scholarly journals Circular economy and growth: A critical review of “post-growth” circularity and a plea for a circular economy that grows

2021 ◽  
pp. 106033
Author(s):  
Julian Kirchherr
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Critical Review

scholarly journals Metrics for optimising the multi-dimensional value of resources recovered from waste in a circular economy: A critical review

2017 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 910-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Iacovidou ◽  
Costas A. Velis ◽  
Phil Purnell ◽  
Oliver Zwirner ◽  
Andrew Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Critical Review

scholarly journals Do We Need a New Sustainability Assessment Method for the Circular Economy? A Critical Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Walzberg ◽  
Geoffrey Lonca ◽  
Rebecca J. Hanes ◽  
Annika L. Eberle ◽  
Alberta Carpenter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Industrial Ecology ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Systems Science ◽  
Linear Pattern ◽  
Material Efficiency

The goal of the circular economy (CE) is to transition from today's take-make-waste linear pattern of production and consumption to a circular system in which the societal value of products, materials, and resources is maximized over time. Yet circularity in and of itself does not ensure social, economic, and environmental performance (i.e., sustainability). Sustainability of CE strategies needs to be measured against their linear counterparts to identify and avoid strategies that increase circularity yet lead to unintended externalities. The state of the practice in quantitatively comparing sustainability impacts of circular to linear systems is one of experimentation with various extant methods developed in other fields and now applied here. While the proliferation of circularity metrics has received considerable attention, to-date, there is no critical review of the methods and combinations of methods that underlie those metrics and that specifically quantify sustainability impacts of circular strategies. Our critical review herein analyzes identified methods according to six criteria: temporal resolution, scope, data requirements, data granularity, capacity for measuring material efficiency potentials, and sustainability completeness. Results suggest that the industrial ecology and complex systems science fields could prove complementary when assessing the sustainability of the transition to a CE. Both fields include quantitative methods differing primarily with regard to their inclusion of temporal aspects and material efficiency potentials. Moreover, operations research methods such as multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) may alleviate the common contradictions which often exist between circularity metrics. This review concludes by suggesting guidelines for selecting quantitative methods most appropriate to a particular research question and making the argument that while there are a variety of existing methods, additional research is needed to combine existing methods and develop a more holistic approach for assessing sustainability impacts of CE strategies.

scholarly journals A Critical Review of EU Key Indicators for the Transition to the Circular Economy

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 8840
Author(s):  
Roxana Lavinia Pacurariu ◽  
Sorin Daniel Vatca ◽  
Elena Simina Lakatos ◽  
Laura Bacali ◽  
Mircea Vlad
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Mass Energy ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Monitoring Framework ◽  
Key Indicators

The objective of this paper is to analyze the extent to which the system of indicators that is used in the Monitoring Framework for the transition to the circular economy (CE) is efficient and relevant in their contribution to the sustainable development of European communities. The fundaments of the transition framework and the main characteristics of the circularity indicators are presented. A critical review was performed in order to fulfill the objective of analyzing the current indicators. It is concluded that the indicators in the current framework are (as a selection from a very broad range of indicators theoretically proposed and with estimated practical applicability) limited from the perspective of circularity only to waste generation and recycling processes containing recyclable materials, without including important circularity indicators related to the prolonging and extending the life cycle of products and materials. This paper proposes and defines such an indicator, based on the consideration of the fundamental scalars describing economy, mass, energy, time, and value, respectively. The indicator is described and its applicability in all the phases of the economy is estimated.

scholarly journals A critical review on circular and regenerative urban areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 855 (1) ◽  
pp. 012018
Author(s):  
L Gejer ◽  
V Gomes da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cradle To Cradle

