Theoretical Research on Circular Economy and Sustainability Trade-Offs and Synergies

Abstract

Circular economy (CE) and sustainability are interrelated, without being exchangeable. While sustainability tries to reconcile the management of productive resources with their increasing consumption, CE aims to make the productive process more efficient, reducing, reusing and recycling the results of the productive process as much as possible. The aim of this paper is to ascertain the systemic structure of interactions between sustainability and CE through the analysis of the existing literature from 2004 to 2021. For this purpose, a computational literature review and a content analysis of the main contributions of CE and sustainability, within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), were conducted. The results show that there is a positive impact of the synergy between CE strategies and certain SDGs. Specifically, the circular strategies that generate the greatest synergies have to do with preserving materials through recycling, downcycling, and the measurement of indicators or reference scenarios. This is what has led to the inclusion of these concepts in the formulation of policies and strategies, as their multidisciplinary nature allows them to have an impact on areas such as agriculture or innovation, which currently lack specific measures. Therefore, the knowledge derived from this study will contribute favorably to future decisions and actions to be considered, as there is still the potential to legislate in favor of an even more sustainable framework.

Viability of sustainable logistics practices enabling circular economy: A system dynamics approach

“…From the perspective of CE transition, the application of the SD simulation model has been growing recently (Guzzo et al, 2022). Morales et al (2021) analyzed the impact of circularity on viable supply chains based on bio‐based industrial symbiosis using the SD model. da Silva (2018) used the SD model to evaluate public policies for the CE.…”

Research Trends on Climate Change and Circular Economy from a Knowledge Mapping Perspective

“…A search equation also includes the use of Boolean operators such as OR and to facilitate and enable the correct selection of the documents of interest, the truncation symbol (*) to find words in both singular and plural and the proximity operator (" ") to search for an exact sentence. In this study, the search equation was defined according to the strategy called "interactive query formulation" [32,33]. Thereby, consecutive searches were carried out that were integrating keywords according to their frequency of occurrence and thus defining the set of the most relevant keywords (Figure S1).…”

Environmentally Sustainable Offset Prints Exposed to Thermal Aging and NO2

“…Geissdoerfer et al describe the differences in terms of the concepts of circular economy and sustainability, which contribute not only to the efficiency of application but also to certain limitations [18]. Morales et al investigated the systematic structure of the interaction between sustainability and the circular economy based on literature data in the period 2004-2021 [19]. Circular economy and sustainability are interrelated but not interchangeable.…”