1,721,002 research outputs found
Investigating users’ acceptance and potential of Circular Economy alternatives in the washing machine sector: a survey and an assessment model
No full textCircular Economy is gaining attention as a mean to reach sustainability. This is relevant for washing machines, where alternatives to linear economy are gaining ground. To succeed, a great consensus among users should be reached. However, little attention is paid to customers’ acceptance so far. Consequently, this paper develops a model to compare the economic and environmental impacts of the current setting with alternatives. A survey was designed to collect users’ data. Results show that pay-per-wash and refurbishment provide environmental savings, but only refurbishment generates economic savings for users. Unfortunately, few users show a positive acceptance rate of such alternative
A new framework for assessing circular economy scenarios in durable consumer goods sectors
No full textAlthough circular economy is usually indicated as a way to reconcile economic growth and sustainability, real circular business projects are not implemented on a large scale yet. Developing new methods able to demonstrate the benefits of circular scenarios can support stakeholders to embrace this transition. To this regard, this paper proposes and discusses a preliminary overview of a new framework, which aims to assess circular economy scenarios for durable consumer goods sectors. Albeit the research is only at a very preliminary stage, the new framework described in this paper can be used to support static spreadsheet simulation and what-if analysis, both addressed to further research
Challenges in supply chain redesign for the Circular Economy: a literature review and a multiple case study
No full textDespite companies face several challenges when redesigning their supply chain for the Circular Economy, the literature
lacks a systematisation of such challenges and of the ways to overcome them. Through a systematic literature review, this
paper identifies and systematises 24 challenges that may hamper a supply chain redesign for the Circular Economy. Sixteen
among these challenges are well known from research in related topics. On the contrary, the remaining eight are relatively
new or take a different relevance within the Circular Economy context. A multiple case study in the household appliance
supply chain is carried out, to explore how these challenges appear in practice and how companies may tackle them. The
cases analysed involve actors at different supply chain levels, and findings suggest that a great degree of vertical integration
by one actor in the supply chain is not a necessary condition for Circular Economy implementation. The empirical study, in
conjunction with the literature analysis, leads to the development of a framework linking the challenges to specific levers
that companies may pursue to overcome them. The framework can be seen as a reference for managers undertaking the path
towards Circular Economy
Assessing the impacts of Circular Economy: a framework and an application to the washing machine industry
No full textThe literature usually depicts circular economy as a path to embrace
sustainability into economic systems. Shifting from a linear to a circular
economy leads to environmental and social benefits. However, despite a
growing attention from academia, policymakers and businesses, circular
economy implementation projects are still scarce. One of the reasons is that
circular economy scenarios may be challenging from an economic perspective.
In order to spur a transition towards circular economy, new methods to support
the assessment of economic, environmental and social impacts of circular
economy scenarios are needed. This paper presents a systemic framework to
support a simplified evaluation of circular economy scenarios. The framework,
developed specifically for durable goods, is applied to the washing machine
industry, thanks to a case study. The application results show how the
framework adoption may contribute to reduce the uncertainties that are often an
obstacle to the transition towards circular econom
Towards the circular supply chain: a literature review of challenges
No full textThe notion of Circular Economy (CE) has been arisen as a promising approach to promote sustainability
without compromising economic growth. However, companies who are going to redesign their supply chain to
adopt the CE paradigm face several challenges. Despite their relevance in such an early stage of CE practices
adoption by companies, literature still lacks a systemic and holistic identification of this set of challenges. In fact,
previous research either focused on a particular industrial sector, on a geographical context, on a specific firm
category or by limiting the analysis to only some CE aspect. Therefore, this paper carries out a literature review to
identify the main challenges that companies have to face when they want to redesign their supply chain according to
CE principles, i.e. to implement a circular supply chain. As much as 24 challenges have been identified and classified
in accordance with the life cycle phase(s) affected and the CE lever(s) touched as recognized in literature, i.e. product
redesign, servitised business models, reverse logistics and system enablers (e.g. legislation or digital 4.0 technologies).
