PurposeThis paper highlights how biological waste materials can be used for generating the much needed energy and obtaining nutrient-rich compost for agriculture through anaerobic digestion (AD). The paper further highlights the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in using AD for converting waste to energy (WTE), leading to many environmental benefits as well as clean energy generation. It would help to reduce pollution, water acidification and carbon emissions that eventually lead to climate change.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers undertook an in-depth study to highlight the role played by an SME in converting WTE and helping towards achieving circularity. An exploratory case-based approach was used to understand value leakage for an AD plant operating on WTE principles in the UK. The plant is still currently active, and it is located in the Midlands, England. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were undertaken with different stakeholders.FindingsThis paper reveals the importance of WTE and the significant role played by AD in converting food waste into useful matter. It reports further into the value leakage issue faced in the AD plants. It demonstrates the importance of technological innovation in SME to capture value leakages in a circular model. Most importantly, it demonstrates how SMEs gain competitive advantage and generate value proposition, while they aim for zero waste to landfill objective.Research limitations/implicationsThe research involves a case study based on an SME, operating on a circular business model. It will be worth investigating how other businesses could gain competitive advantage. For SMEs interested in AD for WTE, this paper introduces further technological innovation to the AD process to leverage further potential for reuse of waste liquid. Any SMEs entering WTE market ought to take into consideration such design implications.Practical implicationsThe paper reveals how the use of waste by SMEs would lead to many environmental benefits as well as clean energy generation. It would help to reduce pollution, water acidification and carbon emissions that eventually lead to climate change. It is useful for addressing the needs of waste food producers and is a cheap raw material for generating energy. The benefits to the public are that it reduces the need for landfill and increases recycling.Social implicationsThe WTE is an effective way of making use of last-stage waste.Originality/valueDespite SMEs being the powerhouse of the European economies, there is limited research investigating how circular economy (CE) could unlock their potential. Moreover, development of AD in the UK has lagged behind other EU countries. We highlight value leakages and argue how technological innovation should be used to close the value chain loop in the WTE production process. This paper, therefore, demonstrates the important role of an AD process, which involves decomposition of biodegradable materials. It shows that AD is an economically viable and environmentally friendly process of obtaining clean energy at low cost.

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Understanding product circularity as "three-dimensional" could anchor the Circular Economy to common principles while affording its followers flexibility about how to measure it in their specific sectors and disciplines and within their organization's means. Inspired by a heuristic developed for the urban planning profession to cope with the inherent conflicts of Sustainable Development, this article argues that measuring product-level circularity should consider ways to achieve (1) high material recirculation, (2) high utilization, and (3) high endurance in products and service offerings.Achieving all three dimensions ensures that material flowing through the economy is recovered from prior use phases, that it is used intensely, and that it retains its value in spite of exogenous changes. The article argues further that these three dimensions ought to be measured and reported separately rather than as a composite metric and that certain applications will have opportunities to improve circularity through certain dimensions better than others. The article also explains how researchers at RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden AB) are working with industry and government partners to measure the three dimensions and how diverse actors interested in the Circular Economy can use the three dimensions to take the first steps in their transition to circularity.

This article examines the relationship between circular economy and public procurement by regarding green procurement as an enabler for the transition from sustainable to circular public procurement. Considering the different green procurement uptakes under the common legal framework of the European Union, and particularly, the contrasting practice results of Spain and Sweden and the opposed legal configuration of their procurement Acts, a comparative law study of the exclusion of suppliers, awarding criteria and special conditions of performance’s Articles is conducted.

Road transport contributes to around one-fifth of the EU's total CO 2 emissions and is the only major sector in the EU where greenhouse gas emissions are still rising. Swedish road transport causes 30% of all emissions. Addressing transport emissions is therefore crucial for meeting the Paris Agreement commitments on climate change.The Swedish government aims to have a fossil-independent vehicle fleet by 2050; moreover, an emissions reduction target for the road transport sector of 80% (compared to 2010) by 2030 has been suggested. The government-initiated investigation 'Fossilfrihet på väg' sets out potential pathways, but a knowledge gap currently remains in regard to which path would be the most beneficial or least burdensome in terms of macroeconomic effects while still decarbonising the road transport sector.This paper contributes to fill that knowledge gap by applying a vehicle stock modelling framework and a demand-driven global econometric model (E3ME) and by evaluating different technology pathways for Sweden to meet the 2030 and 2050 government targets. The stock model has been adjusted to be consistent with 'Fossilfrihet på väg' and uses technology deployment and cost estimates to model the Swedish vehicle stock emissions in three technology-driven scenarios.The analysis shows that decarbonisation of transport can have positive impacts upon the Swedish economy, primarily through the replacement of imported fossil fuels with domestically produced electricity and biomass, while a further stimulus is provided by the construction of infrastructure to support electric vehicle recharging and fuel cell refuelling. Through quick action to encourage the deployment of new technologies and powertrains into the vehicle stock, plus policies aimed at promoting the domestic production of sustainable biomass, Sweden can maximise the potential gains from the decarbonisation process.