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Product-service systems (PSS) have received attention as having the potential to meet customers' needs by combining products and services, decrease environmental impacts and provide business opportunities for industry. PSS have the potential to facilitate sustainable production and consumption and support a transition towards a circular economy (CE). The environmental sustainability is often highlighted as a driver for and a result of PSS. However, the social dimension and the shared value created by PSS have not yet achieved the same attention. In this paper, a framework for sustainable value propositions in PSS is developed with the aim to map and understand the potential sustainable value proposition based on the three core elements of PSS: product, service and system and by investigating the economic, environmental and social value proposition and the type of interaction required for each dimension. The framework thus provides insight into the enlargement of value, when focus shifts from product to service to system. The proposed framework is exemplified by a case study of school furniture and learning environments in Denmark, where the experiences highlight that an understanding of value proposition in a system perspective provides a broader recognition of value for multiple stakeholders. In a product perspective for school furniture, the sustainable value proposition entails price and investment; comfort and design; and narrowing resource loops. In a service perspective, the sustainable value proposition entails a focus on reducing total cost of ownership; service employment; and slowing resource loops. Lastly, a system perspective entails a sustainable value proposition of solutions to societal problems through innovative design and economic savings via rental agreements; better work environment and improved learning outcome; and closing resource loops. The type of interaction changes from transactional to partnerships when moving from a product to a system focus. • Sustainable value proposition in PSS is much broader than just product and service. • Sustainable system solutions entail a broader scope of stakeholders and relations. • More attention to the social dimension of the value proposition is needed. • Rethinking value proposition from table/chair to learning environment; a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental management systems (EMS) have been adopted by organizations to ensure the continuous improvement of environmental aspects. The latest revision of ISO14001 in 2015 provides opportunities to align and manage strategic initiatives in organizations, such as employing a lifecycle perspective, circular economy strategies, and stakeholder interactions that go beyond operational optimizations. To date, this is limited in Danish organizations, where the focus of EMS is on optimizing production processes (resource and energy savings). Simultaneously, Danish organizations are pursuing circular economy through new product designs, business models, etc., without having integrated these initiatives into their EMS. In this paper, the opportunities for integrating circular economy initiatives in EMS based on ISO14001:2015 are highlighted through a mixed-method, three-step research strategy: 1) mapping the status of ISO14001 in Danish companies through qualitative interviews and a national survey, 2) developing potential circular EMS policies and objectives, and 3) interviewing focus groups to explore the potential for circular economy initiatives in EMS. Based on a review of the ISO14001 standard, the potential for integrating and aligning with circular economy was established, and the focus group interviews enriched this potential. The focus group companies all work with EMS and circular economy; however, they have not yet integrated both. These companies can see the benefits of having a systematic and dynamic strategy towards circular economy, and they can see the benefits of broadening the scope of EMS. Expanding EMS to encompass circular principles requires a broader scope of the system to include products, services, business model designs, and partnerships. • The structure and content of ISO14001 can support integration of CE principles. • Current EMS practice in Denmark is focused on operational optimizations. • Integration of CE principles can broaden the scope of EMS towards products and system solutions. • Using EMS to manage CE can increase the strategic value of EMS. • EMS can support systematic CE in organizations and value chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public procurement is the acquisition of products and services needed for public organizations to fulfill their functional objectives. Public procurement can also be a tool to meet horizontal objectives such as environmental or social ones. In this paper, public procurement is highlighted as a tool for the transition to circular economy. However, circular public procurement cannot be confined to just a procurement department as it requires collaboration internally across departments and externally with partners in the supply chain. The current practices within public procurement are explored in the analyses of eight proactive Danish municipalities, with a focus on the development from green to circular public procurement. This research is based on practices and learning theory to understand what actually happens in an organization, in other words, how people work. The difference between practices and policies is noticeable in public procurement, as policies stipulate general guidelines, while the inclusion of green and circular aspects depend on the competences of each individual procurement department. Tools supporting this inclusion are at the center of successfully using public procurement to support environmental concerns, for example, through the application of ecolabels, while the lack of circular public procurement tools presents a barrier for further uptake. In several of the cases explored, green public procurement practices are driven by demand from end-users, while the rather fewer experiences with circular public procurement are project-based and