Environmental principles for modern sustainable economic frameworks including the circular economy

Abstract

A set of newly defined environmental principles can advance the sustainability performance of economic frameworks such as industrial ecology, cradle-to-cradle, and the circular economy. Currently, the environmental sustainability of these frameworks is mainly derived from the application of efficiency principles such as waste reduction, or closing and narrowing production, and consumption loops. However, these same principles can bring, in some cases, unintended outcomes that are detrimental to the environment. Efficiency principles also fall short of environmental sustainability aspirations, doing little to contribute to addressing the causes of current global environmental crises. This paper examines 7 widely applicable principles aimed at explicit environmental sustainability: doing no harm to nature, minimising environmental damage, restoring/remediating environmental damage, net-positive impact, no net loss, maintaining the health of ecosystems, and continual environmental improvement. These principles could markedly improve efforts to actively pursue sustainability and foster new economic forms that address our current unsustainable trajectories.

Toward the circular economy into the olive oil supply chain: A case study analysis of a vertically integrated firm

“…The research sheds light on the regenerative potential of the explored circular pathway: the agronomic application of the digestate allows the recirculation of resources into the biosphere, both minimizing the leakages of nutrients and organic matter from the system and contributing to preserving and improving soil quality. The implementation of CE models into the agri-food sector should be thoroughly framed according to sustainable management schemes of the agri-environment, due to the close relationships with the natural ecosystems (Velasco-Muñoz et al, 2021;Morseletto, 2022). The case study analysis reveals that resolving problems related to resource management is the main stimulus in business model innovation, beyond other drivers already indicated by literature, such as environmental concerns, traditional olive mills' activities diversification, business opportunity, and circular thinking (Donner and Radić, 2021).…”

“…In addition, economic prosperity is upheld by the opportunity of creating new value chains by reusing, recycling, and cascading end-oflife resources. While conceptualizations of CE are increasingly emerging, potentially weak points of the CE, as those highlighted in recent works (Niero et al, 2021;Morseletto, 2022), point to unintended side effects on environmental sustainability.…”

Sometimes linear, sometimes circular: States of the economy and transitions to the future

“…CE solutions, as the one described and those currently existing in the economy, derive from the application of principles such as waste reduction, value retention, and narrowing and closing loops in production/consumption (i.e., using fewer resources and recycling them) (Morseletto, 2022). These principles can bring several benefits of economic, environmental and social nature.…”

“…Nonetheless, the CE is not a flawless paradigm and sometimes needs corrections to respect sustainability principles (see e.g., Sarkis et al, 2022;Morseletto, 2022). Some CE solutions are expensive, do not necessarily occur efficiently, have unclean production and high social costs (Kjaer et al, 2019;Gregson et al, 2015).…”

A Call for High-Quality Data to Foster a Decisive Transformation Towards a Circular Economy

“…From the scientific literature, we can learn that implementing a proper CE is not a means to an end: it needs to serve sustainability objectives like staying within a safe operating space for humanity and needs to be just and inclusive (e.g., Haas, 2022;Morseletto, 2022;Schroeder, 2020). For this to become real, certain priorities must be obeyed starting with narrowing and slowing flows prior to closing loops.…”