Circular Economy and the triple bottom line in Norway

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.

Effects of Circularity Interventions in the European Plastic Packaging Sector

“…Overall, we found more modest but positive effects on employment and small negative value added effects. We point, as other researchers, , to the role of consumption, or demand-side interventions, in driving potentially substantial emission savings. Nevertheless, we warn that savings by dematerialization and SUP substitution in packaging are dependent on reallocation effects and the impact of induced/avoided activities.…”

“…The present work used well-established indicators to measure these effects. Value added is a conventional indicator for representing economic impacts, as it represents the production-side calculation of GDP . Employment indicates socioeconomic effects; however, we do not detail changes in skill level and other social aspects.…”

“…Recently, studies showcased scenario tools based on EE-IO and their application to forward-looking assessments with a focus on energy/climate transitions and CE strategies . Examples include CE intervention scenarios in countries , and globally. , Cabernard et al provided a first global analysis of environmental and socioeconomic footprints of plastic production and use, including their evolution to 2030, but without CE implementation. Nevertheless, some major limitations of applying EE-IO to CE assessment persist: (1) the standard monetary framework does not fully represent actual physical transitions in the economy, (2) weak or missing EoL stages, and (3) low material/product and sector resolution.…”

Circular Economy and Banking Industry in the Digital Age: Case Study of Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad

“…It is important to emphasize that a circular economy is a valuable means for achieving sustainable development (Wiebe et al, 2022) through a more rational way of thinking, usage and allocation of all materials, resources, and components.…”

Circular entrepreneurial ecosystems: a Quintuple Helix Model approach

“…One such promising paradigm is the Circular Economy (CE), which has the potential to balance the triad of sustainability – economy, society, and environment (Elkington and Rowlands, 1999; Khan et al. , 2021; Wiebe et al. , 2022).…”