IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/gjofsm/v23y2022i2d10.1007_s40171-022-00300-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Theoretical Framework for Circular Processes and Circular Impacts Through a Comprehensive Review of Indicators

Author

Listed:
  • Cris Garcia-Saravia Ortiz-de-Montellano

    (Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus)

  • Yvonne Meer

    (Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus)

Abstract

Circular Economy (CE) is gaining traction among academics and stakeholders; however, there is no unified framework on how to assess it. This paper proposes a framework that is composed of two segments. The first segment includes circular processes based on the value retention stages of products and systems on different levels. The second segment comprises circular impacts measuring the goals of the CE concerning environmental performance, economic contribution, and social impact. There are eight clusters of circular processes: redesign, reduce, use and reuse, re-sell, refurbish and remanufacture, recycle, recover and recirculate. The review shows that there is a widely spread confusion and overlap between indicators for circular processes and circular impacts. A clear differentiation of each category can significantly improve the tools and methods through which to assess CE. This work aims to provide such differentiation and the foundation for the development of a systematic and standardised CE assessment framework. This review provides relevant guidance of circularity indicators to be used at the (re)design phase of products, materials and systems, as well as the environmental, social and economic considerations that circular strategies must have. Graphical Abstract

Suggested Citation

  • Cris Garcia-Saravia Ortiz-de-Montellano & Yvonne Meer, 2022. "A Theoretical Framework for Circular Processes and Circular Impacts Through a Comprehensive Review of Indicators," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 23(2), pages 291-314, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:gjofsm:v:23:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s40171-022-00300-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s40171-022-00300-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40171-022-00300-5
    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/s40171-022-00300-5?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. Céline CARRERE & Jaime MELO DE, 2009. "Non-Tariff Measures: What do we Know, What Should be Done?," Working Papers 200933, CERDI.
    2. Trevor Zink & Roland Geyer & Richard Startz, 2016. "A Market-Based Framework for Quantifying Displaced Production from Recycling or Reuse," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 20(4), pages 719-729, August.
    3. John R. Ehrenfeld, 1997. "The Importance of LCAs—Warts and All," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 1(2), pages 41-49, April.
    4. Jonathan M. Cullen, 2017. "Circular Economy: Theoretical Benchmark or Perpetual Motion Machine?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 483-486, June.
    5. Cristina Cauti?anu & Laura Asandului & Mioara Borza & Ciprian Turturean, 2018. "Quantitative Approach to Circular Economy in the OECD Countries," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 20(48), pages 262-262.
    6. Éléonore Lèbre & Glen Corder & Artem Golev, 2017. "The Role of the Mining Industry in a Circular Economy: A Framework for Resource Management at the Mine Site Level," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 662-672, June.
    7. Thomas Wastling & Fiona Charnley & Mariale Moreno, 2018. "Design for Circular Behaviour: Considering Users in a Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, May.
    8. Susana Garrido Azevedo & Radu Godina & João Carlos de Oliveira Matias, 2017. "Proposal of a Sustainable Circular Index for Manufacturing Companies," Resources, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-24, November.
    9. Ashish Dwivedi & Dindayal Agrawal & Ajay Jha & Massimo Gastaldi & Sanjoy Kumar Paul & Idiano D’Adamo, 2021. "Addressing the Challenges to Sustainable Initiatives in Value Chain Flexibility: Implications for Sustainable Development Goals," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 22(2), pages 179-197, December.
    10. Figge, Frank & Thorpe, Andrea Stevenson & Givry, Philippe & Canning, Louise & Franklin-Johnson, Elizabeth, 2018. "Longevity and Circularity as Indicators of Eco-Efficient Resource Use in the Circular Economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 297-306.
    11. Robert W. Palmatier & Mark B. Houston & John Hulland, 2018. "Review articles: purpose, process, and structure," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 1-5, January.
    12. Kirchherr, Julian & Reike, Denise & Hekkert, Marko, 2017. "Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 221-232.
    13. Georg Schiller & Karin Gruhler & Regine Ortlepp, 2017. "Continuous Material Flow Analysis Approach for Bulk Nonmetallic Mineral Building Materials Applied to the German Building Sector," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 673-688, June.
    14. repec:aud:audfin:v:20:y:2018:i:48:p:262 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Marcus Linder & Steven Sarasini & Patricia Loon, 2017. "A Metric for Quantifying Product-Level Circularity," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 545-558, June.
    16. Steven Kane Curtis & Matthias Lehner, 2019. "Defining the Sharing Economy for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-25, January.
    17. T. E. Graedel & Julian Allwood & Jean‐Pierre Birat & Matthias Buchert & Christian Hagelüken & Barbara K. Reck & Scott F. Sibley & Guido Sonnemann, 2011. "What Do We Know About Metal Recycling Rates?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 15(3), pages 355-366, June.
    18. Juana Camacho-Otero & Casper Boks & Ida Nilstad Pettersen, 2018. "Consumption in the Circular Economy: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-25, August.
