A Decision Framework for Early-Stage Circularity Assessment in Sustainable Manufacturing Systems

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.

Purpose This paper aims to contribute to existing academic work and business practice by presenting original empirical findings and by providing insights into priority setting on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in organizations. From an academic viewpoint, it not only adds to previous work on the topic of SDG materiality (e.g. Van Tulder and Lucht, 2019) but also aims to contribute new insights into the steps that are crucial and influence the adoption of the SDGs in materiality assessments. It may also add to the literature by providing new knowledge on the strategic considerations that organizations may make and institutional dynamics that encourage organizations to implement the SDG materiality method. Design/methodology/approach By executing a national survey research in Belgium through a collaboration between academics of Antwerp Management School, Louvain School of Management (UCLouvain) and the University of Antwerp, and supported by Belgium’s Federal Institute of Sustainable Development, the authors have obtained several insights into the SDG landscape in Belgium for various types of organizations, including companies, governmental and nongovernmental organizations and educational institutions. This research builds further on a first national survey (SDG Barometer Belgium, 2018) on the adoption and implementation of the SDGs. However, an important aim of this research is to shift the emphasis to more prominent new elements, such as whether or not organizations use the SDGs in materiality assessments. While the main part of the data for this research were collected through an online questionnaire, document analyses were conducted based on the sustainability reports of BEL 20 companies, the benchmark stock market index of Euronext Brussels consisting of 20 companies traded at the Brussels Stock Exchange, and seven interviews were held to obtain additional insights. Findings A total of 386 organizations across sectors responded to the question “Does your organization perform a materiality analysis”, of which 210 organizations completed the question “Does your organization align the materiality analysis with the SDGs,”after an “exit route” based on a positive answer to the first question. When diving into the survey results, the authors see that no more than 12% of the 210 organizations performing a materiality analysis align their materiality analysis with the SDGs, while 14% indicate that they do not account for the SDGs at all in their materiality analyses. The results show that 41% of the organizations take into account the SDGs to a certain degree when performing their materiality analysis. Speculating on an explanation for these results, it may be the case that organizations do not yet think about coupling the SDGs to their materiality assessment, experience difficulties in practice or generally lack the knowledge for relating the SDGs to the sustainability topics that are relevant to them. This seems in line with other research (e.g. Van Tulder and Lucht, 2019), as the results of this study indicate that it seems to be difficult for organizations to relate the SDGs to the existing sustainability priorities or materiality analyses of companies. Originality/value The real contribution of this paper essentially lies in the description of the Janssen Pharmaceuticals case. The company recognized that today’s internally focused approach to goal setting is not enough to address global challenges. Hence, looking at what is needed externally from a global perspective, taking into account sustainability thresholds and setting ambitions accordingly, is needed to bridge the gap between current performance and required performance. From the Janssen Pharmaceuticals case, the authors learned that external stakeholders are an extremely useful source of information to address the required performance by using the SDG framework. For sure, SDG materiality analyses are still in an early phase of development and knowledge on how to conduct such an analysis may be lacking. Future efforts – or the lack thereof – may indicate whether or not companies consider such analyses as sufficiently relevant. Although the uptake of the SDGs is in progress, it remains to be seen which, if any, materiality method will eventually turn out as a new dominant way of defining material issues. The findings presented in this study hopefully serve as a basis for further investigation of the topic.

Ocean pollution, plastic pollution, loss of biodiversity and climate change is global problems that receive increasing attention and need to be addressed urgently. Policies such as the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals or the EU’s ‘Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy’ show the increasing need for a more responsible handling of materials, products, wastes and residues. Innovative companies react and seek practical solutions that contribute to the development of the bio-based and circular economy. International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) support the circular and bio-based economy by offering a certification that promotes an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable production. The ISCC certification system is used globally for the chemical industry, packaging, industrial applications as well as in the food, feed and bioenergy markets. It provides credible sustainability certification for all types of agricultural and forestry raw materials, waste and residues, non-bio renewables, recycled carbon materials and the respective supply chains and is a leading global certification scheme for the biobased and circular economy. The presentation will offer a deepen overview of the solutions provided by ISCC for credible certification for a sustainable bioeconomy and circular economy. ISCC certification ensures sustainability, certification, feedstock identity and correct on-product claims. Different options for the certification of the supply chains will be presented: physical segregation and mass balance. The applied methods to guarantee that supply chains are deforestation-free will be explained in detail.

