Search Results (11)

This paper introduces flourishing circularity as a transformative approach to resource assessment that transcends both traditional Resource-Based View (RBV) theory and conventional circular economy concepts. We demonstrate RBV’s fundamental limitations in addressing the polycrisis of breached planetary boundaries and social inequities. Similarly, while the circular economy focuses on resource reuse and recycling, it often merely delays environmental degradation rather than reversing it. Flourishing circularity addresses these shortcomings by reconceptualizing natural and social capital not as externalities but as foundational sources of all value creation. We develop a comprehensive framework for assessing resources within an open systems perspective, where competitive advantage increasingly derives from a firm’s ability to regenerate the systems upon which all business depends. The paper introduces novel assessment tools that capture the dynamic interplay between organizational activities and coevolving social and ecological systems. We outline the core competencies required for flourishing circularity: regenerative approaches to social and natural capital, and systems thinking with cross-boundary collaboration capabilities. These competencies translate into competitive advantage as stakeholders increasingly favor organizations that enhance system health. The framework provides practical guidance for transforming resource assessment from extraction to regeneration, enabling business models that create value through system enhancement rather than depletion. Full article

The current study seeks to explore the underexamined or potentially under-researched social dimensions of circular economy (CE) in the context of buildings. Utilising a meta-synthesis approach, this paper builds on the two primary theoretical frameworks in the well-being literature: the eudaimonic and hedonic perspectives. The analysis of the selected articles reveals that these frameworks foster distinct modes of interaction and perception concerning one’s environment. A consensus is evident among the studies reviewed, advocating for integrating both eudaimonic and hedonic elements to achieve optimal well-being and happiness. Moreover, some scholars argue that for the attainment of sustainability goals and, by extension, CE objectives, the eudaimonic approach to well-being should be emphasised over the currently predominant hedonic inclinations. The research also attempts to open a discourse between the sometimes rather comprehensive, holistic, and hard-to-quantify dimensions of human well-being and the more logical, measurable, and tangible results-oriented approach towards the built environment. This investigation illustrates how well-designed building elements, aligned with CE principles, can play a pivotal role in fostering both environmental sustainability and human flourishing in the built environment. Full article

The genus Vaccinium, which includes approximately 450 species, features economically significant berries such as bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) and blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum). Bilberries flourish in acidic, well-drained soils, typically found in heathlands and coniferous forests, while blueberries benefit from a broader range of soil types and intensive agricultural practices. Sustainable cultivation strategies, including organic fertilization and efficient water management, are vital for optimizing production and addressing the environmental challenges posed by climate change. Both berries are rich in antioxidants and other nutrients, driving consumer interest and market growth despite competition from alternative crops. Additionally, tailored fertilization techniques are crucial for maximizing yield and fruit quality. By implementing circular economy principles, the production of bilberries and blueberries can enhance sustainability and profitability, ensuring their long-term success in agricultural systems. Full article

Miniaturization promotes the efficiency and exploration domain in scientific fields such as computer science, engineering, medicine, and biotechnology. In particular, the field of microfluidics is a flourishing technology, which deals with the manipulation of small volumes of liquid. Dispersed droplets or bubbles in a second immiscible liquid are of great interest for screening applications or chemical and biochemical reactions. However, since very small dimensions are characterized by phenomena that differ from those at macroscopic scales, a deep understanding of physics is crucial for effective device design. Due to small volumes in miniaturized systems, common measurement techniques are not applicable as they exceed the dimensions of the device by a multitude. Hence, image analysis is commonly chosen as a method to understand ongoing phenomena. Artificial Intelligence is now the state of the art for recognizing patterns in images or analyzing datasets that are too large for humans to handle. X-ray-based Computer Tomography adds a third dimension to images, which results in more information, but ultimately, also in more complex image analysis. In this work, we present the application of the U-Net neural network to extract certain states during droplet formation in a capillary, which forms a constantly repeated process that is captured on tens of thousands of CT images. The experimental setup features a co-flow setup that is based on 3D-printed capillaries with two different cross-sections with an inner diameter, respectively edge length of 1.6 mm. For droplet formation, water was dispersed in silicon oil. The classification into different droplet states allows for 3D reconstruction and a time-resolved 3D analysis of the present phenomena. The original U-Net was modified to process input images of a size of 688 × 432 pixels while the structure of the encoder and decoder path feature 23 convolutional layers. The U-Net consists of four max pooling layers and four upsampling layers. The training was performed on 90% and validated on 10% of a dataset containing 492 images showing different states of droplet formation. A mean Intersection over Union of 0.732 was achieved for a training of 50 epochs, which is considered a good performance. The presented U-Net needs 120 ms per image to process 60,000 images to categorize emerging droplets into 24 states at 905 angles. Once the model is trained sufficiently, it provides accurate segmentation for various flow conditions. The selected images are used for 3D reconstruction enabling the 2D and 3D quantification of emerging droplets in capillaries that feature circular and square cross-sections. By applying this method, a temporal resolution of 25–40 ms was achieved. Droplets that are emerging in capillaries with a square cross-section become bigger under the same flow conditions in comparison to capillaries with a circular cross section. The presented methodology is promising for other periodic phenomena in different scientific disciplines that focus on imaging techniques. Full article

