This study proposes a system of sustainability indicators to support the management of small municipalities. We rely on the Sustainable Cities Program indicators, but we argue that these measures must be appropriate for these types of municipalities to help them be more sustainable. Thus, we carried out a selection of indicators using a four-stage methodology. First, the Delphi technique was applied in two rounds of validation with specialists. Then, in the second phase, 64 indicators were evaluated by 19 mayors of cities in southern Brazil. The subset of sustainability indicators generated is called Sustainability Indicators for Small Municipalities. It has six guiding axes, namely: nature and social well-being, sustainable public management, historical and cultural management, sustainability education, new savings for sustainability, and urban planning and accessibility. Third, we use the fuzzy expert system to determine a decision tree and, consequently, create a general index for a pilot municipality. The generated index corresponds to 7.19, which demonstrates that the pilot municipality falls into an intermediate level of sustainability; this application in an example that the sample was the last (fourth) step. Therefore, this study generates insights to: (a) promote sustainability by contemplating its multidimensionality; (b) promotion of local development and quality of life for the population based on sustainability indicators; (c) development of a management method to measure sustainability performance, considering the specificities of small municipalities; and (d) sustainability parameters that are measured and allow the establishment of indicators to improve the performance of public management, aiming at local sustainable development.

The aim of this study is to systematize the main findings of 38 previous systematic literature reviews (SLRs) in circular economy. From this previous mapping, we outline main themes and limitations in the SLRs analysed, then we synthesize the findings of previous SLR to identify mega-trends in CE reserach. Finally, we propose avenues for future circular economy research. Our analysis indicates three main types of limitations of SLR in CE: The first are shortcomings in the SLR methods, the second is the low maturity of CE research and the third the limited dissemination of CE practices. These limitations coalesce to constrain the empirical and theoretical relevance of knowledge accumulated. A main contribution of our meta-analysis is to identify a paucity of accumulated knowledge in critical areas needed for theory building, such as conceptual clarity, limited identification of antecedents, mediators and moderators and opaque understanding of boundary conditions. We conclude that more rigorous empirical research is needed to further build knowledge and generate CE-specific theory. Finally, 7 main areas for further research are proposed, indicating potential theoretical lenses when appropriate.

Based on the theoretical framework of sustainability tensions, this study aims to analyse how the different stakeholders understand the tragedy that occurred with the Brumadinho Dam in Brazil and its emerging tensions. This tragedy is considered the largest work tragedy to occur in Brazil and one of the largest in the global context. The study was developed from interviews and media documents, that is, secondary data. The results show that the tensions that emerged can be codified into environmental, social, economic, cultural, and institutional groupings. The tragedy may be examined from multiple perspectives, one of which is from the position of the actor involved in the enterprise of the collapsed tailings dam structure. Each actor defends his principles, values, and rights. It is a fact that the lives of the people affected and those who died are not recoverable. Environmental damage can be minimized through long-term mitigation measures, but social, demographic, historical, and cultural damage is irrecoverable. Thus, the study offers the following contributions: (i) the tragedy has different interpretations by the different stakeholders; (ii) paradoxical tensions impact differently on the lives of those affected; (iii) trade-offs from tragedy need to be managed; (iv) Brazil urgently needs to learn relevant lessons arising from the tragedies experienced and described in our article. Therefore, an immense and complex challenge that is on the agenda at that moment in Brazil is ripe for analysis.