PurposeThis study aims to examine the role of Pakistan’s banking industry in the transition toward a circular economy (CE) and the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a qualitative content analysis technique on 75 annual reports of 25 Pakistani banks. Data has been collected from websites and annual reports of concerned banks incorporating CE practices and SDGs in their annual reports. In addition, the data collected from the annual reports of concern sample is based on three dimensions of sustainable development (environmental, social and governance) along with the leading practices of CE to reduce, reuse, recycle, redesign, restructure, and recover.FindingsThe findings show that most firms have reported CE and SDGs. Also, the study explores the level and linkage of CE and SDGs practices among the sample firms.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides important insights for the regulators, policymakers, State Bank of Pakistan, commercial banks and stakeholders in Pakistan’s banking industry. It adds significant value to the CE and SDGs, especially in developing economies like Pakistan.Originality/valueThe study has explored and examined the ever-investigated dimensions of SDGs and CE in the banking industry of Pakistan.

In the next few years, the EU economy must go through a big change that will lead to a greener and more sustainable Europe. The goal is to use natural resources less, which will help protect biodiversity and cut down on waste, both of which are important parts of being sustainable. The EU Commission has been publishing reports, decisions and plans for the transition to a circular economy since 2015, with the primary aim of helping European countries to make the transition and accelerate progress. In 2020 the European Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan, and measuring the transition to a circular economy is part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under SDG 12, Sustainable Production and Consumption. All EU Member States now aim to monitor their progress towards the SDG targets. After 2017, the problem of measuring the circular economy has also seen a surge in the literature, with an increasing number of experts exploring the issue. The circular economy concept covers many sectors, so it is clear that it cannot be captured by a single indicator. However, each country measures this using different national indicators, depending on the country's weaknesses and what it considers important to measure. Today, the issue of the transition to a circular economy (CE) in the EU has gained momentum. In recent years, the shift towards a circular economy has become increasingly visible in EU Member States. In their statistical records, they try to provide indicators to show the extent of this change. In other words, EU countries are increasingly focusing on measuring their progress at a macro level. At the same time, Member States are using different approaches to measuring sustainable consumption and production, and thus different indicators to measure the circular economy, and the shift towards the circular economy has become more pronounced in both less developed and developed EU Member States. The difference between Member States in this respect lies in their different levels of development and the fact that they have their own strategies and indicators. All the indicators under SDG 12 on achieving sustainable consumption and production measure the achievement of this objective. The difference between countries is that the indicators against which the SDGs are measured are not uniform. The indicators and their corresponding values can be found in the statistical systems of the Member States. The following study brings together the relevant information and aims to provide a general picture of the similarities and differences in this area, and to divide the EU countries into two distinct clusters using the indicators of the circular economy.

As the demand for new drugs is rising, the pharmaceutical industry faces the quest of shortening development time, and thus, reducing the time to market. Environmental aspects typically still play a minor role within the early phase of process development. Nevertheless, it is highly promising to rethink, redesign, and optimize process strategies as early as possible in active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) process development, rather than later at the stage of already established processes. The study presented herein deals with a holistic life-cycle-based process optimization and intensification of a pharmaceutical production process targeting a low-volume, high-value API. Striving for process intensification by transfer from batch to continuous processing, as well as an alternative catalytic system, different process options are evaluated with regard to their environmental impact to identify bottlenecks and improvement potentials for further process development activities.

