scholarly journals The Circular Economy: An Exploratory Case Study from the Paper and Retail Industries

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-394
Author(s):  
Peter Jones ◽  
Daphne Comfort

Recent decades have witnessed increasing interest in the concept of the circular economy within both the business world and political circles. The circular economy spans the entire life cycle of products from product design through production, marketing, and consumption, to waste management, recycling, and re-use, and enthusiasm for putting the concept into practice has been identified across different sectors of the economy. This exploratory case study reviews how some of the leading companies in the paper and retail industries, have publicly addressed the circular economy. The case study outlines the nature of the circular economy, provides a cameo literature review of published work on the circular economy, describes the approach adopted for the case study, reports the findings of the review of how the leading companies in the paper and retail industries have addressed the circular economy, and discusses some wider issues. Keywords: circular economy, case study, paper industry, retail industry, greenwash, economic growth

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sèlomè Wilfried Sintondji ◽  
Amoussou Sylvain Gozingan ◽  
Zacharie Sohou ◽  
Matthieu Taymans ◽  
Katrijn Baetens ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundThe export of shrimp to the European Union was one of the mainstays of the Beninese economy. It is an income-generating activity for the populations living along lake Nokoué. The lack of a fisheries management strategy has caused a drastic decline in shrimp production in lake Nokoué since 2003. To remedy this problem, it is necessary to hypothesize on their spatio-temporal dynamics in the lake Nokoué-Cotonou channel complex. This is investigated by combining a literature review on their life cycles and habitat suitability with spatio-temporal evolution of salinity obtained from in-situ observations.ResultsThe literature review recognizes the presence in southern Benin of species of the genus Macrobrachium, Atya and Desmocaris (seven, two and one respectively) and five species of marine shrimps belonging to three genera: the genus Penaeus, the genus Holthuispenaeopsis and the genus Parapenaeus. From information on the ecology and physical environment it is shown that adults of the species of the genus Macrobrachium and genus Atya have a favorable environment in lake Nokoué from August to November, their larvae must remain in the lake from December to June to ensure their survival. The species of the genus Desmocaris, which carry out their entire life cycle in fresh water, can stay in lake Nokoué from August to November. The species of the genus Penaeus can find a favorable environment in lake Nokoué from December to June but their larvae can only survive in the sea. Finally, the species of the genus Holthuispenaeopsis and Parapenaeus spend their entire life cycle at sea.ConclusionsThis work allows understanding contrasted life cycles of shrimp’s genera Macrobrachium and Atya compared to Penaeus in a complex ecosystem characterized by strong saline variation. This research allows to predict the presence or absence of shrimp’s genera Macrobrachium, Atya, Desmocaris and Penaeus in a lake system, on the basis of salinity distribution, for a sustainable management of their exploitation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1036
Author(s):  
Siri Willskytt

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (45) ◽  
pp. e2109381118
Author(s):  
Marcela Nouzova ◽  
Marten J. Edwards ◽  
Veronika Michalkova ◽  
Cesar E. Ramirez ◽  
Marnie Ruiz ◽  
...  

Methyl farnesoate (MF) plays hormonal regulatory roles in crustaceans. An epoxidated form of MF, known as juvenile hormone (JH), controls metamorphosis and stimulates reproduction in insects. To address the evolutionary significance of MF epoxidation, we generated mosquitoes completely lacking either of the two enzymes that catalyze the last steps of MF/JH biosynthesis and epoxidation, respectively: the JH acid methyltransferase (JHAMT) and the P450 epoxidase CYP15 (EPOX). jhamt−/− larvae lacking both MF and JH died at the onset of metamorphosis. Strikingly, epox−/− mutants, which synthesized MF but no JH, completed the entire life cycle. While epox−/− adults were fertile, the reproductive performance of both sexes was dramatically reduced. Our results suggest that although MF can substitute for the absence of JH in mosquitoes, it is with a significant fitness cost. We propose that MF can fulfill most roles of JH, but its epoxidation to JH was a key innovation providing insects with a reproductive advantage.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenkun Yang ◽  
Shuangqian Shen ◽  
Shen Zhou ◽  
Yufei Li ◽  
Yuyuan Mao ◽  
...  

