Social circular economy indicators: Selection through fuzzy delphi method

Padilla‐Rivera, Alejandro; Carmo, Breno Barros Telles do; Arcese, Gabriella; Merveille, Nicolas

doi:10.1016/j.spc.2020.09.015

Cited by 134 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Depending on whether companies took the perspective of CE designed as an enviro-economic model—the Circular Economy discourse —or the perspective of CE being no different from sustainability—related to the Circular Society discourse —different implications for scientific research follow [ 13 ]. In the first case, it is recommended to include the social dimension in the corporate decision-making process; the social dimension can be addressed with existing CSR initiatives [ 62 , 63 ], while in the second case, specific CE-related social issues are expected to find a place in decision-making frameworks [ 70 ]. Rather than providing lip service to the new “trend” of CE, one role of scientists would be to support companies in their pathway towards SD by not merely identifying barriers but also providing solutions to overcoming them.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is the Relation between Circular Economy and Sustainability? Answers from Frontrunner Companies Engaged with Circular Economy Practices

et al. 2021

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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.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is the Relation between Circular Economy and Sustainability? Answers from Frontrunner Companies Engaged with Circular Economy Practices

et al. 2021

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“…Manakandan, et al [66] demonstrated a fuzzy Delphi algorithm to obtain experts' consensus on the validation of pesticide applicators using a concept of triangular fuzzy numbers and defuzzification process. Padilla-Rivera, et al [25] proposed a different algorithm for calculating the fuzzy numbers and determining selection criteria to identify the social CE indicators. Bui, et al [67] adopted the fuzzy set theory to convert experts' linguistic evaluation into quantitative values, in order to give high tolerance to the linguistic evaluation's uncertainty and vagueness.…”

Section: Fuzzy Delphi Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In conclusion, the FDM can mitigate the shortcomings of the traditional Delphi method. It can effectively generate a consensus within a group of experts from various backgrounds with a simplified procedure and reduced investigation time [25]. Therefore, this method was chosen in our research to reach expert consensus for barrier identification.…”

Section: Fuzzy Delphi Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Digitalisation for Water Sustainability: Barriers to Implementing Circular Economy in Smart Water Management

Liu

Yang

2021

Sustainability

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“Clean water and sanitation” is listed as one of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and implementing circular economy principles in the water sector has been widely regarded as an important approach in achieving this goal. In the era of Industry 4.0, research and practice in the digitalisation of the water sector to create a smart water system have attracted increasing attention. Despite the growing interest, limited research has been devoted to how digital technologies might enhance circularity. In practice, smart water systems often fail to promote circularity in such aspects as water reuse and resources recovery. This paper aims to identify the main barriers to implementing circularity in the smart water management system in Zhejiang, China. The research adopts a mixed research method that includes a literature review to identify the potential barriers from the existing studies, a case study to determine the most critical barriers in practice, and a fuzzy Delphi method to reach a consensus on the crucial barriers. The research identified 22 main barriers to implementing circular economy in smart water management. The barriers are divided into three categories: infrastructure and economic, technology, and institution and governance. The results show that the barriers related to recycling technologies, digital technology know-how, and the lack of CE awareness raise the most concern. Our findings also indicate that experts are interested in the decentralized wastewater treatment system. This research provides significant insights that practitioners, researchers, and policymakers can use in developing and implementing digital-based CE strategies to reduce water scarcity and pollution.

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“…As employment, health and safety, and participation are most commonly included in CE [13,66], an additional step should be taken to include aspects other than internal ones [62]. Padilla-Rivera et al [141] focus their attention on social indicators for CE, providing a valuable perspective that nonetheless needs integration with environmental and economic aspects.…”

Section: Circular Economy Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular Economy Performance Measurement in Manufacturing Firms: A Systematic Literature Review with Insights for Small and Medium Enterprises and New Adopters

et al. 2021

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The circular economy is a central and increasingly important topic within managerial and academic discourse. Although the circular economy could bring benefits to their performance, manufacturing firms still struggle with its adoption. As an effective adoption should pass for adequate performance measurement, the present study performs a systematic literature review to deepen the knowledge of circular economy performance-measurement systems for manufacturing firms, both from a general perspective and to provide specific insights for small–medium enterprises and new adopters. The results show the lack of an integrated, holistic, and scalable framework for measuring circular economy performance, and only a few and dispersed specific indications for small–medium enterprises and new adopters. Shortcomings of the extant literature are identified in terms of integration of the circular economy’s level, theoretical development and empirical application, characteristics of the indicators proposed, considerations of sustainability, holistic perspectives on industrial systems, and scalability to adapt to firms’ different characteristics. The study paves the way for further research while offering theoretical and practical implications.

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Social circular economy indicators: Selection through fuzzy delphi method

Cited by 134 publications

References 28 publications

What Is the Relation between Circular Economy and Sustainability? Answers from Frontrunner Companies Engaged with Circular Economy Practices

What Is the Relation between Circular Economy and Sustainability? Answers from Frontrunner Companies Engaged with Circular Economy Practices

Digitalisation for Water Sustainability: Barriers to Implementing Circular Economy in Smart Water Management

Circular Economy Performance Measurement in Manufacturing Firms: A Systematic Literature Review with Insights for Small and Medium Enterprises and New Adopters

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