INOSIM Bio - new approaches for bioprocess simulation and optimization

The transfer of gas-liquid reactions from conventional batch processes into continuous operation using milli and micro reactors is claimed as an important step towards process intensification. Importantly, this transfer step should be realized in an early phase of process development, already, in order to minimize research efforts towards the undesired operation strategy. The main challenge of this approach, therefore, arises from lack of knowledge in the early stage of process development and the resulting system with high degrees of freedom. This contribution presents an approach to tackle this challenge by means of mathematical modelling and simulation for the aerobic oxidation of 9,10-dihydroanthracene (DHA) catalyzed by polyoxometalates (POMs) being used as example for gas-liquid reactions. The reaction was chosen as it provides sufficient complexity, since it consists of three consecutive oxidation steps of DHA and a parallel catalytic redox-cycle according to a Mars-van-Krevelen mechanism. It also provides the challenge of unknown reaction kinetics, which have been estimated in this contribution. The dimensionless balance equations for reactor modeling are derived and parametrized based on early stage experimental results obtained in batch operation mode. The discrimination between batch and continuous operation was performed by means of characteristic dimensionless numbers using the identical mathematical model for comparability reasons. The model was used to perform sensitivity studies with emphasis on the interplay between mass transfer characteristics and reaction kinetics for both the batch and continuous operation mode. The simulation results show that the performance of both operation modes mainly depend on the oxidation state of the POM catalyst, which is caused by the differences in oxygen availability. Therefore, results obtained in batch operation mode are prone to be masked by mass transfer issues, which affects catalyst and reactor development at the same time and may thus cause maldevelopments. With respect to process development it can thus be concluded that the transfer from batch to continuous operation together with mathematical modeling is important in an early phase, already, in order to detect limitations misleading the development. Finally, even simple models with roughly estimated parameters from preliminary experiments are shown to be sufficient in the early phase and can systematically be improved, in the subsequent phases.Graphical abstract

Systematic downstream process development for purification of baccatin III with key performance indicators

The use of two‐stage stochastic optimization for the support of the solution of process design problems in the early phase of process development where the different potential elements of the production process can only be described with significant uncertainty is discussed. The first stage variables are the design decisions which are fixed after the process has been built, while the second stage variables are the operational parameters which can be adapted to the realization of the uncertainties. The application of the approach to the design of a hydroformylation process in a thermomorphic solvent system is demonstrated. The proposed designs which are computed using the software framework FSOpt are analyzed and compared using different graphic representations which provide insight into what the most important design decisions are. Finally, the experience with the proposed formulation and solution techniques and point out where further advances are needed is reviewed. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 3404–3419, 2016

The selective control of the frictional behavior (tailored friction) in metal forming processes is of high importance with regard to technical and economic aspects. This applies especially for the sheet-bulk-metal forming process. Milling with intentionally invoked regenerative tool vibrations can be applied in order to generate structured surfaces with tailored friction properties on the forming tool. These structures affect the formation of lubrication pockets during the forming process which determine the local frictional properties exceedingly. The full potential of this emerging technology can, however, only be revealed if the heuristic and design-relevant knowledge is acquired and provided to the tool-designer already in the early phases of process development. One thing the tool-designer has to specify is the local frictional behavior on the tool surface. But, however, he does not know which milling parameters lead to the necessary surface structures because in most cases he has no expert knowledge in milling, tribology and forming tools. In this paper data mining is used to determine the frictional behavior based on these parameters. The potential of this method in the described context is revealed by the application on data derived from simulation results, both from milling simulations and contact simulations. The latter are performed by using a Halfspace model for rough surface contact. Both approaches for these simulations, the data mining process and the results are explained to the reader.

With progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) badly off track, international policymakers are scrambling for solutions that can both revitalize the current SDG agenda and drive more effective action on humanity’s big challenges in the future. The ‘circular economy’ offers clear potential in this area. This wide-ranging concept, which involves making economies less wasteful and less resource-intensive while contributing to human development and well-being, could hold the key to accelerating SDG delivery. A more formal role within the SDGs and any emerging post-2030 successor regime would also provide a catalyst for expansion of the circular economy itself. This paper explores how the circular economy could support each of the 17 SDGs, and argues for the concept to be put at the heart of emerging plans to drive sustainable development towards 2050. Doing so could help to foster resilient economies, reduce environmental impacts and ensure equitable resource distribution. The paper identifies five priorities for action: embedding principles of justice and inclusivity into the circular transition; increasing international policy coordination; reforming the financial architecture to ensure the circular economy gets the investment it needs; rewiring the global system of trade to make it easier to trade circular products and services; and developing common standards and metrics.