The article describes the current task of developing and improving existing technologies for machine maintenance throughout the entire life cycle. The use of modern achievements in the field of computer technology, digitization of information, as well as the development of artificial intelligence technologies, will allow you to get new scientific and engineering results aimed at managing the technical condition of machines in operation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-134
Author(s):  
Aleksander Marek ◽  
Piotr Kardasz ◽  
Mikolaj Karpinski ◽  
Volodymyr Pohrebennyk

AbstractThis paper presents the logistic system of fuel life cycle, covering diesel oil and the mixture of rapeseed oil and butanol (2:3 ratio), using the Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. This method is a technique in the field of management processes with a view to assessing the potential environmental hazards. Our intention was to compare the energy consumption needed to produce each of the test fuels and emissions of selected substances generated during ithe production process. The study involved 10,000 liters of diesel and the same amount of rapeseed oil and butanol mixture (2:3 ratio). On the basis of measurements the following results were obtained. To produce a functional unit of diesel oil (i.e. 10,000 liters) it is necessary to extract 58.8 m3 of crude oil. The entire life cycle covering the consumption of 10,000 liters of diesel consumes 475.668 GJ of energy and causes the emission to air of the following substances: 235.376 kg of COx, 944.921 kg of NOx, 83.287 kg of SOx. In the ease of a functional unit, to produce a mixture of rapeseed oil and butanol (2:3 ratio) 10,000 kg of rapeseed and 20,350 kg of straw should be used. The entire life cycle of 10,000 liters of a mixture of rapeseed oil and butyl alcohol (2:3 ratio) absorbs 370.616 GJ of energy, while emitting the following air pollutants: 105.14832 kg of COx, 920.03124 kg of NOx, 0.162 kg of SOx. Analysis of the results leads to the conclusion that it is oil refining which is the most energy-intensive and polluting process in the life cycle of diesel. The process consumes 41.4 GJ of energy, and causes a significant emission of sulfur oxides (50 kg). In the production of fuel that is a mixture of rapeseed oil and butyl alcohol (2:3 ratio), rape production is the most energy-intensive manufacturing process is (absorbs 53.856 GJ of energy). This is due to the long operation time of the farm tractor and combine harvester. The operation of these machines leads also to the emission of a significant amount of pollution in the form of COx (2.664 kg) and NOx (23.31 kg).


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuchih Ernest Chang ◽  
YiChian Chen

BACKGROUND Blockchain technology is leveraging its innovative potential in various sectors and its transformation of business-related processes has drawn much attention. Topics of research interest have focused on medical and health care applications, while research implications have generally concluded in system design, literature reviews, and case studies. However, a general overview and knowledge about the impact on the health care ecosystem is limited. OBJECTIVE This paper explores a potential paradigm shift and ecosystem evolution in health care utilizing blockchain technology. METHODS A literature review with a case study on a pioneering initiative was conducted. With a systematic life cycle analysis, this study sheds light on the evolutionary development of blockchain in health care scenarios and its interactive relationship among stakeholders. RESULTS Four stages—birth, expansion, leadership, and self-renewal or death—in the life cycle of the business ecosystem were explored to elucidate the evolving trajectories of blockchain-based health care implementation. Focused impacts on the traditional health care industry are highlighted within each stage to further support the potential health care paradigm shift in the future. CONCLUSIONS This paper enriches the existing body of literature in this field by illustrating the potential of blockchain in fulfilling stakeholders’ needs and elucidating the phenomenon of coevolution within the health care ecosystem. Blockchain not only catalyzes the interactions among players but also facilitates the formation of the ecosystem life cycle. The collaborative network linked by blockchain may play a critical role on value creation, transfer, and sharing among the health care community. Future efforts may focus on empirical or case studies to validate the proposed evolution of the health care ecosystem.


2002 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 308-311
Author(s):  
X.Z. He ◽  
Q. Wang ◽  
A. Carpenter

The induction of reproductive diapause of Nysius huttoni was studied in the laboratory at 20 1C and 60 10 RH under a series of photoperiod regimes 168 h 1410 h 1212 h and 1014 h lightdark Reproductive diapause was considered to have occurred if females failed to lay eggs for 50 days after emergence The sensitivity of different life stages to diapauseinducing photoperiods varied When newly emerged females whose immature stages had been reared at 168 h were transferred to 1014 h and 1212 h 467 and 793 of them entered reproductive diapause respectively However when fifth instar nymphs were transferred from 168 h to 1014 h and 1212 h 100 of adult females entered reproductive diapause If the entire life cycle was maintained at 1014 h and 1212 h 667 and 400 of females entered reproductive diapause respectively The critical photoperiod for reproductive diapause was estimated to lie between 1311 h and 135105 h


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