The last century has witnessed European commercial aviation flourishing at the cost of environmental degradation by boosting greenhouse gas and CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere. However, the outcry for net-zero emissions compels the sector’s supply chain to a minimum 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions below the 1990 level by 2030 and zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. This study examines a European environmental sustainability path toward a green commercial aviation supply chain. Driven by literature and a review of related documents, two propositions were advanced to orient perspectives on the relationship between pollution and the commercial aviation supply chain and actions being taken toward environmental sustainability. In semi-structured interviews, seventeen aerospace associates endorsed pollution sources in the commercial aviation supply chain during the four stages of the aircraft life cycle, including extracting the raw materials, manufacturing, ground and flight operations, and end-of-service. They recommended transitioning into green commercial aviation through the widespread deployment of innovative technologies, from modifying airframes to changing aviation fuel, utilizing alternative propulsion systems, adopting circular manufacturing, and improving air traffic management. Full article

Recycling bioresources is the only way to sustainably meet a growing world population’s food and energy needs. One of the ways to do so is by using agro-industry wastewater to cultivate microalgae. While the industrial production of microalgae requires large volumes of water, existing agro-industry processes generate large volumes of wastewater with eutrophicating nutrients and organic carbon that must be removed before recycling the water back into the environment. Coupling these two processes can benefit the flourishing microalgal industry, which requires water, and the agro-industry, which could gain extra revenue by converting a waste stream into a bioproduct. Microalgal biomass can be used to produce energy, nutritional biomass, and specialty products. However, there are challenges to establishing stable and circular processes, from microalgae selection and adaptation to pretreating and reclaiming energy from residues. This review discusses the potential of agro-industry residues for microalgal production, with a particular interest in the composition and the use of important primary (raw) and secondary (digestate) effluents generated in large volumes: sugarcane vinasse, palm oil mill effluent, cassava processing waster, abattoir wastewater, dairy processing wastewater, and aquaculture wastewater. It also overviews recent examples of microalgae production in residues and aspects of process integration and possible products, avoiding xenobiotics and heavy metal recycling. As virtually all agro-industries have boilers emitting CO₂ that microalgae can use, and many industries could benefit from anaerobic digestion to reclaim energy from the effluents before microalgal cultivation, the use of gaseous effluents is also discussed in the text. Full article

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have the ambitious goal of protecting the planet, eradicating poverty and providing peace and prosperity for all citizens. The challenge is certainly very ambitious and it is necessary to monitor progress toward these SDGs over time. This work is based on the multi-criteria decision analysis and aims to build a framework that can be replicated. A necessary condition for this aim is that the data are available and that they are as recent as possible. This work is based on 28 targets with data mainly from 2019 to 2020 and related to Italian regions. The results show that Trentino Alto Adige and Valle d’Aosta have the best performance and, in general, the northern territory has several realities that perform positively toward the SDGs. Important results are also present at the level of central Italy (in particular Marche and Toscana), while at the southern level the situation is not flourishing, with the sole exception of Abruzzo. The policy implications thus drive the need for targeted green investments for southern regions, projects that nationally promote the “green, bio and circular Made in Italy” brand that can enhance territorial distinctiveness, and the necessary collaboration among regions to be poles of excellence based on available resources and skills. Full article