The article is concerned with studying the processes of forming strategies of agricultural enterprises in a circular economy. It is noted that the successful functioning of enterprises depends on the development and implementation of appropriate strategies. It is proved that when formulating a strategy by agricultural enterprises in the context of implementing the circular economy model, it is necessary to focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by introducing innovative methods and technologies that minimize the consumption of limited resources, stimulate their replacement with renewable ones, prevent losses and stimulate reuse and recycling. It is substantiated that the concept of circular economy in the agro-industrial complex corresponds to the basic principles of agriculture and has features that ensure its implementation. It is noted that only the introduction of digital innovations creates the conditions for the implementation of the circular economy concept in agriculture (due to the innovative component, a wide range of directions for the use of waste and secondary resources is provided, and the process of adaptation to natural, economic, environmental, social and sectoral features is carried out). Livestock waste (manure, dung, litter, etc.) can be used as a source of fertilizers for crop production and biogas production. At the same time, large quantities of livestock waste can be dangerous, pollute the environment, cause unpleasant odors, etc. Insufficiently developed technologies for processing manure and litter cause environmental, social and economic costs. All of this complicates the operations of livestock and poultry enterprises. The formation of a strategy by agricultural enterprises in a circular economy involves the use of innovative technologies for manure and litter processing, which should not only reliably disinfect them but also preserve their nutrients to the maximum extent possible. Increasing crop yields and preserving humus is achieved not only through fertilization. Soil cultivation technology also plays a significant role in this. The concept of a circular economy continues to evolve. The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals is achieved within the framework of general innovation processes taking place in the economy and society. Today, the introduction of innovations involves taking into account the social, economic and environmental needs of various economic actors. A promising area of research is the elaboration of a strategy for the development of a circular digital agricultural economy.

Governments, companies and citizens around the world consider necessary to adopt a new circular economy (CE) model that allows solving the planet’s environmental challenges and guaranteeing sustainable economic growth. Europe advocates this philosophy, but there is no widely accepted index to measure CE implementation at a macro level. This paper proposes a new index based on principal component analysis for European Union countries that use all information available without losing any information by the dimensionality reduction and consider objective weights based on the percentage of variance that each one retains. Moreover, we develop a disaggregated analysis considering the CE dimensions set out in the ‘CE monitoring framework’, allowing a more comprehensive analysis than when using a single indicator of CE implementation. This method is also used to build an index of the degree of achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) to see how they relate to the CE; the relationships between CE dimensions; and between SDGs. The results by geographical areas reveal a higher level of CE implementation in western European and EU-15 countries, with Luxembourg, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium alternately holding the top positions depending on the CE dimension considered. Therefore, the new European countries and the countries in the east must encourage measures to improve the implementation of the economy. In addition, there is a positive, strong and significant relationship with SDGs 8, 9 and 11, with both the overall CE implementation index and the disaggregated indices, and a negative one with 7 and 15.

The transition to a circular economy in the water sector is challenged by the lack of comprehensive tools to assess and compare the performance of innovative solutions across multiple sustainability dimensions. This study aims to develop a structured framework of indicators to support such assessments and guide the sector toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The framework was co-developed with stakeholders and encompasses technical, social, environmental, economic, and governance dimensions. It is organized into four hierarchical layers: dimensions, objectives, criteria, and indicators. Objectives were designed to be broadly applicable, while criteria and indicators were formulated to assess alignment with these objectives and capture the multifaceted nature of “water smartness.” The framework was tested and validated through workshops and structured engagement activities across six demonstration cases. Results from exploratory data analysis confirmed the framework’s relevance for decision-making, highlighting its capacity to compare alternatives under diverse scenarios and its alignment with the SDGs. Additionally, the testing process pointed out the differentiated responsibilities of involved stakeholders, offering practical insights for advancing full-scale implementation of circular economy models in the water sector. • An assessment framework is proposed to boost resource recovery in the water sector • The framework is built on the novel concept of symbiotic circular economy solution • Different objectives are targeted via selected indicators assessing water smartness • The framework content was co-developed and tested by partners of six real cases • The outcomes revealed that the framework can be useful at different maturity stages