    19. Joan Manuel F. Mendoza & Maria Sharmina & Alejandro Gallego-Schmid & Graeme Heyes & Adisa Azapagic, 2017. "Integrating Backcasting and Eco-Design for the Circular Economy: The BECE Framework," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 526-544, June.
    20. García-Barragán, Juan F. & Eyckmans, Johan & Rousseau, Sandra, 2019. "Defining and Measuring the Circular Economy: A Mathematical Approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 369-372.
    21. Florian Lüdeke‐Freund & Stefan Gold & Nancy M. P. Bocken, 2019. "A Review and Typology of Circular Economy Business Model Patterns," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 36-61, February.
    22. Appolloni, Andrea & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & D'Adamo, Idiano & Gastaldi, Massimo & Settembre-Blundo, Davide, 2022. "Green recovery in the mature manufacturing industry: The role of the green-circular premium and sustainability certification in innovative efforts," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    23. Govindan, Kannan & Soleimani, Hamed & Kannan, Devika, 2015. "Reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chain: A comprehensive review to explore the future," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 240(3), pages 603-626.
    24. Willi Haas & Fridolin Krausmann & Dominik Wiedenhofer & Markus Heinz, 2015. "How Circular is the Global Economy?: An Assessment of Material Flows, Waste Production, and Recycling in the European Union and the World in 2005," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 19(5), pages 765-777, October.
    25. 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.
    26. Benjamin T. Hazen & Diane A. Mollenkopf & Yacan Wang, 2017. "Remanufacturing for the Circular Economy: An Examination of Consumer Switching Behavior," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 451-464, May.
    27. Md. Rayhan Sarker & Md. Abdul Moktadir & Ernesto D. R. Santibanez-Gonzalez, 2021. "Social Sustainability Challenges Towards Flexible Supply Chain Management: Post-COVID-19 Perspective," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 22(2), pages 199-218, December.
    28. Di Maio, Francesco & Rem, Peter Carlo & Baldé, Kees & Polder, Michael, 2017. "Measuring resource efficiency and circular economy: A market value approach," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 163-171.
    29. Trevor Zink & Roland Geyer, 2017. "Circular Economy Rebound," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 593-602, June.
    30. Josip Marić & Marco Opazo-Basáez, 2019. "Green Servitization for Flexible and Sustainable Supply Chain Operations: A Review of Reverse Logistics Services in Manufacturing," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 20(1), pages 65-80, December.
    31. Davide Settembre-Blundo & Rocío González-Sánchez & Sonia Medina-Salgado & Fernando E. García-Muiña, 2021. "Flexibility and Resilience in Corporate Decision Making: A New Sustainability-Based Risk Management System in Uncertain Times," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 22(2), pages 107-132, December.
    32. Barbara V. Kasulaitis & Callie W. Babbitt & Andrew K. Krock, 2019. "Dematerialization and the Circular Economy: Comparing Strategies to Reduce Material Impacts of the Consumer Electronic Product Ecosystem," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 119-132, February.
    33. Marie Kampmann Eriksen & Anders Damgaard & Alessio Boldrin & Thomas Fruergaard Astrup, 2019. "Quality Assessment and Circularity Potential of Recovery Systems for Household Plastic Waste," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 156-168, February.
    34. Kirti Richa & Callie W. Babbitt & Gabrielle Gaustad, 2017. "Eco-Efficiency Analysis of a Lithium-Ion Battery Waste Hierarchy Inspired by Circular Economy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 715-730, June.
    35. Melanie Haupt & Carl Vadenbo & Stefanie Hellweg, 2017. "Do We Have the Right Performance Indicators for the Circular Economy?: Insight into the Swiss Waste Management System," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 615-627, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Iris Vural Gursel & Berien Elbersen & Koen P. H. Meesters & Myrna van Leeuwen, 2022. "Defining Circular Economy Principles for Biobased Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Idiano D’Adamo & Cinzia Daraio & Simone Di Leo & Léopold Simar, 2024. "A Flexible and Sustainable Analysis of Waste Efficiency at the European Level," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 25(4), pages 881-894, December.
    3. Dolores Gallardo-Vázquez & Sabina Scarpellini & Alfonso Aranda-Usón & Carlos Fernández-Bandera, 2024. "How does the circular economy achieve social change? Assessment in terms of sustainable development goals," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, December.
    4. Thanh Tiep Le & Abhishek Behl & Gary Graham, 2023. "The Role of Entrepreneurship in Successfully Achieving Circular Supply Chain Management," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 24(4), pages 537-561, December.
    5. M. K. Dhillon & P. M. Rafi-Ul-Shan & H. Amar & F. Sher & S. Ahmed, 2023. "Flexible Green Supply Chain Management in Emerging Economies: A Systematic Literature Review," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 24(1), pages 1-28, March.
    6. van Loon, Marloes P. & Vonk, Wytse J. & Hijbeek, Renske & van Ittersum, Martin K. & ten Berge, Hein F.M., 2023. "Circularity indicators and their relation with nutrient use efficiency in agriculture and food systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    7. Anna Schulte & Benjamin Kampmann & Christina Galafton, 2023. "Measuring the Circularity and Impact Reduction Potential of Post-Industrial and Post-Consumer Recycled Plastics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-26, August.