Abstract Circular economy (CE) has gained relevance as a new economic-environmental paradigm. Despite their key role in this model, managing cities towards CE has taken different meanings, approaches, concepts and methods. Therefore, this study aims to clarify circularity approaches to urban areas, by identifying main trends and exploring potential organization into a framework for policymakers and urban managers. We first conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to understand limits and divergences when spatially expressing circularity. Four approaches covering different possibilities regarding circularity in urban areas stood out: (i) specific flows within a circular city; (ii) flows integration for resource looping; (iii) planning the transition from linear to circular cities; and (iv) concepts of circular or regenerative urban areas. We then hypothesized that one of these concepts, the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) approach, embraces the multiplicity of quantitative and qualitative requisites needed for developing circular urban areas. Our contribution, in the second part of the paper, organizes the requisites and indicators raised during the SLR according to the C2C principles into a draft framework to enable optimization and integration of different flows with human activities to various urban and socioeconomic contexts.

scholarly journals A Review of Circular Economy Development Models in China, Germany and Japan

Recycling ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ogunmakinde
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Resource Efficiency ◽  
Development Models ◽  
Steel Industries

The circular economy (CE) concept is gaining traction as a sustainable strategy for reducing waste and enhancing resource efficiency. This concept has been adopted in some countries such as Denmark, Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, Japan, China, and Germany while it is being considered by others including England, Austria, and Finland. The CE has been employed in the manufacturing, agricultural, textile, and steel industries but its implementation varies. It is against this backdrop that this study seeks to identify CE implementation in three pioneering countries (China, Japan, and Germany). A critical review and analysis of the literature was conducted. The results revealed enabling and core policies/laws for the development of the CE concept. It also identified the implementation structure of the CE in China, Germany, and Japan. In conclusion, the findings of this study are expected to serve as a guide for developing and implementing the CE concept in various sectors of the economy.

scholarly journals Barriers to Implementing the Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: A Critical Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 12989
Author(s):  
Rabia Charef ◽  
Jean-Claude Morel ◽  
Kambiz Rakhshan
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Reverse Logistics ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Large Range ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Closed Loop Systems ◽  
Dominant Designs

To facilitate the adoption of the circular economy (CE) in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector, some authors have demonstrated the potential of recent designs that take into account the sustainable management of an asset’s end-of-life (EOL), providing an alternative to the dominant designs that end with demolition. However, there is no review of the literature that encompasses a large range of sustainable designs in the current CE context. This paper provides a critical review of journal papers that deal with the barriers to implementing sustainable designs and approaches to the EOL management of assets that have the potential to fulfil the principles of the CE. Eighteen approaches related to prefabrication, design for change, design for deconstruction, reverse logistics, waste management and closed-loop systems were found. Through an analysis of the barriers that are common among these 18 approaches, we classified them into six different categories (organisational, economical, technical, social, political and environmental). Two Sankey diagrams illustrate the interrelation between the barriers, their categories and the 18 approaches. The diagrams clearly show that most of the barriers are common to multiple approaches and that most of the barriers relate to organisational concerns. The study gives a detailed map of the barriers that would help stakeholders from the AEC sector develop strategies to overcome the current obstacles in the shift to a CE.

scholarly journals A Critical Review of Academic Approaches, Methods and Tools to Assess Circular Economy at the Micro Level

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 4973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Roos Lindgreen ◽  
Roberta Salomone ◽  
Tatiana Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Methodological Aspects

Transitioning from the current linear economic development model to a circular economy (CE) is a hot topic in academic literature, public governance, and the corporate domain. Actors have implemented CE strategies to reduce their resource use and its associated impacts, while boosting economic competitiveness and generating positive social impact. Companies are identified as key actors in transitioning to a CE, and many academics have proposed tools to assess CE and guide them in this process. This paper critically reviews such academic ‘assessment approaches’ at the micro level in order to reflect on their key properties. Seventy-four approaches are inventoried through a systematic literature review of academic literature. A critical review framework is constructed and applied, containing four perspectives: A general perspective, a descriptive perspective (methodological aspects), a normative perspective (connections to Sustainable Development), and a prescriptive perspective (implementation-focused). Methodologically, the 74 approaches are highly diverse, having various connections to previously established methodologies. Eighteen of the reviewed assessment approaches include all three dimensions of Sustainable Development (SD), in addition to a ‘circular’ dimension. Roughly one quarter of the approaches apply a participatory design approach. Suggested key desired properties of CE assessment approaches include making use of existing assessment methodologies such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and a closer collaboration between science and practitioners to consider end-user needs in the design of CE assessment approaches.

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