Decision making about the circular economy can be performed on the operational (connected with particular parts of the production process), tactical (connected with whole processes) and strategic (connected with the whole organization) levels. Another report in the UK saw a huge potential for reuse and recycling in the furniture sector. Abrasive grains are produced from crushed, cleaned and selected walnut shells. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste generated, therefore reducing the need for landfill space and also extracting maximum value from waste. [141][142], Industrial Ecology is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. One of the major causes of our linear lifestyles is the fact that we are … A circular economy seeks to: maximise the value of the materials that circulate within the economy; minimise material consumption, paying particular attention to virgin materials, hazardous substances, and waste streams that raise specific concerns (such as plastics, food, electric and electronic goods); The emissions reduction commitments made by 195 countries at the COP 21 Paris Agreement, are not sufficient to limit global warming to 1.5 °C. [114] This concern is today confirmed by the results of ongoing monitoring studies like the Circular Readiness Assessment. The Circular Carbon Economy is based on McDonough’s ideas from Carbon Is Not The Enemy[1] and aims to serve as the framework for developing and organizing effective systems for carbon management. Please update to the latest version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge to improve your user experience. The Journal of Industrial Ecology (2017)[87] stated that the "Chinese perspective on the circular economy is broad, incorporating pollution and other issues alongside waste and resource concerns, [while] Europe's conception of the circular economy has a narrower environmental scope, focusing on waste and resources and opportunities for business". Circular initiatives, such as clothing rental startups, are also getting more and more highlight in the EU and in the US as well. "Waste as scats: For an organizational engagement with waste". Circular economy aims to reach the maximum efficiency in the use of finite resources, the gradual transition to renewable resources, and recovery of the materials and products at the end of their useful life. Circular Economy: definition & examples. [129] Prior to the development of this new action plan, we can also mention the Green Deal of 2019, which integrated ecological and environmental ambitions to make Europe a carbon-neutral continent. Principle n°5:Like living things, the regenerative economy promotes life.The idea is not to grow all the time. [14] One prominent thinker on the topic is Walter R. Stahel, an architect, economist, and a founding father of industrial sustainability. Rather, it suggests an alternative way of thinking how to attain a sustained competitive advantage (SCA), while concurrently addressing the environmental and socio-economic concerns of the 21st century. [101], Research related to the Dutch industry shows that 25% of the Dutch companies are knowledgeable and interested in a circular economy; furthermore, this number increases to 57% for companies with more than 500 employees. French; Russian version; Dutch; related News. "Squaring the circular economy: The role of recycling within a hierarchy of material management strategies". In a 2018 interview,[84] Fisher explained, "A big part of the problem with fashion is overconsumption. circular economy: A circular economy is an industrial system in which the potential use of goods and materials is optimized and their elements returned to the system at the end of their viable life cycles. Definition of the circular economy. [49] PACE's original intent has three focal areas: (1) developing models of blended finance for circular economy projects, especially in developing and emerging economies; (2) creating policy frameworks to address specific barriers to advancing the circular economy; and (3) promoting public–private partnership for these purposes. Recent research has started to question the core of the circular economy—namely, whether closing material and product loops do, in fact, prevent primary production. The circular economy as EU environmental policy narrative. [131] Those are the following: Two additional sectors on which the CEAP focuses could be added: packaging & food and water.[132]. This model emphasizes the importance of selling services rather than products, an idea referred to as the "functional service economy" and sometimes put under the wider notion of "performance economy". [70]:217 "Scatolic engagement draws on Reno's analogy of waste as scats and of scats as signs for enabling interspecies communication. Circular Economy Examples. (s. d.). Circular development is directly linked to the circular economy and aims to build a sustainable society based on recyclable and renewable resources, in order to protect society from waste and to be able to form a model that is no longer considering resources as infinite. Each phase is supported by frameworks and concepts popular in management consulting – like idea tree, value chain, VRIE, Porter's five forces, PEST, SWOT, strategic clock, or the internationalization matrix – all adapted through a CE lens, hence revealing new sets of questions and considerations. The fundamental need for an alternative to the traditional linear model of growth has led to the emerging debate about circular economy (CE), described as an economy with closed material loops. It includes notably some amendments. A circular economy (also referred to as "circularity"[2]) is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. [122] Historically, the policy debate in Brussels mainly focused on waste management which is the second half of the cycle, and very little is said about the first half: eco-design. The circular model works to keep materials in use via repairing, recycling and reusing. Key research areas. No singular business is the circular economy. Today, the climate emergency and environmental challenges have strongly influenced and pushed companies and individuals to rethink their consumption and production patterns. (2020, 4 novembre). Download Digest. In a circular economy, economic activity builds and rebuilds overall system health. What is a circular economy? [50][51], In 2020, PACE released a report with partner Circle Economy claiming that the world is 8.6% circular, claiming all countries are "developing countries" given the unsustainable levels of consumption in countries with higher levels of human development. The following table summarizes the various European works on circular economy that have been enacted between 2014 and 2018. