Circular Economy and Policy : Sustainability, Environmental, and Social Perspectives

This book uses economic and policy approaches to highlight sustainability, environmental, and social aspects of the circular economy. It emphasizes the circular economy within the market’s perspective, including the links between consumption and sustainability, and how balances between profitability and environmental sustainability can be attained. The author also uses a life cycle assessment approach to improve and evaluate circular economy strategies to help determine the environmental, social, and economic consequences of a product. The chapters illustrate circular business models and sustainability consumption behaviour in the public sector, while also measuring eco-efficiency and sustainability impacts. The book will useful for students and researchers in environmental and sustainability economics, as well as businesses and government organizations adapting policies to develop environmentally sustainable economic practices. Preface 6 Contents 8 About the Author 11 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 13 List of Boxes 14 Chapter 1: Introduction: The Circular Economy 15 1.1 The Origin of Circular Economy Concept 15 1.1.1 Circular Economy Definition 18 1.1.2 The Limits to the Circularity: Criticisms 26 1.2 The Regenerative Circular Economy 27 1.2.1 The Donught Economy: Disconnection or Complementarity with the Regenerative Essence of the Circular Economy 29 1.3 Circular Economy Within Market Perspective 31 1.3.1 The Demand: Circular Economy, Sharing Consumption and Value Co-creation 34 1.3.2 The Supply: Business Performance in Circular Economy Framework 35 1.3.3 Profitability and Sustainability 37 1.4 Circular Economy and Bioeconomy: The Policies of Food Production and Waste Management 38 References 40 Chapter 2: The Scenario of Circular Economy 44 2.1 The Circular Economy Scenario 44 References 49 Chapter 3: Life Cycle Thinking and Circular Economy 51 3.1 The Role of Life Cycle Sustainability Approach Within Circular Economy 51 3.1.1 The Life Cycle Thinking 52 3.1.2 The Eco-design and New Materials 53 3.1.3 The Life Cycle Assessment 55 3.1.4 Circular Economy Strategies Implementation Through Life Cycle Assessment 59 3.1.5 Life Cycle Law: An Example from the European Union Circular Economy Package 61 3.2 Material Flow Analysis 62 3.2.1 Recycling Rates Determination 63 3.3 Circular Economy, Materials Efficiency, and Reutilization of Secondary Raw Materials 64 References 66 Chapter 4: Policies Targeted to Circular Economy 68 4.1 Circular Economy Policies According to the European Union 68 4.1.1 The Ecological Transition 75 4.2 The European Circular Economy Action Plan 77 4.2.1 Production 80 4.2.2 Consumption 82 4.2.3 Waste Management 83 4.2.4 Secondary Raw Materials 85 4.3 Policies for Reuse and Repair, Circular Practices and Strategies, Secondary Materials Markets 87 4.4 Circular Economy Policies All Over the World 90 4.4.1 The Dutch Green Deals Policy: Preliminary Works for EU CEAP 92 4.4.2 The Chinese Policy About Circular Economy 93 4.4.3 The Circular Economy Vision in Japan 94 4.4.4 The Framework Act in Resource Circulation in Republic of Korea 94 4.4.5 USA Economy’s Application of Circular Economy 95 4.4.6 The Circular Economy in India 96 4.4.7 Circular Economy Policies in Australia 97 4.4.8 EU’s Green and CE Policies Applicability to Developing and Emerging Economies 98 References 100 Chapter 5: Public Sector and Circular Economy 103 5.1 Circular Economy Policies and Perspective in Public Sector Organization 103 5.2 Public Procurement and Public Services Delivery to Drive the Circular Economy 104 5.2.1 Innovative Procurement: The Case of European Union 106 5.2.2 Green Public Procurement 108 5.2.3 Pre-commercial Procurement 110 5.3 Government Policy and Regulation for Circular Economy Finance 111 5.3.1 Financial Standard for Climate Change 113 5.3.2 Sustainability and Circularity Throughout Environmental Finance: Green Bonds and European Financial Reporting 114 5.4 International and Cross-Border Trade, Regulations, and Taxation 116 References 118 Chapter 6: Production and Consumption Within Circular Economy Perspective 120 6.1 The Circular Economy Conceiving Production and Consumption 120 6.2 From Linear to Circular Production 122 6.3 Business Models Within the Circular Economy 124 6.3.1 The Circular Business Models in the Reality: Some Case Studies 131 6.3.2 Further Case-Histories for Different Industries 135 6.3.2.1 The Case History #1: Fashion Sector 135 6.3.2.2 The Case History #2: Food Sector 135 6.3.2.3 The Case History #3: Energy Sector 136 6.3.2.4 The Case History #4: Event Organization 136 6.4 Eco-Innovation Investments 136 6.5 Different Kinds of Costs and Benefits (Returns) in the Circular Production 138 6.6 Circular Economy and Sustainable Consumption 139 References 142 Chapter 7: Eco-efficiency, Circularity Measurement and Assessment 145 7.1 From the Theory to the Practice: The Evaluation Process of Circularity and Sustainability 145 7.2 Ecosystems, Eco-efficiency and Resources 147 7.3 How to Measure Circularity and Sustainability 148 7.3.1 Circularity Metrics, Indicators, Assessment Framework, and Tools 150 7.3.2 A Selection of Current Circularity Metrics for Products, Services, and Organizations 156 7.4 The EU Taxonomy for a Sustainable Finance 162 7.5 The Role of ISO/TC 323 in the Circularity Measurement: Work in Progress 164 7.6 Summary, Conclusions, Policy Implications and Recommendation 166 References 167 Index 170