Circular economy as a strategic option to promote sustainable economic growth and effective human development

Empirical Evidence on Circular Economy and Economic Development in Europe: A Panel Approach

“…The results imply that there is a great potential to develop and be competitive through implementation of the circular economy model. The paper is a continuation of Androniceanu et al (2021), where the circular economy model is studied by cross-country approach applying Principal Component Analysis for EU countries in 2019. The contribution of this paper consists in evaluating the correlation between circular economy indicators and economic development by extending the previous research of the authors, using a fixed effects model (FEM) and a Tobit model.…”

“…In this paper, we analyze the impacts and causalities that the transition stage towards the circular economy has had on economic development in EU countries and vice versa (cf. Connolly-Barker et al, 2020), continuing the paper by Androniceanu et al (2021). This research includes 25 EU countries focusing on sustainable economic growth (Dobson-Lohman, 2020; Kot & Brzezinski, 2015).…”

The Effects of Subsidies on MSW Treatment Companies: Financial Performance and Policy Implications

“…In this sense, considering the conclusions of Section 2 on the order of importance of barriers, the analysis in Figure 5 suggests that the approach to mitigating or overcoming obstacles should consider the following priorities: (1) changing mindsets leading to changing living standards and the perception that products derived from recycled materials are of inferior quality; (2) improve collaboration and communication between departments and employees in the organization-communication should become simpler and clearer to improve stakeholder assessment of technology adoption; (3) improve the government's capacity to create CE policies and increase its transparency and reliability, as well as create regulations to support the use of recycled materials, and ease the transition to CE by lifting In this sense, considering the conclusions of Section 2 on the order of importance of barriers, the analysis in Figure 5 suggests that the approach to mitigating or overcoming obstacles should consider the following priorities: (1) changing mindsets leading to changing living standards and the perception that products derived from recycled materials are of inferior quality; (2) improve collaboration and communication between departments and employees in the organization-communication should become simpler and clearer to improve stakeholder assessment of technology adoption; (3) improve the government's capacity to create CE policies and increase its transparency and reliability, as well as create regulations to support the use of recycled materials, and ease the transition to CE by lifting bans on certain products containing recycled materials; (4) create strategies to inhibit inappropriate waste disposal, and reduce the energy consumption of waste incineration, for example, by developing alternatives to waste disposal; (5) grant economic incentives (for example, exemptions, tax benefits or subsidies) for the implementation of circular production systems and promote reverse-engineering practices that allow the design of products to guarantee their longevity, disassembly and reuse. Additionally, promoting venture capital to fund the initial costs of implementing cleaner technologies would allow, in some cases, to more competitively manufacture products with recycled materials; (6) encourage good management practices to achieve balanced budgets; (7) develop artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things to manage resources; (8) cooperate with other companies and stakeholders, namely, to build industrial symbiosis in order to facilitate the transition to CE; (9) promote training of employees; (10) improve the integration of operations management.…”

“…The concept of CE is incorporated into a new business model that leads companies to sustainable development without compromising economic sustainability, the so-called Circular Economy Business Model (CEBM) [9]. In this approach, sustainability is not dissociated from economic growth, but represents a factor of competitive advantage and value creation [10]. The economic advantages resulting from the adoption of circular practices are demonstrated in some empirical studies.…”

Factors of uneven progress of the European Union countries towards a circular economy

“…At the same time, it is naturally followed by the complexity of this economy, multivariance of its assessment as well as natural economic distinctions of the EU member countries. Thus, the study, which was conducted using the method of principal components, enabled the selection of 13 key indicators and identify three factors that, above all, explain data variability (Androniceanu et al, 2021). The analysis of the factors of the unevenness between the EU countries can be carried out not only at the macro level but also at the micro level, for example, in terms of enterprises.…”