scholarly journals Evaluating the Environmental Dimension of Material Efficiency Strategies Relating to the Circular Economy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Walker ◽  
Nick Coleman ◽  
Peter Hodgson ◽  
Nicola Collins ◽  
Louis Brimacombe
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Management ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Carbon Footprints ◽  
Material Efficiency

Material efficiency is a key element of new thinking to address the challenges of reducing impacts on the environment and of resource scarcity, whilst at the same time meeting service and functionality demands on materials. Directly related to material efficiency is the concept of the Circular Economy, which is based on the principle of optimising the utility embodied in materials and products through the life cycle. Whilst steel, as a result of high recycling rates, is one of the most ‘circular’ of all manufactured materials, significant opportunities for greater material efficiency exist, which are yet to be widely implemented. In the field of Life Cycle Management, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is commonly used to assess the environmental benefits of recovering and recycling materials through the manufacturing supply chain and at end-of-life. As well as containing information to calculate environmental impacts, LCA models also provide the flows of materials through the product life cycle and can also be used to quantify material efficiency and the circularity of a product system. Using an example taken from renewable energy generation, this paper explores the correlation between product circularity and the environmental case for strategies designed to improve material efficiency. An LCA-based methodology for accounting for the recovery and re-use of materials from the supply chain, and at end-of-life, is used as the basis for calculating the carbon footprint benefits of five material efficiency scenarios. Resulting carbon footprints were then compared with a number of proposed material circularity indicators. Two conclusions from this exercise were that i) LCA methodologies based around end-of-life approaches are well placed for quantifying the environmental benefits of material efficiency and circular economy strategies and ii) when applying indicators relating to the circularity of materials these should also be supported by LCA studies.

scholarly journals HOW CAN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT THE LINK BETWEEN CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT? – A REVIEW

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 2187-2196
Author(s):  
C. Villamil Velasquez ◽  
N. Salehi ◽  
S. I. Hallstedt
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Management ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
System Perspective ◽  
Product Life ◽  
Product Life Cycle Management ◽  
Whole Life Cycle

AbstractLinear production is related to resource scarcity and negative environmental impacts. Circular Economy (CE) emerged for society transition towards sustainability, based on regenerative systems and multiple life cycle products. Product Life cycle Management (PLM) supports the whole life cycle with the aid of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). A literature review analyzed the role of ICT enabling CE based on PLM, identifying challenges and opportunities, active and passive PLM, system perspective, stakeholder's role, and sustainability. Concluding that ICT enables the CE transition.

scholarly journals Circular Economy Strategies for Equipment Lifetime Extension: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1117
Author(s):  
Alessandro Fontana ◽  
Andrea Barni ◽  
Deborah Leone ◽  
Maurizio Spirito ◽  
Agata Tringale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Production Equipment ◽  
Environmental Standards ◽  
Multiple Strategies ◽  
Medium Enterprise ◽  
Equipment Lifetime ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Lifetime Extension

Even if the economy nowadays is still locked into a linear model of production, tighter environmental standards, resource scarcity and changing consumer expectations are forcing organizations to find alternatives to lighten their impacts. The concept of Circular Economy (CE) is to an increasing extent treated as a solution to this series of challenges. That said, the multitude of approaches and definitions around CE and Life Cycle Extension Strategies (LCES) makes it difficult to provide (Small and Medium Enterprise) SMEs with a consistent understanding of the topic. This paper aims at bridging this gap by providing a systematic literature review of the most prominent papers related to the CE and lifetime extension, with a particular focus on the equipment and machinery sector. A taxonomy was used to define and cluster a subset of selected papers to build a homogeneous approach for understanding the multiple strategies used in the industry, and the standards in maintenance and remanufacturing strategies. As a final research step, we also propose a Strategy Characterization Framework (SCF) to build the ground for the selection of the best strategy to be applied for production equipment life cycle extension on several industrial use cases.

scholarly journals Sustainability Assessment with Integrated Circular Economy Principles: A Toy Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3856
Author(s):  
Rebeka Kovačič Lukman ◽  
Vasja Omahne ◽  
Damjan Krajnc
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Life Cycle Costing ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment

When considering the sustainability of production processes, research studies usually emphasise environmental impacts and do not adequately address economic and social impacts. Toy production is no exception when it comes to assessing sustainability. Previous research on toys has focused solely on assessing environmental aspects and neglected social and economic aspects. This paper presents a sustainability assessment of a toy using environmental life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, and social life cycle assessment. We conducted an inventory analysis and sustainability impact assessment of the toy to identify the hotspots of the system. The main environmental impacts are eutrophication, followed by terrestrial eco-toxicity, acidification, and global warming. The life cycle costing approach examined the economic aspect of the proposed design options for toys, while the social assessment of the alternative designs revealed social impacts along the product life cycle. In addition, different options based on the principles of the circular economy were analysed and proposed in terms of substitution of materials and shortening of transport distances for the toy studied.

scholarly journals Investigating the Path from Supply Chain Integration to Business Performance: Evidence from a Sub-Saharan African Economy

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Annan ◽  
Nathaniel Boso ◽  
Dominic Essuman
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Coming Out ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Supply Chain Integration ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
The Impact

Following the growing concerns on the inconsistent findings in previous research and drawing on the social exchange and networking theories, this study re-examined the impact of supply chain integration (SCI) on business performance (i.e. value creation and financial performance). The study argues that the impact of SCI on financial performance is through value creation and is depended upon longevity of product life cycle. Using primary data from 79 firms in Ghana, the study finds that value creation is a short-run consequence of SCI while financial performance is a long-run outcome of SCI. Additionally, results show that the financial performance outcome of SCI is experienced more from integrative efforts than from the value creation outcome. Results further indicate that firms whose products stay relatively shorter on the market are more likely to experience lower positive impact of SCI on value creation, and thus firms’ ability to become proactive, monitor, and collect market information on product performance throughout its life cycle is key for coming out with strategies that will enable them maximize product’s life span so as to experience greater benefits that come with pursuing integration with other channel members.

Economic Evaluation of Remanufacturing End-of-Life Electromechanical Products

2012 ◽  
Vol 472-475 ◽  
pp. 2670-2673
Author(s):  
Zhao Long Xu ◽  
Su Mei Xiao ◽  
Yu Qiang Shi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Economic Evaluation ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Waste Products ◽  
Product Life ◽  
Electromechanical Products ◽  
Economic Evaluation Model

With the shortening of product life cycle, and the constant increasing of End-of-life Electromechanical Products, the processing of waste products appears especially important and urgent. This paper, based on an existing recycle model, has established an economic evaluation model of end-of-life electromechanical products. Based on the collection of a large amount of data and tests, the research and evaluation of the engine has proved it is suitability for remanufacturing.

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