Implications of developing a tool for sustainability screening of circular economy initiatives

Mariia Kravchenko; Tim C. McAloone; Daniela C. A. Pigosso

doi:10.1016/j.procir.2019.01.044

Implications of developing a tool for sustainability screening of circular economy initiatives

Mariia Kravchenko^*, Tim C. McAloone, Daniela C. A. Pigosso

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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Abstract

Circular economy seems to offer abounding opportunities for companies that are seeking to optimize their business practices while reducing the environmental burden. Circular economy therefore is often seen as a stepping-stone towards sustainability. However, to ensure the transition from linear to circular economy in a sustainable way, a shift requires implementation of not only financially beneficial circular strategies, but also environmentally and socially valuable ones. The challenge for companies is to understand how a particular circular initiative in their business context contributes to sustainability and what elements of sustainability have to be assessed prior to the initiative implementation. This paper illustrates how an indicator-based sustainability screening tool for circular economy initiatives can guide companies in their decision making towards a more sustainable circular initiative choice. In addition, the paper highlights challenges of measuring sustainability in a circular economy context.

Original language	English
Journal	Procedia CIRP
Volume	80
Pages (from-to)	625-630
ISSN	2212-8271
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2019.01.044
Publication status	Published - 2019
Event	26th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering - Purdue University, West Lafayette, United States Duration: 7 May 2019 → 9 May 2019

Conference

Conference	26th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering
Location	Purdue University
Country/Territory	United States
City	West Lafayette
Period	07/05/2019 → 09/05/2019

Keywords

Sustainability screening
Circular economy
Indicators for sustainability
Micro-level
Business processes
Life cycle thinking

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.procir.2019.01.044

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CIRCit: Circular Economy Integration in the Nordic Industry for enhanced sustainability and competitiveness
McAloone, T. C. (PI), Pigosso, D. C. A. (Project Manager), Blomsma, F. (Project Participant), Pieroni, M. (PhD Student), Kravchenko, M. (PhD Student), Frederiksen, T. B. (Project Participant), Jönbrink, A.-K. (Project Participant), Hildenbrand, J. (Project Participant), Dahlström, J. (Project Participant), Shahbazi, S. (Project Participant), Li, J. (Project Participant), Kristoffersen, E. (PhD Student), Li, Z. (Project Participant), Wiik, C. (Project Participant) & Nielsen, K. D. (Project Participant)
01/02/2017 → 31/12/2020
Project: Research

Cite this

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title = "Implications of developing a tool for sustainability screening of circular economy initiatives",

abstract = "Circular economy seems to offer abounding opportunities for companies that are seeking to optimize their business practices while reducing the environmental burden. Circular economy therefore is often seen as a stepping-stone towards sustainability. However, to ensure the transition from linear to circular economy in a sustainable way, a shift requires implementation of not only financially beneficial circular strategies, but also environmentally and socially valuable ones. The challenge for companies is to understand how a particular circular initiative in their business context contributes to sustainability and what elements of sustainability have to be assessed prior to the initiative implementation. This paper illustrates how an indicator-based sustainability screening tool for circular economy initiatives can guide companies in their decision making towards a more sustainable circular initiative choice. In addition, the paper highlights challenges of measuring sustainability in a circular economy context.",

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AU - Kravchenko, Mariia

AU - McAloone, Tim C.

AU - Pigosso, Daniela C. A.

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Circular economy seems to offer abounding opportunities for companies that are seeking to optimize their business practices while reducing the environmental burden. Circular economy therefore is often seen as a stepping-stone towards sustainability. However, to ensure the transition from linear to circular economy in a sustainable way, a shift requires implementation of not only financially beneficial circular strategies, but also environmentally and socially valuable ones. The challenge for companies is to understand how a particular circular initiative in their business context contributes to sustainability and what elements of sustainability have to be assessed prior to the initiative implementation. This paper illustrates how an indicator-based sustainability screening tool for circular economy initiatives can guide companies in their decision making towards a more sustainable circular initiative choice. In addition, the paper highlights challenges of measuring sustainability in a circular economy context.

AB - Circular economy seems to offer abounding opportunities for companies that are seeking to optimize their business practices while reducing the environmental burden. Circular economy therefore is often seen as a stepping-stone towards sustainability. However, to ensure the transition from linear to circular economy in a sustainable way, a shift requires implementation of not only financially beneficial circular strategies, but also environmentally and socially valuable ones. The challenge for companies is to understand how a particular circular initiative in their business context contributes to sustainability and what elements of sustainability have to be assessed prior to the initiative implementation. This paper illustrates how an indicator-based sustainability screening tool for circular economy initiatives can guide companies in their decision making towards a more sustainable circular initiative choice. In addition, the paper highlights challenges of measuring sustainability in a circular economy context.

KW - Sustainability screening

KW - Circular economy

KW - Indicators for sustainability

KW - Micro-level

KW - Business processes

KW - Life cycle thinking

U2 - 10.1016/j.procir.2019.01.044

DO - 10.1016/j.procir.2019.01.044

M3 - Journal article

SN - 2212-8271

VL - 80

SP - 625

EP - 630

JO - Procedia CIRP

JF - Procedia CIRP

T2 - 26th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering

Y2 - 7 May 2019 through 9 May 2019

ER -

Implications of developing a tool for sustainability screening of circular economy initiatives

Abstract

Conference

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

OpenUrl availability

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Projects

CIRCit: Circular Economy Integration in the Nordic Industry for enhanced sustainability and competitiveness

Cite this