circular economy definition
Circular systems employ reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling to create a closed-loop system, minimising the use of resource inputs and the creation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions. Tonelli Marcello and Nicolo Cristoni (2018). Transforming ecological modernization ‘from within’ or perpetuating it? 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. We have detected that you are using an older browser. The circular economy is beginning to catch on inside the automotive industry. I think of it as 'innovation' inspired by nature". It argues that a subset of the EU manufacturing sector could realize net materials cost savings worth up to $630 billion annually towards 2025—stimulating economic activity in the areas of product development, remanufacturing and refurbishment. [70]:217, A key tenet of a scatolic approach to waste is to consider waste as unavoidable and worthy of interest. The five principles are Materials Parsimony, Value Cycling, Power Autonomy, Sustainable Product Platforms and Function Over Form. The Commission is undertaking a range of actions to support the move to a more circular economy. [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. But despite the multiple examples of companies successfully embracing circular solutions across industries, and notwithstanding the wealth of opportunities that exist when a firm has clarity over what circular actions fit its unique profile and goals, CE decision-making remains a highly complex exercise with no one-size-fits-all solution. It remains difficult to precisely rank how countries score in terms of circular economy, given the many principles and aspects of it and how differently one single country can score in each of these principles but some tendencies do appear in the average score, when combining the principles. A documentary about the world of fashion, The True Cost (2015),[82] explained that in fast fashion, "wages, unsafe conditions, and factory disasters are all excused because of the needed jobs they create for people with no alternatives." [41] The government-wide program for a circular economy is aimed at developing a circular economy in the Netherlands by 2050. Whereas total quality sees in waste a sign of failure, a scatolic understanding sees a sign of life. 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. ", "New Circular Economy Strategic R&I Agenda now available", "WEF Launches Public-Private Platform on Circular Economy | News | SDG Knowledge Hub | IISD", "The Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE)", "The world is now only 8.6% circular - CGR 2020 - Circularity Gap Reporting Initiative", "Philips delivers on commitment to the circular economy at DAVOS 2019", "A New Circular Vision for Electronics: Time for a global reboot", "RELEASE: PACE Welcomes David McGinty as Global Director", "Critical appraisal of the circular economy standard BS 8001:2017 and a dashboard of quantitative system indicators for its implementation in organizations", "New directions for management and organization studies on waste", "Against wasted politics: A critique of the circular economy", "Circular economy: a commentary from the perspectives of the natural and social sciences", "In Copenhagen, Gearing up for a Circular Fashion System", "Dame Ellen MacArthur on Building Momentum for Sustainability in Fashion", https://circularthreads.com/pages/about-us, "New Measures of Circular Economy Thinking in Construction Companies", "What Gets Measured, Gets Done: Development of a Circular Economy Measurement Scale for Building Industry", "How to convince players in construction market? [129] A total of 574 out of 751 MEPs voted in favour of the action plan. Information and translations of circular economy in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. [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. The New Plastics Economy is an ambitious, three-year initiative to build momentum towards a plastics system that But in the end, the circular bioeconomy defined in this way is just the overlap between the bioeconomy and the circular economy, each having a space of their own that is not related to the other. The level of recycling that is appropriate may differ between materials.[79]. The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. [4] Hundreds of thousands of tons of waste are being brought back onshore to be recycled. ; Laurenti, R. Circular Economy Innovation and Environmental Sustainability Impact on Economic Growth: An Integrated Model for Sustainable Development. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste generated, therefore reducing the need for landfill space and also extracting maximum value from waste. [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. First prize went to the then US Secretary of Agriculture, second prize to Amory and Hunter Lovins, fourth prize to Peter Senge. The following organisations participated in the interviews Philips, GEF, WRI, DSM, UN Environment, Accenture, DSGC, ING, Circle Economy, EMF, IRP. 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. Download. 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). It entails gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, and designing waste out of the system. You’ll see… there is a lot more to it than just recycling. Companies are like dots along the circle, forming a network between suppliers and customers called a value chain. Ross, M (Producer), & Morgan, A (Director). The circular economy needs joint efforts by entrepreneurs, researchers, industries, users, government, the civil society, lawmakers, but most all it needs innovation. 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. Korhonen, J., Nuur, C., Feldmann, A., & Birkie, S. E. (2018). The model distinguishes between technical and biological cycles. Some key points in this plant include: When it comes to the furniture industry, most of the products are passive durable products, and accordingly implementing strategies and business models that extend the lifetime of the products (like repairing and remanufacturing) would usually have lower environmental impacts and lower costs. End-of-life buildings can be deconstructed, hereby creating new construction elements that can be used for creating new buildings and freeing up space for new development. 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. The Circular Economy In The Automotive Sector: How Far Can We Introduce It? [107] Companies such as GGMS are supporting a circular approach to furniture by refurbishing and reupholstering items for reuse. 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); This shows that fast fashion is harming the planet in more ways than one by running on a linear system. [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). The Circular Economy Applied to the Automotive Industry, End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in the European Union, Robot-Assisted Disassembly for the Recycling of Electric Vehicle Batteries, Riding the wave of change in the automotive industry with circular economy, "Towards a Circular Economy: The Role of Dutch Logistics Industries and Governments", "A Circular Economy in the Netherlands by 2050 - Policy note - Government.nl", Omslag naar duurzame en sterke landbouw definitief ingezet, Realisatieplan Visie LNV: Op weg met nieuw perspectief, "Is Prolonging the Lifetime of Passive Durable Products a Low-Hanging Fruit of a Circular Economy? [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]. Linear "take, make, dispose" industrial processes, and the lifestyles dependent on them, use up finite reserves to create products with a finite lifespan, which end up in landfills or in incinerators. The Netherlands, aiming to have a completely circular economy by 2050,[103] has also foreseen a shift to circular agriculture (kringlooplandbouw[104]) as part of this plan. The materials that are biodegradable automatically decompose and become part of nature. 