as a paradigm of sustainability. Its principles are established, and its techniques and tools are organized into two frameworks oriented towards causes (cradle to cradle) and effects (life cycle assessment), and these are structured under the three pillars of sustainability, for their projection within the proposed framework. Secondly, a framework is established to facilitate the implementation of the CE with the use of standards, which constitute the requirements, tools, and indicators to control each life cycle phase, and of key enabling technologies (KETs) that add circular value 4.0 to the socio-ecological transition

circular economy recent technology management considerations supply chain innovation key to business to consumer closed loop systems

As citizens, organisations and governments across the globe increase their interest in environmentally and socially sustainable means of production and consumption, the idea of a circular economy (CE) has been at the forefront of recent discussions held at organisational, national and international levels. This article briefly presents the CE concept from a supply chain management perspective. Then, two contemporary, representative CE technology management problems are introduced. The article concludes with some takeaways that policy makers and managers can use to inform further CE development

The Circular Economy: The Circular Economy a key approach for addressing strategic challenges in supply chains

This paper considers the role that practices associated with circular economy (CE) approaches can play in enabling businesses to manage their supply chains in more sustainable ways. The belief that sustainable practices are inevitably detrimental to financial performance is challenged through analysis of a case study of a South African flower bouquet exporter, whose business has been designed with full integration of CE principles. We evaluate the drivers for adoption of such CE strategies and highlight the need for ongoing multi-disciplinary research to support the development of effective sustainable innovations in supply chain practice

Circular economy inspired imaginaries for sustainable innovations

In this chapter, Narayan and Tidström draw on the concept of imaginaries to show how Circular Economy (CE) can facilitate values that enable sustainable innovation. Innovation is key for sustainability, however, understanding and implementing sustainable innovation is challenging, and identifying the kind of actions that could direct sustainable innovations is important. The findings of this study indicate that CE-inspired imaginaries enable collaboration and by relating such imaginaries to common and shared social and cultural values, intermediaries could motivate actors into taking actions that contribute to sustainable innovation.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

CIRCULAR ECONOMY INTER-CLUSTER KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND ORCHESTRATION USING INTERNET OF THINGS AND TRUST TECHNOLOGIES

Techniques are described herein for an architectural model of a focused, integrated method for the use of collaborative, logistical, technologic, and commercial frameworks. These techniques are globally inclusive yet secure. This reduces barriers to participation while capturing and deducing relevant knowledge for continuous system improvement. The knowledge provides integral value to relevant individuals, groups, companies, and municipalities through an interconnection mechanism that spans geographies and industry verticals. This ability to create knowledge and then deliver it to the stakeholders in the Circular Economy (CE) may be a catalyst for new value creation