Purpose of Review The aim of this study was to analyze the differences and similarities between the concepts circular economy (CE) and cascading utilization (CU) and the interactions between these concepts. The method chosen for this study was a qualitative content analysis, which was conducted on academic CU publications that appeared between 1990 and 2016. To identify connections between CU and CE, the findings of this study are compared to the results of a recent review on CE. Recent Findings From the perspective of the broader goals of CE and CU, both concepts promise to increase resource efficiency by supporting the multiple use of a resource. Research conducted on both concepts has included analyses of the environmental impacts of the CU or CE systems and descriptions of frameworks and tools used to develop cascade chains or measure the circularity of a given resource. Even though the concepts have many similarities, the research has mostly been conducted independently, and the number of connections between the two concepts is surprisingly low. Summary In general, the results of the analysis supported the hypothesis that CU and CE have many parallels and similarities. The CU concept addresses primarily resource management whereas CE provides a more holistic approach. Practically, the publications on CE include considerations of many kinds of resources, whereas publications on CU include a stronger focus on bio-based materials. Despite these differences, CU was shown to clearly fit into the CE concept in that it provides a specific focus on the utilization possibilities (e.g., reuse, recycling, and up-cycling) of a given resource. The term CU may be used whenever one or more of these measures are used.

New innovations are called for to renew the European forest sector into bioeconomy. However, little research exists on how the industry innovativeness is publicly perceived. Using data collected with an online questionnaire in four European countries, we investigate perceptions related to forest sector innovations on 13 current and new bioeconomy-related products and services. Altogether, 218 valid responses were received in 2015, and the data were analysed using descriptive statistics, performance-importance analysis, and Gartner's innovation hype cycle. Based on our results, the respondents were in the strongest agreement that the forest sector has since the year 2000 has produced innovations related to wood building systems, construction materials, and wood composites. In the next 15 years, they foresaw a decline in innovations related to biofuels and paper products. The European forest sector also has future potential in wood construction, which is likely related to international policy targets related to carbon mitigation and capture. The observed variation in perceptions among the respondents on forest sector innovativeness calls for strengthening industry R&D, as well as by improving societal awareness of ongoing innovation projects by developing better communication.

Several authors have pointed out the importance of systems thinking, and have considered both environmental and social aspects (holistic perspective) of sustainability assessment in the past. Sustainability assessment tools which integrate different aspects (e.g., environmental/social aspects) in order to identify negative impacts have already been developed. Common tools used to assess environmental, social, or economic impacts include the life cycle assessment (LCA), social life cycle assessment (S-LCA), life cycle costing (LCC) and life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) approaches. The goal of the present study was to investigate how and to what extent the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, social, economic; holistic sustainability perspective) have been integrated into the field of LCA. A topic modeling method was applied to examine whether the emphasis placed on integrating environmental, social, and economic aspects in sustainability assessment has resulted in a more comprehensive application of the LCA approach. The results show that topics related to energy and infrastructure are currently prevailing, and that topics related to methods have been decreasing since 1997. A minor discussion of social aspects and a lack of discussion on economic aspects were identified in the present study. These results do not support the predicted “decade of life cycle sustainability assessment.” Consequently, a new period of LCA extension and application is predicted, namely, the third wave of LCA as the “decade of consolidation.” During this period, the LCA framework will be enhanced to reduce existing practical and methodological difficulties and integrate environmental and social aspects in a sustainability assessment to support global sustainable development.

A growing population and the impact of climate change represent clear challenges for the agricultural sector. Adapting agricultural machinery, e.g., raising the use of electric vehicles (EVs), is one way of meeting such challenges. Although interest in EVs and sustainable farming is becoming ever stronger, in practice the usage of EVs still remains at a relatively low level. As EV experience is key in deciding for or against e-mobility, the present paper focuses on the differences in perceptions between experienced and non-experienced electric vehicle users. The present study was conducted in the course of a pilot project on e-mobility in rural Austrian regions. Three hundred and thirty-four farmers were asked to assess the performance of 13 attributes regarding e-cars and agricultural EVs. While none of the selected attributes were deemed unimportant, there were clear differences in perceptions between those with and without EV experience. For example, farmers with experience were more satisfied with the performance of current EVs than those without experience. Availability of a private charging station for agricultural EVs is seen as important by both groups, but experienced farmers rate the respective importance, and also satisfaction with private charging stations significantly higher than farmers without experience. The results show that specific policy adaptations have to be made in order to increase the acceptance of EVs in the agriculture sector.

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