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". The European environmental research and innovation policy aims at supporting the transition to a circular economy in Europe, defining and driving the implementation of a transformative agenda to green the economy and the society as a whole, to achieve a truly sustainable development. (2019). It is about enabling economies and societies in general to become « greener » and more sustainable. [111], In the next 30–40 years,[year needed] the oil and gas sector will have to decommission 600 installations in the UK alone. In search for an inspirational economic concept producing an economy that is both profitable and sustainable, all these concepts lack essential elements. "Circular economy as an essentially contested concept". [18], While the initial focus of academic, industry, and policy activities was mainly focused on the development of re-X (recycling, remanufacturing, reuse, etc.) "Squaring the circular economy: The role of recycling within a hierarchy of material management strategies". [52][53], PACE is a coalition of CEOs and Ministers—including the leaders of global corporations like IKEA, Coca-Cola, Alphabet Inc., and DSM (company), governmental partners and development institutions from Denmark, The Netherlands, Finland, Rwanda, UAE, China, and beyond. 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. 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.". 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Consulté le 9 mars 2021, à l’adresse, Kneese, A. [3], The circular economy was further modelled by British environmental economists David W. Pearce and R. Kerry Turner in 1989. "[72], There are other critiques of the circular economy (CE). Construction is very important to the economy of the European Union and its state members. Definition of the circular economy. In 2020, the European Union released its Circular Economy Action Plan. There are so many different definitions in use because the concept is applied by a diverse group of researchers and professionals (Kirchherr, Reike & Hekkert 2017). In this system, it is there… Indeed, rather than only think to reduce the ecological impact of the industries and the amount of waste, it aims to produce goods and services by targeting a sustainable management of raw materials and energy sources. © 2012 - CNRTL 44, avenue de la Libération BP 30687 54063 Nancy Cedex - France Tél. works. A circular economy is an economic model designed to minimize resource input, as well as waste and emission production. Through renting the same product to several clients, manufacturers can increase revenues per unit, thus decreasing the need to produce more to increase revenues. The uptake to reuse within the oil and gas industry is very poor, the opportunity to reuse is never more evident, or possible, as when the equipment is being decommissioned. While it may sound like a simple task, only a handful of designers in the fashion industry have taken charge, including Patagonia, Eileen Fisher, and Stella McCartney. [9] In other words, the goal is to make the economy as circular as possible,[10] by thinking to new processes and solutions for the optimization of resources and the use and waste. This support included in-depth consultation.[128]. Both China and Europe have taken the lead in pushing a circular economy. [17], The circular economy can cover a broad scope. They are classified as reusable abrasives. [18][36] Specifically, in the U.S., the product-oriented company case in the study was Dell, a US manufacturing company for computer technology, which was the first company to offer free recycling to customers and to launch to the market a computer made from recycling materials from a verified third-party source. : 6897785 Ellen MacArthur Foundation ANBI RSIN nummer: 8257 45 925, © Copyright 2017 Ellen MacArthur Foundation. 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. Download digest. Thus, new modes of production and consumption are emerging with the main objective of generating billions of dollars while controlling and reducing environmental consequences. 3 FOREWORD Since the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 2007 to the members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a genuine international consensus has formed around the need to curb climate change. Why a circular economy is important? Recovery can never be 100% (Faber et al., 1987). [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. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural, and social capital. Circular economy. Germany: Germany is a leader in some aspects of circular economy, like waste management and recycling. One of the best examples of a closed economy is that of collaborative consumption. [75] Do CE secondary production activities (reuse, repair, & remake) actually reduce, or instead displace, primary production (natural resource extraction)? With this surge in popularity, many mention the term 'circular economy' or 'circular principles' without really explaining what they mean. 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. Consulté le 15 mars 2021, à l’adresse. [95][96] Once consumed, they can be used to create biogas, biochemicals or … In the UK, Steve D. Parker researched waste as a resource in the UK agricultural sector in 1982, developing novel closed-loop production systems. Zink, T., & Geyer, R. (2017). In 2013, a report was released entitled Towards the Circular Economy: Economic and Business Rationale for an Accelerated Transition. McDowall, W. & Geng, Y. Horizon 2020: calls. The smart circular economy framework illustrates this by establishing a link between digital technologies and sustainable resource management. [120] Circular economy is found to play an important role to economic growth of European Countries, highlighting the crucial role of sustainability, innovation, and investment in no-waste initiatives to promote wealth.[121]. Allwood, J. M. (2014). : +33 3 83 96 21 76 - Fax : +33 3 83 97 24 56 Circular Economy: definition and examples – The model of economic growth that has characterized the last 150 years of history is defined as “linear economics”, an industrial, market economy, based on the extraction of innovative raw materials, on mass consumption and on the production of waste at the end of the useful life of the product.An economy for the masses, through and through. More and more people are pushing for change, to build a better world for all. Circular Jobs Definition Framework. The idea of circular flow for materials and energy is not new, appearing as early as 1966 in the book by Kenneth E. Boulding, who explains that we should be in a "cyclical" system of production. On this page you can find more information, the work programme … [5] Most schools of thought advocate a shift from fossil fuels to the use of renewable energy, and emphasize the role of diversity as a characteristic of resilient and sustainable systems.