Circular Economy Systems: Design, Use, and Innovation

A special issue of Systems (ISSN 2079-8954). This special issue belongs to the section "Systems Practice in Social Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2024) | Viewed by 7303

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Interests: system dynamics; circular economy; sharing economy; sustainability transition; innovation diffusion

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Guest Editor
School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
Interests: sustainability assessment and reporting; circular economy; business model innovation; sustainable development; business policy; business strategy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Management, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
Interests: sustainable development; megaprojects; sustainability accounting and reporting; universities; CSEAR
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Management, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
Interests: circular economy; energy; social accounting; sustainable infrastructure; environmental assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The paradigm of the circular economy has been under intense debate; as such, it aims at representing the most recent attempts to conceptualize the integration of economic activities and environmental wellbeing in a sustainable way. The interaction between the economy and the environment requires a focus on waste generated through resources processing, and therefore, the interlinkages between the economy and the environment would be circular rather than linear [1]. In this regard, with a particular focus on waste hierarchy, circular economy aims to close the supply chain loops as much as possible to facilitate the transition toward sustainability and reach a zero-waste environment [2].

This Special Issue invites contributions (original research articles, reviews, and communications) addressing circular economy systems, from design [3] to application [4], as well as the footprint they can have in various aspects of human lives in society [5,6]. For instance, the role of innovation in various aspects of circular systems [7] and also designing circularity measurement frameworks to evaluate the circularity of systems and products are among the topics of interest. Furthermore, studies based on the complexities inherent in most sociotechnical and socioenvironmental systems, adopting a multidisciplinary approach, applying systems thinking, and building causal-loop diagrams or system dynamics simulation models are strongly welcome.

Research areas and topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • System dynamics in circular systems;
  • Circularity metrics and related reporting practices;
  • Product–service systems and sharing economy platforms;
  • Waste management and waste-to-energy systems;
  • Circular business models and business model innovation in the circular economy;
  • Circularity in transportation systems;
  • Circular economy in agricultural systems;
  • Circular economy in smart cities;
  • Accounting and measurement of circularity impacts;
  • Artificially intelligent applications in the circular economy;
  • Circular economy in health systems;
  • Digital systems in the circular economy;
  • Closed-loop supply chains.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

References

  1. Pearce DW, Turner RK, Turner RK. Economics of natural resources and the environment. Johns Hopkins University Press; 1990.
  2. Ranjbari M, Saidani M, Shams Esfandabadi Z, Peng W, Lam SS, Aghbashlo M, et al. Two decades of research on waste management in the circular economy: Insights from bibliometric, text mining, and content analyses. J Clean Prod 2021;314:128009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128009.
  3. Thakker V, Bakshi BR. Toward sustainable circular economies: A computational framework for assessment and design. J Clean Prod 2021;295:126353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126353.
  4. Shevchenko T, Ranjbari M, Shams Esfandabadi Z, Danko Y, Bliumska-Danko K. Promising Developments in Bio-Based Products as Alternatives to Conventional Plastics to Enable Circular Economy in Ukraine. Recycling 2022;7:20. https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling7020020.
  5. Shams Esfandabadi Z, Ravina M, Diana M, Zanetti MC. Conceptualizing environmental effects of carsharing services: A system thinking approach. Sci Total Environ 2020;745:141169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141169.
  6. Ranjbari M, Shams Esfandabadi Z, Ferraris A, Quatraro F, Rehan M, Nizami A-S, et al. Biofuel supply chain management in the circular economy transition: An inclusive knowledge map of the field. Chemosphere 2022;296:133968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133968.
  7. Brown P, Bocken N, Balkenende R. Why Do Companies Pursue Collaborative Circular Oriented Innovation? Sustainability 2019;11:635. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030635.

