Circular economy practices among Chinese manufacturers varying in environmental-oriented supply chain cooperation and the performance implications

Zhu, Qinghua; Geng, Yong; Lai, Kee‐hung

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.02.013

Cited by 381 publications

(324 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

304

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…We also skimmed the bibliographies of identified conceptual articles. Definitions included based upon this approach were inter alia definitions provided in Geissdoerfer et al (2017), Murray et al (2017), Zhu et al (2010aZhu et al ( , 2010b and definitions outlined by the Circular Academy (2017). Thirdly, we also included all definitions outlined in a recent special issue on the circular economy in the Journal of Industrial Ecology (Bocken et al, 2017) as well as additional recent literature, e. g. Skene (2017), as suggested by one reviewer of this paper.…”

Section: Sample Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…;)), whereas a specific article as a starting point for these frameworks cannot be traced (Sihvonen and Ritola, 2015;Yan and Wu, 2011). Many authors, e. g. Zhu et al (2010aZhu et al ( , 2010b and Reh (2013), view the various R frameworks as the 'how-to' of CE and thus a core principle of it. We initially chose the 3R framework as the most prominent R framework for our coding (King et al, 2006;Brennan et al, 2015;Ghisellini et al, 2016); it is also at the core of the 2008 Circular Economy Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China (PRC, 2008).…”

Section: Coding Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Conceptualizing the Circular Economy: An Analysis of 114 Definitions

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A B S T R A C TThe circular economy concept has gained momentum both among scholars and practitioners. However, critics claim that it means many different things to different people. This paper provides further evidence for these critics. The aim of this paper is to create transparency regarding the current understandings of the circular economy concept. For this purpose, we have gathered 114 circular economy definitions which were coded on 17 dimensions. Our findings indicate that the circular economy is most frequently depicted as a combination of reduce, reuse and recycle activities, whereas it is oftentimes not highlighted that CE necessitates a systemic shift. We further find that the definitions show few explicit linkages of the circular economy concept to sustainable development. The main aim of the circular economy is considered to be economic prosperity, followed by environmental quality; its impact on social equity and future generations is barely mentioned. Furthermore, neither business models nor consumers are frequently outlined as enablers of the circular economy. We critically discuss the various circular economy conceptualizations throughout this paper. Overall, we hope to contribute via this study towards the coherence of the circular economy concept; we presume that significantly varying circular economy definitions may eventually result in the collapse of the concept.

show abstract

Section: Sample Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Coding Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptualizing the Circular Economy: An Analysis of 114 Definitions

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The majority of articles can be classified as implementation studies, with an emphasis on case studies of predominantly Chinese eco-industrial initiatives at the meso-level of EIPs [17,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] or SCs and networks [6,10,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Studies on the macro-level of cities [44][45][46], economic areas [47,48], and national and global industries, particularly logistics and waste [7,14,[49][50][51][52], were only included if they informed implementation on the meso-level, as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria.…”

Section: Article Topicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To enable such cycles, SCs are assumed to be a critical unit of action for the implementation of the CE because of the necessity for joint effort "beyond organizational boundaries to involve external coordination with upstream partners to obtain environmentally friendly inputs and with downstream partners to cooperate for environmental management practices such as product return, reuse, and recycling" [10] (p. 1325). However, Circular Supply Chains (CSCs) that continuously sustain the circulation of value by combining the variety of possible CE SC configurations and are fully aligned with the principles of the CE are largely absent in practice and academia; instead current knowledge on SCs in the CE is fragmented between several fast-growing research streams.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supply Chain Configurations in the Circular Economy: A Systematic Literature Review

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:As the circular economy (CE) gains traction in literature and practice, several academic communities are opening up spaces that move away from the CE as a pure engineering concept. This systematic literature review (n = 77) analyses and discusses the fragmented body of knowledge on the meso-level of supply chains (SCs): (a) to find common ground that underpins the current implementation of the CE on this level; and (b) to identify drivers, inhibitors, and enablers from which CE SC configurations emerge. The review finds that there remain differences in CE definitions that result from claimed antecedents and scopes, resulting in distinct research streams. On the meso-level, eco-industrial parks, environmental SCs, and closed-loop SCs each face significant challenges. The latter potentially offers the largest environmental benefits but engenders radical changes for business models and exposes SCs to more risk. We firstly argue for moving away from using a prescriptive set of practices as definitions for the CE towards a set of overarching goals to allow for the inclusion of future practices and techniques. Secondly, we highlight that research going beyond the meso-level to consider the wider social and institutional environment is needed to solve current challenges.

show abstract

“…For example, Su et al (2013, p. 216) have identified industrial symbiosis of CE leads to collective benefits which "come from both economic and environmental aspects. Economically, firms' agglomeration brings pools of common production factors such as labour, capital, and energy which may decrease factor prices or raise productivity", and Zhu et al (2010) have investigated whether corporate performance is associated with types of CE businesses in China.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Industrial Sustainability and the Circular Economy as Counterparts to the Self-Referral Structure of Natural Law: Part II – A Global Case Study

Fergusson¹

2017

OSJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Part I of this two-part series of research papers identified the theoretical foundations of industrial sustainability and circular economy in the structure of Natural Law, as explained by Maharishi Vedic Science. Part I showed that all levels of a manifest hierarchy are governed by self-referral and selfinteracting feedback loops, and maintained that the circular economic model represents a counterpart to the self-referral mechanics of Natural Law and is therefore more in accord with Natural Law than the standard linear 'take, make, dispose'economic model, which is unsustainable due to its attitude to and management of energy and other resource portfolios, waste and end-of-life products. This Part II explores the self-referral structure of Natural Law in the context of one of the world's largest industrial hazardous wastes: alumina refinery residue or 'red mud'. The paper examines how this solid waste residue, which is generated at a rate of more than 120 million tonnes each year, can: a) be incorporated into a sustainable, circular economic model in order to reduce waste and improve productivity; and b) be reused or repurposed as either a feedstock to other industrial and municipal processes, such as concrete and cementitious product manufacture, agriculture and mine site rehabilitation, or, if such reuse applications generate other forms of waste, how these, too, can enter further cascading circular economies through beneficial reuse.

show abstract

Circular economy practices among Chinese manufacturers varying in environmental-oriented supply chain cooperation and the performance implications

Cited by 381 publications

References 47 publications

Conceptualizing the Circular Economy: An Analysis of 114 Definitions

Conceptualizing the Circular Economy: An Analysis of 114 Definitions

Supply Chain Configurations in the Circular Economy: A Systematic Literature Review

Industrial Sustainability and the Circular Economy as Counterparts to the Self-Referral Structure of Natural Law: Part II – A Global Case Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About