IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/circec/v3y2023i1d10.1007_s43615-021-00138-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Circular Economy and the triple bottom line in Norway

Author

Listed:
  • Kirsten S. Wiebe

    (SINTEF)

  • Vibeke S. Norstebø

    (SINTEF
    SINTEF)

  • Fabian R. Aponte

    (SINTEF)

  • Moana S. Simas

    (SINTEF)

  • Tina Andersen

    (SINTEF)

  • Gerardo A. Perez-Valdes

    (SINTEF)

Abstract

A more circular economy aims to reduce global material consumption, make the most out of our resources, and create a more sustainable economic system. In this paper, we analyze how different circular economy actions in Norway affect indicators in the three pillars of sustainable development: economic prosperity (measured by value added), social equity (measured by employment opportunities), and environmental protection (measured by greenhouse gas emissions). Based on priorities of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and characteristics of the Norwegian economy, we have selected five value chains for analysis: electronics; textiles; construction and building; packaging and plastics; and metal efficiency. The results show that there is a substantial potential for increased value added and employment in Norway related to the circular transition, while at the same time mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. For increased material efficiency (plastic packaging, metals), employment gains can be substantial, while imports of metals and plastics decrease, resulting in lower upstream emissions, but higher Norwegian emissions. For consumer goods (textiles, electronics), the positive effects come about from shifting from a buy-and-discard model to a buy-repair/share/use longer model, resulting in increased employment in Norway and decreased imports, which potentially leads to lower emissions, but also lower employment globally. For re-use/re-purpose and recycling of building materials, emission-intense material extraction and processing activities are replaced by more labour intense activities, but has the largest potential of decreasing emissions within Norway.