Dr. Zahra Shams Esfandabadi
Dr. Simone Domenico Scagnelli
Dr. Laura Corazza
Dr. Dario Cottafava
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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25 pages, 3664 KiB  
Article
A Theory of Heterogeneous City Evolution with Heterogenous Agents
by Jaewon Jung
Systems 2023, 11(7), 360; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11070360 - 16 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1454
Abstract
This paper develops a new unified theoretical general equilibrium model in which the interactions between heterogeneous workers and firms influence heterogeneous city evolutions. Given the heterogeneous worker–firm–city framework, I study in depth the possible heterogenous city evolutions and the resulting implications on the [...] Read more.
This paper develops a new unified theoretical general equilibrium model in which the interactions between heterogeneous workers and firms influence heterogeneous city evolutions. Given the heterogeneous worker–firm–city framework, I study in depth the possible heterogenous city evolutions and the resulting implications on the labor market, as well as on overall productivity. In particular, it is shown that the same exogenous shocks may lead to completely different results depending on the relative dominance of the two countervailing effects of congestion and agglomeration. In an open economy setting, it is also shown that such relative dominance may affect the trading partner and generate the comovement of city evolution in each country. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Systems: Design, Use, and Innovation)
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24 pages, 1755 KiB  
Article
Using Social Network Analysis to Identify the Critical Factors Influencing Residents’ Green Consumption Behavior
by Changlu Zhang, Liqian Tang, Jian Zhang and Zongshui Wang
Systems 2023, 11(5), 254; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11050254 - 17 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2355
Abstract
Green consumption is an important tool to accelerate the circular economy and promote sustainable development. The identification of critical influencing factors for green consumption is the key to promoting green consumption behavior (GCB). Firstly, based on the joint framework of theory of planned [...] Read more.
Green consumption is an important tool to accelerate the circular economy and promote sustainable development. The identification of critical influencing factors for green consumption is the key to promoting green consumption behavior (GCB). Firstly, based on the joint framework of theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the attitude–behavior–context (ABC) theory, we summarized 32 influencing factors from six dimensions: consumer attitude, cognitive factors, sense of responsibility, economic factors, government regulation, and green product supply. Secondly, the Delphi method was used to modify and optimize the initial influencing factor index. Thirdly, we constructed a social network analysis (SNA) model of influencing factors to determine the causal relationships between each influencing factor. All factors were divided into driving factors and result factors via the calculation of degree centrality, and the critical influencing factors and influencing paths of residents’ GCB were ultimately determined. Finally, based on the empirical research results, corresponding countermeasures and suggestions were put forward. The results show that the top five critical influencing factors include green purchase intention, willingness to pay, risk perception, green product certification, publicity and education, green product price, and green attribute information. Among them, green product certification, publicity and education, and green product price are critical driving factors in GCB. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Systems: Design, Use, and Innovation)
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32 pages, 1768 KiB  
Article
Improving Acceptability of Cost Savings Allocation in Ridesharing Systems Based on Analysis of Proportional Methods
by Fu-Shiung Hsieh
Systems 2023, 11(4), 187; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11040187 - 6 Apr 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1634
Abstract
Due to its potential for cutting down energy consumption, sharing transport costs, and reducing negative impacts on the environment, ridesharing has been adopted as a viable model by many cities all over the world to achieve sustainability goals. Although there have been many [...] Read more.
Due to its potential for cutting down energy consumption, sharing transport costs, and reducing negative impacts on the environment, ridesharing has been adopted as a viable model by many cities all over the world to achieve sustainability goals. Although there have been many studies on ridesharing systems, most of these studies have focused on the optimization of performance directly linked to saving energy consumption costs or travel distance. The methods used to divide the cost savings among the ridesharing participants have been less explored. In practice, proportional methods are commonly used to allocate cost savings in ridesharing systems. However, the effectiveness of proportional methods has not been well studied. The goal of this paper is to study and compare three proportional cost savings allocation methods to provide a guideline for choosing an effective method based on an analysis of the properties and performance in terms of the number of acceptable rides and the number of ridesharing participants. The properties were verified by experimental results. This study showed that how cost savings are divided among ridesharing participants has a significant influence on participants’ willingness to adopt the ridesharing transport mode. The properties and experimental results provide a rule and principle that can be used by policy makers and service providers to move towards their sustainability goals by promoting ridesharing through adopting the right proportional cost savings allocation method in ridesharing systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy Systems: Design, Use, and Innovation)
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