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended. An action-oriented set of methods, mindsets and thought starters to help innovators design circular solutions that are fit for the future. [93] There are also incentives for carmakers to do so as a 2016 report by Accenture stated that the circular economy could redefine competitiveness in the automotive sector in terms of price, quality, and convenience and could double revenue by 2030 and lower the cost base by up to fourteen percent. Once consumed, they can be used to create biogas, biochemicals or … So far, it has typically translated itself into using parts made from recycled materials,[94] remanufacturing of car parts and looking at the design of new cars. [68] Four new ISO standards are under development and in the direct responsibility of the committee (consisting of 70 participating members and 11 observing members). It aims to develop recyclable and sustainable resources in order to protect society from waste. APPENDIX: SOME DEFINITIONS OF A CIRCULAR ECONOMY 83 www.institutmontaigne.org. [119], At the same time, the European research budget related to the circular economy has increased considerably in the last few years: it has reached 964 million euros between 2018 and 2020[119]. Consulté le 9 mars 2021, à l’adresse, Kneese, A. For its part, the term "circular economy" appeared for the first time[citation needed] in 1990 in "the Economics of natural resources and the environment". Why a circular economy is important? [citation needed] It includes 'technical' resources (metals, minerals, fossil resources) and 'biological' resources (food, fibres, timber, etc.). Regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage, are minimised, The examples and perspective in this section, Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), Development of ISO/TC 323 circular economy standard, Strategic management and the circular economy, CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (, Local Government for Sustainability Africa. There is no such thing as waste, because every residual stream can be used to make a new product. [39] Rheaply, a platform that aims to scale reuse within and between organizations, is an example of a technology that focuses on asset management & disposition to support organizations transitioning to circular business models.[40]. A Multiple Case Study", "Furn 360 Project | Circular Economy in furniture sectors", "Circular economy in the Danish furniture sector", "New project to apply circular economy to oil and gas decommissioning", "North sea oil and gas rig decommissioning & re-use opportunity report", http://www.worldynamics.com/circular_economy/web/assessment/main, https://www.amazon.com/Strategic-Management-Circular-Routledge-Research/dp/1138103632, "Manifesto for a Resource Efficient Europe", https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2020.1868863, "Indicator development as a site of collective imagination? Information and translations of circular economy in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. These cover the cycle from production and consumption, to waste management and the market for secondary raw materials. [3] The circular economy aims to keep products, equipment and infrastructure[4] in use for longer, thus improving the productivity of these resources. Une telle économie fonctionne en boucle, se passant ainsi de la notion de « déchet » [1]. Indeed, stepping away from linear forms of production most often leads to the development of new core competencies along the value chain and ultimately superior performance that cuts costs, improves efficiency, meets advanced government regulations and the expectations of green consumers. The circular economy model synthesises several major schools of thought. [98] In the EU's ETN-Demeter project (European Training Network for the Design and Recycling of Rare-Earth Permanent Magnet Motors and Generators in Hybrid and Full Electric Vehicles)[99] they are looking at the sustainable design issue. [69] Corvellec (2019) raised the issue of multi-species and stresses "impossibility for waste producers to dissociate themselves from their waste and emphasizes the contingent, multiple, and transient value of waste". Circular Jobs Definition Framework. Corvellec and Stål (2019) are mildly critical of apparel manufacturing circular economy take-back systems as ways to anticipate and head off more severe waste reduction programs: Apparel retailers exploit that the circular economy is evocative but still sufficiently vague to create any concrete policies (Lüdeke‐Freund, Gold, & Bocken, 2019) that might hinder their freedom of action (Corvellec & Stål, 2017). L’économie circulaire, un nouveau modèle de développement. This shifted attention towards business-model innovation as a key leverage for 'circular' technology adaption. ‍. ” * The United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development has published a book in 1987: “Our common future”. Allwood, J. M. (2014). The report was published in 1982 as the book Jobs for Tomorrow: The Potential for Substituting Manpower for Energy.