No abstract

The circular economy (CE) concept has become a major interest for companies, promising new business opportunities and a decrease in environmental impacts. Though research on circular business models has recently increased, few scholars have investigated how companies engaged with CE view the connection between CE and sustainability. To address this gap, this paper uses a semi-quantitative survey and semi-structured interviews conducted with companies based in Italy and the Netherlands. Purposive sampling was employed to target firms associated with national and international CE networks, as these companies already engage with CE practices. The survey was distributed online to over 800 firms, of which 155 provided information on their understanding of the CE concept and its relationship with sustainability. The survey results are complemented through findings from 43 interviews with a subset of the survey respondents. The survey answers show that companies view CE as one of the tools to achieve sustainable development, particularly in the environmental domain, where the focus lies on environmentally friendly resource use. Yet, the respondents are less confident whether CE increases economic and social benefits of firms. Interviews show that a majority of respondents position sustainability as the overarching concept. However, most companies advocate that the private sector should strive for both sustainability and circularity, though the distinction between the two concepts in daily business operations seems synthetic and futile to some. These findings provide an important stepping stone for better understanding how firms could apply CE practices to move towards a more sustainable society.

No abstract

An emerging research area is dedicated to developing approaches for assessing the 'circularity' of companies and their products, within the context of sustainability goals. However, empirical evidence on the uptake of these assessment approaches remains scarce. Using a purposive sampling, we conducted a survey receiving 155 responses and held 43 semi-structured interviews with Dutch and Italian companies active in circular economy (CE), pursuing three research aims: to explore the use of CE and sustainability assessment approaches; to study the process of developing assessment approaches; and to uncover benefits of-and barriers to-CE assessment.While we find high variability of assessment approaches, most often, companies develop tailor-made sustainability indicators and apply life cycle assessments to CE strategies. Importantly, assessment development for CE practices requires and facilitates collaboration with external stakeholders. Finally, we reflect on the paradox of standardisation versus tailoring of assessment approaches within the CE reality and recommend establishing company needs and capabilities before designing assessment approaches.

No abstract

The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors, even though in the last couple of years there has been a negative effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This growth has led to an increase in environmental, economic and social impacts. Furthermore, the transition towards a circular economy has become one of the priorities of the European Union given its orientation towards sustainable development. However, the concept of circular tourism has been poorly analysed until now. This paper aims at identifying a set of life cycle-based sustainability- and circularity-related indicators for the hospitality sector by means of a literature review and a content analysis. It presents an overview of the most relevant themes and indicators in the tourism sector, showing that carbon footprint and resource-related indicators are especially relevant. Given the complexity of the measurement of circularity and the fact that life cycle-based indicators have started to be considered in this field, the paper also proposes some criteria for indicator selection to make their application more feasible for hospitality actors.

Circular economy (CE) is becoming an increasingly mandatory material issue within corporate sustainability reporting, however, what remains unaddressed within literature are the perspectives and capacities of the companies which must soon adapt to meet the evolving reporting requirements. This research aims to capture insights from companies engaged with CE in order to develop recommendations that support the integration of CE within corporate sustainability reports. To do this, a series of semi‐structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with companies operating in Italy or the Netherlands, not limited by sector. The results provide a list of challenges experienced‐ and benefits gained‐ by companies from externally communicating CE. Companies are urged to consider not only risks associated with staying in the linear economy but also those associated with the implementation of new circular practices, to communicate potential sustainability trade‐offs and reduce potential claims of CE‐related greenwashing. Practical recommendations are offered for developing targets and indicators for CE as well as identifying and reporting CE‐specific risks and opportunities.

multivariate analysis (generalized linear model). Results: From the 293 articles identified, 14 were retained and 34 variables were identified. 98 orphan indications met the inclusion criteria and were retained. In the univariate analysis, 11 were significant with the annual cost per patient. The strongest relationships were obtained for repositioned status, ATC class, molecule type, target population size. The significant multivariate variables (R 2 = 0.67) were repositioning, ATC class, molecule type, target population size, population size during clinical investigations and marketing date. Conclusions: This exploratory analysis makes it possible to identify certain characteristics of drugs that are associated with a low or high price. The profile of drugs in the ATC A class (metabolism) appears to have a significant impact on the treatment price.