Humanity is living through a crisis that sees our way of life exhausting the resources of the earth and ourselves. The fashion sector shows the negative impacts of conspicuous consumption on our socioenvironmental wellbeing. Despite citizens’ growing awareness of their responsibility within consumption cycles, they reveal concerns about their lack of understanding and the support required for them to become agents of responsible consumption. The Circular Economy flourishes as a conceptual approach to help society transition to a more sustainable existence. This paper explores how emerging creative technology and interaction design might support a shift in the role of citizens in the Circular Economy. We performed a design inquiry that investigated the moment of acquisition via configuration of products, storytelling, and multimodal interaction techniques for the creation of experiences that could catalyse citizen-consumers to become custodians of materials. We developed a retail-based concept tool—The Compositor Tool—with which we ran a user study to investigate new experiential ways that consumers can participate in materials’ circularity. The study highlighted how experience design and new interaction techniques can introduce circularity as part of consumer experience by forging deeper connections between people and products/materials and enabling consumers to have more creative and informative material engagement. Full article

Ongoing economic, social and environmental developments have forced the production system to undertake a profound transformation, shifting from a linear to a circular model. The transformation towards a circular economy poses significant challenges for established companies, in many cases requiring a strong modification of their current business models, start-ups and new ventures. Firms need to completely rethink their value proposition, modifying how the product or service is produced, delivered to the customers and disposed of. As a result, interest in business model innovation with a view to a circular system has increased significantly over the last five years, leading to a flourishing literature production. Although several literature reviews have been published on the topic of the circular business model, few of them include the innovation dimension. Moreover, the time horizon covered by the previous reviews extends to 2019 and in one case to 2020. Since 2020 saw a 135% increase in scientific production compared to the previous year, it is necessary to update the prior works, taking into account the new contributions. Our paper aims to bridge this gap by proposing a literature review based on keywords analysis. In this way, it is possible to analyze the issues addressed in the circular business model innovation (CMBI) by categorizing them as core, emerging/phantom, trendy or intermittent. This analysis is particularly suitable for identifying future research directions as signaled by the emerging themes. Full article

The aim of this theoretical research is to analyze the state of retail distribution nowadays, reviewing the dynamics of action that contribute to the move from a linear to an incipient circular retail model. The framework is based on the Retail Wheel Spins Theory and the Retail Life Cycle (RLC), with an extra review of Bauman’s liquid metaphor. We consider two questions. Firstly, are offline retailers ready to disappear as online commerce and digital marketing aggressively break into the retail industry? Secondly, could commercial spaces (in the fifth stage in the evolution of retail and territory) be in the decline stage in the RLC in the near future or can a circular connection take place? Thus, a desk research methodology based on secondary documentary material and sources issued leads to an interpretive analysis that reveals ten trends (e.g., solid retail vs. liquid retail; glocal retail; food sovereignty) and a wide diversity of changes that could involve offline stores recovering territory and entering a circular phase. Our findings suggest that digitalized physical stores are flourishing and our reflections augur changes in pace and the closure of the linear business cycle to recover territory, the city, its local market, and its symbolism, as well as a liquid business steeped in omnichannel formats developing an incipient circular movement. Conclusions indicate that it is possible to perceive a timid change back to territory and retail spaces which, along with phygitalization, will coexist with the digital world. Full article

Product—service systems (PSSs) are often outlined as potential enablers of new business models for circular economy. However, not all business models based on product-service systems have superior circularity potential. This research demonstrates how the application of a previously developed business model configurator for circular economy can support the design and assessment of customer value, economic and resource decoupling potential for product-service system business models in practice. By applying action research in two Nordic manufacturing companies from the furniture sector, different business model concepts based on product-service systems were proposed and assessed. Results indicate positive uptake by companies regarding the usefulness of the obtained outcomes. This research identified two key findings about ‘product-service system business models for circular economy’: (i) their configuration should fulfil certain simultaneous conditions—i.e. superior customer value, economic growth, and resource decoupling potential—to contribute to circular economy; and (ii) they are often ‘niche solutions’, fulfilling specific needs and customer segments, and more likely to flourish with certain types/characteristic of products, segments or geographical locations. Lastly, a framework outlining the conditions and trade-offs for assessing the circularity potential of business models based on product-service systems is introduced as one of the key contributions. Full article