[29]. [11] The purpose is to be able to form a model that is no longer linear and greedy but circular. The case of European Commission policies on the circular economy", http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-1085_en.htm, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/12/4831/htm, "Circular Economy Strategy – Environment – European Commission", https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/fr/ip_20_420, https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/events/circular-economy-one-year-after-adoption-working-together-future, "Changing how we produce and consume: New Circular Economy Action Plan shows the way to a climate-neutral, competitive economy of empowered consumers", https://watereurope.eu/european-parliament-adopts-resolution-on-the-new-circular-economy-action-plan/, https://www.cambre-associates.com/the-european-parliaments-position-on-the-circular-economy-action-plan-ceap-spotlight-on-five-key-sectors/, https://docs.wbcsd.org/2020/11/WBCSD_Circular_Economy_Action_Plan_2020%E2%80%93Summary_for_business.pdf, "Accelerating the transition to a circular economy", "50 measures for a 100% circular economy", "Tightening the loop on the circular economy: Coupled distributed recycling and manufacturing with recyclebot and RepRap 3-D printing", "Slower Consumption Reflections on Product Life Spans and the "Throwaway Society, "International Society for Industrial Ecology – Home", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Circular_economy&oldid=1016550039, Wikipedia introduction cleanup from March 2021, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from March 2021, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2020, Articles with limited geographic scope from October 2019, Articles needing the year an event occurred from December 2019, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, reducing the use of artificial fertilizers in favor of natural manure, providing the chance for farms within experimentation areas to deviate from law and regulations, implementing uniform methods to measure the soil quality, providing the opportunity to agricultural entrepreneurs to sign an agreement with the, providing initiatives to increase the earnings of farmers, Innovation, investment an 'horizontal' measures, The Netherlands: the government aims to reuse 50% of all materials as far as possible by 2030. In essence, a circular economy impli… They include the functional service economy (performance economy) of Walter Stahel; the Cradle to Cradle design philosophy of William McDonough and Michael Braungart; biomimicry as articulated by Janine Benyus; the industrial ecology of Reid Lifset and Thomas Graedel; natural capitalism by Amory and Hunter Lovins and Paul Hawken; and the blue economy systems approach described by Gunter Pauli. [54][55] Initiatives currently managed under PACE include the Capital Equipment Coalition with Philips and numerous other partners[56][57][58] and the Global Battery Alliance with over 70 partners. According to the second law of thermodynamics, all spontaneous processes are irreversible and associated with an increase in entropy. [109], A study about the status of Danish furniture companies' efforts on a circular economy states that 44% of the companies included maintenance in their business models, 22% had take-back schemes, and 56% designed furniture for recycling. "Narrating expectations for the circular economy: Towards a common and contested European transition". : 1130306 OSCR Registration No. A scatolic approach features waste as a lively matter open for interpretation, within organizations as well as across organizational species.[70]:219. A circular economy seeks to: maximise the value of the materials that circulate within the economy; minimise material consumption, paying particular attention to virgin materials, hazardous substances, and waste streams that raise specific concerns (such as plastics, food, electric and electronic goods); prevent waste from being generated; reduce hazardous components in waste and products. Thus, new modes of production and consumption are emerging with the main objective of generating billions of dollars while controlling and reducing environmental consequences. Recycling initiatives are often described as a circular economy and are likely to be the most widespread models. The circular economy is more profitable and less harmless to the environment and its main goals include sustainable economic growth, increased competitiveness, and new jobs. See Horizon 2020 – the EU's new research and innovation programme: McDowall, W., Geng, Y., Huang, B., Barteková, E., Bleischwitz, R., Türkeli, S., Kemp, R., & Doménech, T. (2017). Intuitively, the circular economy would appear to be more sustainable than the current linear economic system. [38] These strategies can be achieved through the purposeful design of material recovery processes and related circular supply chains. Bioeconomy. Circular Development Pathway. [80] 'Fast fashion 'companies have fueled the high rates of consumption which further magnify the issues of a linear system. [13] This notion will be developed further, following 3 major events: the explosion of raw material prices between 2000 and 2010, the Chinese embargo on rare earths and the arrival of the economic crisis. The go-to online location for news and insight on the circular economy and related subjects. Looking beyond the current take-make-waste extractive industrial model, a circular economy aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. Circular Jobs Definition Framework. The circular economy concept is a response to the aspiration for sustainable growth in the context of the growing pressure of production and consumption on the world’s resources and environment. The circular economy is beginning to catch on inside the automotive industry. The circular economy is a new way of doing business that extracts as much value as possible from resources by recycling, repairing, reusing, repurposing, or refurbishing products and materials—eliminating waste and greenhouse gas emissions at the design stage. [125] In addition, the development of this Action Plan was also intended to enable the development of a new market for secondary raw materials. However, the definition of the circular economy remains a debate in the sense that there is no official and unique definition, and therefore leaves room for multiple descriptions. It is argued that by following a circular economy, the textile industry can be transformed into a sustainable business. The circular approach, by contrast, takes insights from living systems. McDonough used the Circular Carbon Economy to frame discussions at the G20 workshops in March 2020 before the framework’s formal acceptance by the G20 Leaders in November 