Suggested Citation

  • Kirsten S. Wiebe & Vibeke S. Norstebø & Fabian R. Aponte & Moana S. Simas & Tina Andersen & Gerardo A. Perez-Valdes, 2023. "Circular Economy and the triple bottom line in Norway," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-33, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:circec:v:3:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s43615-021-00138-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s43615-021-00138-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43615-021-00138-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s43615-021-00138-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Consoli, Davide & Marin, Giovanni & Marzucchi, Alberto & Vona, Francesco, 2016. "Do green jobs differ from non-green jobs in terms of skills and human capital?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1046-1060.
    2. A. D. Basiago, 1998. "Economic, social, and environmental sustainability in development theory and urban planning practice," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 145-161, June.
    3. Distelkamp, Martin & Meyer, Mark, 2019. "Pathways to a Resource-Efficient and Low-Carbon Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 88-104.
    4. Robert B. Gibson, 2006. "Beyond The Pillars: Sustainability Assessment As A Framework For Effective Integration Of Social, Economic And Ecological Considerations In Significant Decision-Making," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 8(03), pages 259-280.
    5. Norihiko Yamano & Colin Webb, 2018. "Future Development of the Inter†Country Input†Output (ICIO) Database for Global Value Chain (GVC) and Environmental Analyses," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(3), pages 487-488, June.
    6. Peter Klimek & Sebastian Poledna & Stefan Thurner, 2019. "Quantifying economic resilience from input–output susceptibility to improve predictions of economic growth and recovery," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.
    7. Angela Neves & Radu Godina & Susana G. Azevedo & Carina Pimentel & João C.O. Matias, 2019. "The Potential of Industrial Symbiosis: Case Analysis and Main Drivers and Barriers to Its Implementation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-68, December.
    8. repec:ilo:ilowps:464283 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Andrew McCarthy & Rob Dellink & Ruben Bibas, 2018. "The Macroeconomics of the Circular Economy Transition: A Critical Review of Modelling Approaches," OECD Environment Working Papers 130, OECD Publishing.
    10. Rizos, Vasileios & Tuokko, Katja & Behrens, Arno, 2017. "The Circular Economy: A review of definitions, processes and impacts," CEPS Papers 12440, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    11. Patrick Schroeder & Kartika Anggraeni & Uwe Weber, 2019. "The Relevance of Circular Economy Practices to the Sustainable Development Goals," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 77-95, February.
    12. Wiedmann, Thomas & Wilting, Harry C. & Lenzen, Manfred & Lutter, Stephan & Palm, Viveka, 2011. "Quo Vadis MRIO? Methodological, data and institutional requirements for multi-region input-output analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 1937-1945, September.
    13. Alan Murray & Keith Skene & Kathryn Haynes, 2017. "The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Concept and Application in a Global Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 369-380, February.
    14. Andrea Cecchin & Roberta Salomone & Pauline Deutz & Andrea Raggi & Laura Cutaia, 2021. "What Is in a Name? The Rising Star of the Circular Economy as a Resource-Related Concept for Sustainable Development," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 83-97, June.
    15. Yvan Guillemette & David Turner, 2018. "The Long View: Scenarios for the World Economy to 2060," OECD Economic Policy Papers 22, OECD Publishing.
    16. Chitnis, Mona & Sorrell, Steve & Druckman, Angela & Firth, Steven K. & Jackson, Tim, 2014. "Who rebounds most? Estimating direct and indirect rebound effects for different UK socioeconomic groups," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 12-32.
    17. Peter Klimek & Sebastian Poledna & Stefan Thurner, 2019. "Economic resilience from input-output susceptibility improves predictions of economic growth and recovery," Papers 1903.03203, arXiv.org.
    18. Andrew D. Basiago, 1995. "Methods of defining 'sustainability'," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 3(3), pages 109-119.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Laura Montag, 2023. "Circular Economy and Supply Chains: Definitions, Conceptualizations, and Research Agenda of the Circular Supply Chain Framework," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 35-75, March.
    2. OCOLIȘANU Andreea & DOBROTĂ Gabriela & AGÂRBICEANU Marcela Simona, 2022. "The Implications Of The Circular Economy On Sustainable Economic Growth," Management of Sustainable Development, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 14(1), pages 16-21, June.
    3. Durán-Romero, Gemma & López, Ana M. & Beliaeva, Tatiana & Ferasso, Marcos & Garonne, Christophe & Jones, Paul, 2020. "Bridging the gap between circular economy and climate change mitigation policies through eco-innovations and Quintuple Helix Model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    4. Benedetta Cotta, 0. "What goes around, comes around? Access and allocation problems in Global North–South waste trade," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    5. Carmen Ruiz-Puente & Daniel Jato-Espino, 2020. "Systemic Analysis of the Contributions of Co-Located Industrial Symbiosis to Achieve Sustainable Development in an Industrial Park in Northern Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-28, July.
    6. Andrea Cecchin & Roberta Salomone & Pauline Deutz & Andrea Raggi & Laura Cutaia, 2021. "What Is in a Name? The Rising Star of the Circular Economy as a Resource-Related Concept for Sustainable Development," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 83-97, June.
    7. Chembessi Chedrak & Gohoungodji Paulin & Juste Rajaonson, 2023. "“A fine wine, better with age”: Circular economy historical roots and influential publications: A bibliometric analysis using Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS)," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(6), pages 1593-1612, December.
    8. Yasanur Kayikci & Yigit Kazancoglu & Nazlican Gozacan‐Chase & Cisem Lafci, 2022. "Analyzing the drivers of smart sustainable circular supply chain for sustainable development goals through stakeholder theory," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3335-3353, November.
    9. Gabi Försterling & Ronald Orth & Benjamin Gellert, 2023. "Transition to a Circular Economy in Europe through New Business Models: Barriers, Drivers, and Policy Making," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-40, May.
    10. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6m5kss847r91no96hiublu6anu is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Filippo Maria D’Arcangelo & Ilai Levin & Alessia Pagani & Mauro Pisu & Åsa Johansson, 2022. "A framework to decarbonise the economy," OECD Economic Policy Papers 31, OECD Publishing.
    12. Benedetta Cotta, 2020. "What goes around, comes around? Access and allocation problems in Global North–South waste trade," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 255-269, June.
    13. Chhatwani, Malvika & Mishra, Sushanta Kumar & Varma, Arup & Rai, Himanshu, 2022. "Psychological resilience and business survival chances: A study of small firms in the USA during COVID-19," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 277-286.
    14. Luiz C. Terra dos Santos & Adrielle Frimaio & Biagio F. Giannetti & Feni Agostinho & Gengyuan Liu & Cecilia M. V. B. Almeida, 2023. "Integrating Environmental, Social, and Economic Dimensions to Monitor Sustainability in the G20 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.
    15. Patrizia Ghisellini & Ivana Quinto & Renato Passaro & Sergio Ulgiati, 2024. "Exploring environmental and social performances of circular start‐ups: An orientation and certification assessment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3222-3241, May.
    16. Mathivathanan, Deepak & Mathiyazhagan, K. & Khorana, Sangeeta & Rana, Nripendra P. & Arora, Bimal, 2022. "Drivers of circular economy for small and medium enterprises: Case study on the Indian state of Tamil Nadu," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 997-1015.
    17. Yamoah, Fred A. & Sivarajah, Uthayasankar & Mahroof, Kamran & Peña, Iker González, 2022. "Demystifying corporate inertia towards transition to circular economy: A management frame of reference," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    18. Katelin Opferkuch & Anna M. Walker & Erik Roos Lindgreen & Sandra Caeiro & Roberta Salomone & Tomás B. Ramos, 2023. "Towards a framework for corporate disclosure of circular economy: Company perspectives and recommendations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2457-2474, September.
    19. Fessina, Massimiliano & Zaccaria, Andrea & Cimini, Giulio & Squartini, Tiziano, 2024. "Pattern-detection in the global automotive industry: A manufacturer-supplier-product network analysis," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    20. Hale Çetinay & Franco Donati & Reinout Heijungs & Benjamin Sprecher, 2020. "Efficient computation of environmentally extended input–output scenario and circular economy modeling," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(5), pages 976-985, October.
    21. E. Sardianou & V. Nikou & K. Evangelinos & I. Nikolaou, 2024. "What are the key dimensions that CE emphasizes on? A systematic analysis of circular economy definitions," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 547-562, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:circec:v:3:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s43615-021-00138-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.