The progressive adoption of a circular economy by businesses for cleaner production: An approach from a regional study in Spain

Abstract

The literature on the circular economy at the micro-level has mainly focused on the analysis of the circular business model and implementation of different circular-related practices, but the process of adoption by businesses of the circular economy is still under investigation. Therefore, through a study in the region of Aragón, Spain, the main circular economy-related activities implemented by a sample of 52 businesses are classified into four levels as an approach to the change process that firms can undergo to adopt the circular economy. In summary, it can be stated that circular economy-related activities are being introduced by businesses progressively, from a minor activity to a greater number of activities, but that these activities do not respond to the incremental closure of material loops within the circular economy framework. The applied indicators enhance the knowledge on the environmental management accounting applied to the CE for the reporting and the relations with stakeholders. In addition, the measurement of the introduction of the circular economy in different businesses is relevant for practitioners and for policy makers, in response to the institutional initiatives for the promotion of the circular economy at the territorial level.

Cleaner production practices at company level enhance the desire of employees to have a significant positive impact on society through work

“…Many academicians (e.g. Cazaudehore et al., 2019 ; Ling et al., 2015 ; Nachiappan and Muthukumar, 2010 ; Wang, 1999 ; Wei et al., 2019 ) have also acknowledged that COD level can be reduced with the deployment of modern and eco-friendly machinery/production plants ( Aranda-Usón et al., 2020 ; Cesar da Silva et al., 2021 ; Ware, 2021 ). Particularly, Nachiappan and Muthukumar (2010) have explored various innovative and hybrid techniques for reducing COD level in the textile sector.…”

“…Implementation of CPP at company level is a preventive approach, which is primarily aimed to rein in the environmental menaces caused by modern industrialization ( Adapa, 2018 ; Andrews et al., 2002 ; Antero et al., 2020 ; Costa et al., 2021 ; Shi et al., 2021 ). Implementation of CPP can be embedded throughout the product lifecycle ( Aranda-Usón et al., 2020 ; Augusto de Oliveira et al., 2019 ; Jakhar, 2015 ) as it encompasses product design ( Cui et al., 2020 ; de Guimarães et al., 2017 ), product delivery ( Giannetti et al., 2008 ; Hens et al., 2018 ) and product recycling etc. ( Retta, 1999 ; Sousa-Zomer et al., 2018 ; Yin et al., 2020 ) with an aim to minimize their communal impact on our environment ( Li et al., 2019 ; Pazienza and De Lucia, 2020 ; Yusup et al., 2015 ).…”

“…Furthermore, we assert that although industrial waste can be minimized by implementing the lean manufacturing principles ( Andrade et al., 2020 ; Chauhan, 2016 ; Manfredsson, 2016 ; Shrafat and Ismail, 2019 ). Yet, the essence of organizational concern towards environment protection is much noteworthy in CPP ( Aranda-Usón et al., 2020 ; Cesar da Silva et al., 2021 ; de Oliveira et al., 2019 ; Ramos et al., 2021 ; Scarazzato et al., 2017 ) which makes former significantly less industrious in terms of our environmental safeguard measures ( Botti et al., 2017 ; Cong and Shi, 2019 ; Psomas and Antony, 2019 ; Salam and Farooq, 2020 ). Moreover, according to Yüksel (2008) CPP is more than a simple implementation of post-production environmental protection regulations ( Cesar da Silva et al., 2021 ; de Oliveira et al., 2019 ; Frydenberg et al., 2004 ; Kennedy, 2020 ; Scarazzato et al., 2017 ).…”

“…However, during whole production process employees (i.e. non-managerial staff in our case) play a critical role in implementing the on ground functional aspects of CPP ( Aranda-Usón et al., 2020 ; Potoski and Callery, 2018 ; Veleva et al., 2017 ). As a timeworn and time-tested adage from late 19th century says that “apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” ( Galman, 2020 , p. 141; Gubler et al., 2017 , p. 1; Hayne and Barr, 2016 , p. 792; Thornberry, 2009 , p. 297).Therefore, in this aspect we argue that employees are also not far-off from how their organization treats their society (i.e.…”

A Heuristic Approach to the Decision-Making Process of Energy Prosumers in a Circular Economy

“…A key principle of the circular economy (CE) is that energy is powered via renewable sources [1], leading to significant reductions in fossil-fuel consumption [2,3] and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [4]. Additionally, some authors argued that the CE also shifts toward the use of waste-derived resources in value chains [5], while companies undertaking activities related to the CE introduced the consumption of renewables [6,7]. Haas et al (2015) indicated that strategies targeting the CE are shifting from fossil fuel to renewable energy sources and translating efficiency gains into a reduction in the overall level of resource consumption [2].…”