2020. Considered as one of the first pragmatic and credible sustainability think tanks, the main goals of Stahel's institute are to extend the working life of products, to make goods last longer, to re-use existing goods and ultimately to prevent waste. Corvellec, Hervé (2019). A circular economy within the textiles industry refers to the practice of clothes and fibers continually being recycled, to re-enter the economy as much as possible rather than ending up as waste. A first attempt to measure the success of circular economy implementation was done in a construction company. Utilizing the sharing economy. Recovery can never be 100% (Faber et al., 1987). What is the Circular Economy? A circular textiles economy is in response to the current linear model of the fashion industry, "in which raw materials are extracted, manufactured into commercial goods and then bought, used and eventually discarded by consumers" (Business of Fashion, 2017). Our findings indicate that the circular economy is most frequently depicted as a combination of reduce, reuse and recycle activities, whereas it is oftentimes not highlighted that CE necessitates a systemic shift. [42], Building on circular business model innovation, digitalization and digital technologies (e.g., Internet of Things, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain) are seen as a key enabler for upscaling the circular economy. For this reason, “making things last” is a moral, environmental and economic imperative. For this purpose, we have gathered 114 circular economy definitions which were coded on 17 dimensions. "Qualification as corporate activism: How Swedish apparel retailers attach circular fashion qualities to take-back systems". 1 Circular Economy for the SDGs: From Concept to Practice G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y a n d E C O S O C J o i n t M e e t i n g Draft Concept and Programme for the joint meeting of the Economic and Through renting the same product to several clients, manufacturers can increase revenues per unit, thus decreasing the need to produce more to increase revenues. A 2017 report, "A New Textiles Economy",[83] stated the four key ambitions needed to establish a circular economy: "phasing out substances of concern and microfiber release; transforming the way clothes are designed, sold and used to break free from their increasingly disposable nature; radically improving recycling by transforming clothing design, collection, and reprocessing; and making effective use of resources and moving to renewable input." First prize went to the then US Secretary of Agriculture, second prize to Amory and Hunter Lovins, fourth prize to Peter Senge. ‍. On the 10th of February 2021, the European Parliament submitted its proposals to the Circular Economic Action Plan (CEAP) of the Commission, highlighting 5 major areas in particular. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural, and social capital. Die Analyse dieser Circular-Economy-Roadmaps und -Strategien sowie Experteninterviews mit den verantwortlichen politischen Akteuren … Le ministère de l'environnement, de l'énergie et de la mer propose la définition suivante : "L’économie circulaire désigne un concept économique qui s’inscrit dans le cadre du développement durable et dont l’objectif est de produire des biens et des services tout en limitant la consommation et le gaspillage des matières premières, de l’eau et des sources d’énergie. Belgium is also an consequent actor in the field. Circular business models can be defined as business models that are closing, narrowing, slowing, intensifying and dematerializing loops, to minimize the resource inputs into and the waste and emission leakage out of the organizational system. Roadmap for the circular economy: 50 measures for a 100% circular economy (PDF - 5.69 Mo) Un nouveau plan d’action européen ambitieux L'économie circulaire constitue une des priorités du Pacte vert de la Commission présidée par Ursula Von Der Leyen, installée en décembre 2019. Discover examples and definition. There are cases that might require different or additional strategies, like purchasing new, more energy-efficient equipment. : SC043120 Company No. "The take-make-dispose model not only leads to an economic value loss of over $500 billion per year but also has numerous negative environmental and societal impacts" (Business of Fashion, 2018). In 1982, Walter Stahel was awarded third prize in the Mitchell Prize competition on sustainable business models with a paper The Product-Life Factor. Likewise, whereas the Circular Economy analogy of a circle evokes endless perfection, the analogy of scats evokes disorienting messiness. We need to make less and sell less ... you get to use your creativity but you also get to sell more but not create more stuff.". Biological materials are farmed or collected, then possibly processed and transported before reaching the consumer. but also in some fields Portugal, Greece, Croatia and even Germany.[138]. [76] It's the tired old narrative, that the invisible hand of market forces will conspire to create full displacement of virgin material of the same kind, said Zink & Geyer (2017). A circular economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them while in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life. Circular development | ICLEI Africa. There is a potential increase of €4.9 billion in Gross Value Added by switching to a circular model by 2030, and 163,300 jobs could be created. Funding opportunities . Elements are considered as 'fitting in' their infrastructure, environment and social context. Moreover, the Rli studied the role of the logistics industry for three sectors, agriculture and food, chemical industries and high tech industries.[101]. In addition, logistic companies can enable a connection to a circular economy by providing customers incentives to reduce costs through shipment and route optimization, as well as, offering services such as prepaid shipping labels, smart packaging, and take-back options. [34], Another report by WRAP and the Green Alliance (called "Employment and the circular economy: job creation in a more resource efficient Britain"), done in 2015 has examined different public policy scenarios to 2030.