    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. Chhimwal, Madhukar & Agrawal, Saurabh & Kumar, Girish, 2023. "Markovian approach to evaluate circularity in supply chain of non ferrous metal industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    2. Caroline Samberger & Sanaz Imen & Katerina Messologitis & Arthur Umble & Joseph G. Jacangelo, 2024. "Assessing circularity of wastewater treatment systems: A critical review of indicators," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(2), pages 262-276, April.
    3. Anna Luthin & Marzia Traverso & Robert H. Crawford, 2024. "Circular life cycle sustainability assessment: An integrated framework," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(1), pages 41-58, February.
    4. 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.
    5. Andreea Loredana Bîrgovan & Elena Simina Lakatos & Andrea Szilagyi & Lucian Ionel Cioca & Roxana Lavinia Pacurariu & George Ciobanu & Elena Cristina Rada, 2022. "How Should We Measure? A Review of Circular Cities Indicators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-16, April.
    6. 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.
    7. Roxana Lavinia Pacurariu & Sorin Daniel Vatca & Elena Simina Lakatos & Laura Bacali & Mircea Vlad, 2021. "A Critical Review of EU Key Indicators for the Transition to the Circular Economy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-19, August.
    8. Christoph Helbig & Jonas Huether & Charlotte Joachimsthaler & Christian Lehmann & Simone Raatz & Andrea Thorenz & Martin Faulstich & Axel Tuma, 2022. "A terminology for downcycling," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(4), pages 1164-1174, August.
    9. Michael Saidani & Alissa Kendall & Bernard Yannou & Yann Leroy & François Cluzel, 2019. "Closing the loop on platinum from catalytic converters: Contributions from material flow analysis and circularity indicators," Post-Print hal-02094798, HAL.
    10. Sehrish Atif, 2023. "Mapping circular economy principles and servitisation approach in business model canvas: an integrated literature review," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.
    11. Ioannis E. Nikolaou & Nikoleta Jones & Alexandros Stefanakis, 2021. "Circular Economy and Sustainability: the Past, the Present and the Future Directions," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-20, June.
    12. Fenna Blomsma & Thomas Bauwens & Ilka Weissbrod & Julian Kirchherr, 2023. "The ‘need for speed’: Towards circular disruption—What it is, how to make it happen and how to know it's happening," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 1010-1031, March.
    13. Brunella Arru & Roberto Furesi & Pietro Pulina & Paola Sau & Fabio A. Madau, 2022. "The Circular Economy in the Agri-food system: A Performance Measurement of European Countries," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 24(2), pages 1-35.
    14. Arru, Brunella & Furesi, Roberto & Pulina, Pietro & Sau, Paola & Madau, Fabio A., 2022. "The Circular Economy in the Agri-food system: A Performance Measurement of European Countries," Economia agro-alimentare / Food Economy, Italian Society of Agri-food Economics/Società Italiana di Economia Agro-Alimentare (SIEA), vol. 24(2), September.
    15. Hervé Corvellec & Alison F. Stowell & Nils Johansson, 2022. "Critiques of the circular economy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(2), pages 421-432, April.
    16. Erik G. Hansen & Ferdinand Revellio, 2020. "Circular value creation architectures: Make, ally, buy, or laissez‐faire," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(6), pages 1250-1273, December.
    17. Jin Xijie & Gwang-Nam Rim & Chol-Ju An, 2023. "Some Methodological Issues in Assessing the Efforts for the Circular Economy by Region or Country," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, July.
    18. Animesh Ghosh & Prabha Bhola & Uthayasankar Sivarajah, 2022. "Emerging Associates of the Circular Economy: Analysing Interactions and Trends by a Mixed Methods Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-41, August.
    19. García-Barragán, Juan F. & Eyckmans, Johan & Rousseau, Sandra, 2019. "Defining and Measuring the Circular Economy: A Mathematical Approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 369-372.
    20. Daniel A. Salas & Paulina Criollo & Angel D. Ramirez, 2021. "The Role of Higher Education Institutions in the Implementation of Circular Economy in Latin America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, August.

    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:gjofsm:v:23:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s40171-022-00300-5. 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.