A social panorama within the life cycle thinking and the circular economy: a literature review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catalina Mesa Alvarez ◽  
Tom Ligthart
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking

scholarly journals Design of Consumables in a Resource-Efficient Economy—A Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1036
Author(s):  
Siri Willskytt
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Specific Design ◽  
Design Considerations ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
General Product

Consumable products have received less attention in the circular economy (CE), particularly in regard to the design of resource-efficient products. This literature review investigates the extent to which existing design guidelines for resource-efficient products are applicable to consumables. This analysis is divided into two parts. The first investigates the extent to which general product-design guidelines (i.e., applicable to both durables and consumables) are applicable to consumables. This analysis also scrutinizes the type of recommendations presented by the ecodesign and circular product design, to investigate the novel aspects of the CE in product design. The second analysis examines the type of design considerations the literature on product-type specific design guidelines recommends for specific consumables and whether such guidelines are transferable. The analysis of general guidelines showed that, although guidelines are intended to be general and applicable to many types of products, their applicability to consumable products is limited. Less than half of their recommendations can be applied to consumables. The analysis also identified several design considerations that are transferable between product-specific design guidelines. This paper shows the importance of the life-cycle perspective in product design, to maximize the opportunities to improve consumables.

Life Cycle Thinking in a Circular Economy

2020 ◽  
pp. 35-53
Author(s):  
Shabbir H. Gheewala ◽  
Thapat Silalertruksa
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking

Life cycle thinking and the circular economy

2021 ◽  
pp. 216-230
Author(s):  
Octavio Ibarra ◽  
Maria Carolina Ovalle ◽  
Maria Palazzo
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking

scholarly journals Introduction of life cycle assessment and sustainability concepts in chemical engineering curricula

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 442-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Gallego-Schmid ◽  
Ximena C. Schmidt Rivera ◽  
Laurence Stamford
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transferable Skills ◽  
Carbon Footprinting ◽  
Research Opportunity ◽  
Engineering Schools

Purpose The implementation of life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprinting represents an important professional and research opportunity for chemical engineers, but this is not broadly reflected in chemical engineering curricula worldwide. This paper aims to present the implementation of a coursework that is easy to apply, free of cost, valid worldwide and flexible enough to cover such holistic topics. Design/methodology/approach An analysis of chemical engineering curricula worldwide, a literature review and the implementation of a coursework case study are detailed. The latter combines practical exercises using free LCA software, oral presentations and debates. Findings The coursework goes beyond the calculation of results, giving the students key transferable skills to increase their employability, such as the capacity to negotiate/discuss in groups, software learning and development of critical thinking. The course is affordable and flexible, enabling adaptation to different sectors and engineering schools. One limitation is the challenge of ensuring robustness and consistency in marking, but this has been already improved with a more explicit rubric. The feedback of the students confirms these findings, including the learning of transferable skills as the major advantage. Originality/value This paper addresses, for the first time, the current state of “life cycle thinking” teaching in the curricula of the top 25 chemical engineering schools worldwide, a literature review of previous experience and a description of a novel coursework taking a theoretical and practical approach to LCA, carbon footprinting and socio-economic sustainability via a free software and a comprehensive range of didactic activities.

scholarly journals Green marketing today – a mix of trust, consumer participation and life cycle thinking

Management ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Lewandowska ◽  
Joanna Witczak ◽  
Przemysław Kurczewski
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Green Marketing ◽  
Marketing Management ◽  
Consumer Participation ◽  
Consumer Trust ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Green Business ◽  
Conceptual Study ◽  
Lca Results

SummaryA transition for a green, circular economy has encouraged companies to use new tools which boost sustainability. The purpose of this article is to discuss the consideration of life cycle thinking in green marketing as realized by companies. This theoretical-conceptual study aims to analyze life cycle assessment (LCA) as a useful tool for assessing green marketing goals. We also intend to highlight the importance of creating consumer trust for green business by displaying the green credentials of the products and activities. The article presents t he virtues and shortcomings of the LCA results relative to marketing management. As a result, the literature presents some gaps in terms of addressing life cycle thinking in marketing management and linking with consumer participation and trust.

scholarly journals A Life Cycle Thinking Approach to Analyse Sustainability in the Textile Industry: A Literature Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 10193
Author(s):  
Cristina Luján-Ornelas ◽  
Leonor Patricia Güereca ◽  
María-Laura Franco-García ◽  
Michiel Heldeweg
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Life Cycle Stages ◽  
Production And Consumption

The textile industry is one of the most important productive sectors worldwide, and everyone, to some extent, is involved in its value chain. For this reason, it is essential to be informed about its performance, problems and innovations. This paper presents the progress done in the transition towards sustainable production and consumption patterns. A literature review of the life cycle stages of textile products was carried out to identify initiatives and actions improving the performance. The findings show that transparency and traceability along the supply chain have been a fundamental piece in the transition. Besides, the creation of multi-stakeholders’ clusters, seeking to improve social and environmental issues has been one of the most successful paths in this transition. However, a lack of training and skills along the life cycle stages and disconnection between products’ design and strategies of recycling was found. For this reason, it is recommendable to generate an in-depth diagnosis of the textile industry at a global and regional level. As well, it is necessary to generate strategies and tools that facilitate this transition, mainly supporting SMEs (small- and medium-sized companies).

scholarly journals Life Cycle Thinking for Sustainable Consumption and Production towards a Circular Economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 01003
Author(s):  
Shabbir H. Gheewala
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Product Systems ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
Responsible Consumption

The current model of a linear economy with end-of-pipe waste treatment is not sustainable. Cleaner production helps reduce resource use and emissions, but is still not an optimal solution without considering a life cycle perspective. Life cycle-based tools such as life cycle assessment and life cycle costing are useful for identifying optimal environmental and economic options for product systems. SDG 12 dealing with responsible consumption and production is key for sustainability. Developing of a circular economy requires life cycle thinking and life cycle-based tools for assessment. All these issues are discussed along with illustrative examples.

scholarly journals End-of-life management as a design tool: the case of a dry wood envelope

2021 ◽  
pp. 260-270
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Palumbo ◽  
Francesca Camerin ◽  
Chiara Panozzo ◽  
Massimo Rossetti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Design Tool ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Environmental Product Declarations ◽  
Dry Wood

This paper is part of the design strategies of reassembly and reuse of buildings according to the transition to circular economy. Specifically, the paper addresses the issue of architectural envelopes made of drywall and their executive design according to a Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) approach, based on a case study of a temporary wooden housing unit for which there are several scenarios of use and end of life once the first cycle of use of the components of the envelope has come to an end. In particular, the paper, based on the collection of environmental profiles of products through Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), wants to define a balance between the environmental impacts incorporated in the used materials and the benefits related to the adoption of dry construction techniques.

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