Findings highlight the multidisciplinary character of CE, and show that the challenges are quite distributed among
the different life cycle phases, implying that companies who desire to implement a circular supply chain should be
prepared to face challenges related to both the direct and the reverse flows of materials, despite the common
thinking that CE is only related to reverse logistics. Moreover, findings show that a non-negligible number of
challenges arises within each CE lever, thus confirming the need for a systemic and holistic approach. Managers may
use the set of challenges to prevent likely barriers that arise in the transition towards CE
Are digital servitization-based Circular Economy business models sustainable? A systemic what-if simulation model
Full text linkManufacturing companies are struggling with the implementation of Circular Economy, especially due to the uncertainty regarding its potential sustainability benefits. In particular, and despite digital servitization is advocated by several studies as a way to achieve environmental gains, circular business models based on digital servitization are not always sustainable due to burden shifting and unexpected consequences which are difficult to assess before implementation. This is particularly relevant for the Electrical and Electronics Equipment industry, which suffers structural weaknesses such as the dependance on critical raw materials and an increasing waste generation. However, literature lacks models and tools able to address the complexity inherent in the systemic micro-macro perspective envisioned by Circular Economy, while studies that quantitatively assess the sustainability impacts and trade-offs of digital servitization-based circular scenarios are limited. This article aims to develop a better understanding of how the sustainability impacts of circular and servitized scenarios can be assessed and quantified at the economic, environmental, and social level, adopting a systemic perspective through the development of a what-if simulation model. The model is implemented in a spreadsheet tool and applied to a digital servitization-based Circular Economy scenario inspired by the case of a company offering long-lasting, high-efficient washing machines as-a-service. Results show that digital servitization can actually lead to a win-win-win situation with net positive effects to the environment, the society, and the economy. This result is based on the joint application of product design for digitalization and life extension, pay-per-use business models, and product reuse. These results are robust within a significant range of key parameters values. Practitioners and policymakers may use the model to support the evaluation of different circular and servitized scenarios before implementation
Circular supply chain orchestration to overcome Circular Economy challenges: An empirical investigation in the textile and fashion industries
No full textThe transition towards Circular Economy is needed, all the more in industries with a harmful environmental impact such as the textile and fashion ones. This transformation, however, presents several challenges. While these challenges have been widely investigated in literature, solutions to overcome them have received much less attention to date. Practices and strategies proposed by the literature are still largely fragmented and not interpreted through an overarching theory, which prevents the understanding of how circular supply chains should be managed and coordinated. Therefore, this paper proposes a circular supply chain orchestration approach to understand responses to Circular Economy adoption barriers in the textile and fashion supply chains. A multiple case study has been carried out in the Prato (Italy) regenerated wool district, which has been practicing Circular Economy for more than a century. The paper contributes to knowledge accumulation on circular supply chain orchestration by integrating the resource orchestration, supply chain orchestration and Circular Economy streams. It adopts this perspective as a theoretical lens to analyse responses to challenges and, in particular, to operationalize the general orchestration mechanisms pointed out in the extant literature. Our study also provides support to managers in the textile supply chain to design challenge-response orchestration mechanisms in the move towards Circular Economy
Remanufacturing and Product-Service Systems for the Circular Economy: A Business Model Analysis
No full textClimate change and environmental pressures are pushing companies to adopt Circular Economy (CE) business models based on remanufacturing and on the provision of Product-Service Systems (PSS). However, specific guidelines on how to implement these business models are lacking. Thus, this paper aims to analyze CE business models based on remanufacturing and PSS, to define a full list of key recurrent and common elements that are needed to setup these specific business models. A multiple case study analysis is carried out, and a full list of configuration options for both remanufacturing and PSS business models is drafted. Results can help manufacturing companies in reshaping their value proposition, value delivery, value creation and value capture towards a CE based on remanufacturing and PSS
Enablers, levers and benefits of Circular Economy in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment supply chain: a literature review
No full textCircular Economy in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) supply chain has a significant (and still unexploited) potential. This paper aims to systematically review the knowledge emerging from the literature at the intersection between Circular Economy and the EEE supply chain, with a special focus on enablers, levers, and their potential environmental, economic and social benefits. An original framework is developed to categorise Circular Economy enablers, levers and potential benefits. Companies in the EEE industry aiming to implement Circular Economy can exploit several enablers (grouped into digitalization, government intervention, and users’ active role) and levers (grouped into circular product design, servitised business models, and supply chain management) to generate economic, environmental and social benefits. Based on the framework, 115 articles were scrutinised. The analysis led to the definition of a research agenda, with policy and industry implications. To advance Circular Economy research in the EEE supply chain, future studies should address: (i) the enabling role of digitalization, particularly within blockchain, 3D Printing, augmented and virtual reality; (ii) design strategies focused on ‘reduce’; (iii) servitised business models based on result-oriented offerings; (iv) collaboration in the EEE supply chain; (v) the assessment of social and economic benefits to users. Future research should also investigate the systemic interrelations between enablers, levers and benefits
The role of digital technologies to overcome Circular Economy challenges in PSS Business Models: an exploratory case study
No full textCircular Economy has been usually indicated as a promising approach to promote economic development and sustainability. Despite this general agreement, the Circular Economy paradigm is still little adopted by companies, as they need to face several challenges. In this context, Product-Service Systems (PSS) Business Models play a major role, as they have been proposed as an opportunity for promoting sustainability. Today, digital technologies are seen as a key factor to enable PSS, allowing at the same time the introduction of Circular Economy into companies. However, little attention has been set on how new digital technologies can overcome in practice the main Circular Economy challenges. To fill this gap, this paper explores such a role through a case study of a company who leverages Internet of Things, Big Data and Analytics in the provision of its PSS Business Model. Based on the findings of the empirical investigation, the role that the selected digital technologies play in overcoming the Circular Economy challenges is presented and discussed
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