driven by management. From the procurement departments' point of view, circular procurement is still perceived as "new and difficult," and the principles of circular procurement are vague. Also, circular public procurement requires competences that are not present in the procurement departments today, and therefore their understanding of circular procurement is restricted to a few well-known cases. • A practice perspective on GPP and CPP in Danish municipalities. • CPP practice rely on end-user demands for inclusion of environmental circular criteria. • CPP practice is focused on products and lacks a circular system perspective. • Lack of CPP capabilities in municipalities favors GPP practices. • CPP requires collaboration internally across functions and externally across value chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes 19 Danish companies that have chosen to discontinue their ISO14001 certification. We analyze the reasons for discontinuation, and how this decision influence the environmental practices in the companies. This provides insights into the barriers for ISO14001, but also the institutionalized practices that continue in the companies, when the certification is discontinued, as well as the practices that have not become institutionalized and thus discontinue along with the certification. The companies have been certified an average of 8 years. There are two main categories of companies that have chosen to discontinue their ISO14001 certification: the first category cover those that have chosen to substitute with another system; their environmental practices mostly continue, although only one company have chosen to work with continuous improvements after they discontinued their certification. The second category cover those that have chosen to not to have a system. For those companies, very few practices from the systematic approach is maintained, even though they have many years of experience with being certified. Several of the companies still consider environmental issues when doing large investments such as new machinery or buildings. The main argument for discontinuing ISO14001 rests on a cost-benefit consideration; the resources needed to maintain the certification are too big compared to the experienced benefits. The lack of benefits is mainly related to economic arguments, but the companies also explain that there is no focus on ISO14001 from neither costumers nor other environmental stakeholders. Also, they have not found sufficient organizational and environmental benefits to sustain the system. The companies have focused on production and resource-efficiency and have not included more strategic elements such as a lifecycle or product-oriented perspective. Strategic initiatives can be a solution for the companies that feel that they have harvested the low hanging fruits already and have not found strategic value in ISO14001. • The majority of companies choosing to discontinue ISO14001 are small companies. • Companies that discontinue ISO14001 have often build complex management systems. • Lacking resources for sustaining the system is the main reason for discontinuation. • The companies focus on cleaner production and do not use EMS as a strategic tool. • Most environmental practices discontinue along with the certification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circular economy is receiving increasing attention as having the potential to break with the current linear economy of unsustainable production and consumption. A circular economy promotes system innovations that aim to design out waste, increase resource-efficiency, and achieve a better balance between economy, environment and society. Ensuring a successful transition to a circular economy requires the ability to measure and report on progress. Currently, there are three levels of indicators for measuring circular economy: macro (global, national, regional, city), meso (industrial symbiosis, eco-industrial parks), and micro (single firm, product). A detailed understanding of how to measure and document progress towards a circular economy is lacking, especially on a micro level. This is a barrier for both producers who want to provide circular products and services, and for the consumers who want to know how to compare products. This paper helps to open the black box, not by developing a method for measurement, but by categorizing and assessing what is already being done. This paper reviews 30 indicators of a circular economy at the micro level, where the majority of indicators focused on recycling, end-of-life management or remanufacturing, while fewer indicators consider disassembly, lifetime extension, waste management, resource-efficiency or reuse, and the majority of the papers are published in the last few years. There is no commonly accepted way of measuring circular economy in general at the micro level, nor within the different circular economy principles of recycling, remanufacturing etc. As circular economy often is presented as a means to a sustainable development, the alignment between the three dimensions of sustainability and the reviewed indicators is analyzed, which showed that the majority of indicators focus on economic aspects, with environmental and especially social aspects included to a lesser extent. This biased approach to circular economy that favors economic aspects over environmental and social impacts can lead to sub-optimizations when companies apply circular economy and may lead to a narrower approach to sustainability than what has previously been the case. For future research it can be interesting to explore if the same bias exists on meso and macro level, but also to analyze how a more coherent approach can be standardized on micro level. • There is no common standard for how to measure micro level circularity. • 30 indicators for micro level CE are reviewed and analyzed. • The majority of micro level indicators focus on the outer circle of CE. • A limited number of indicators focus on the inner circles of CE. • Most indicators focus on economy with limited attention to environment and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to shed light on how organizations implement environmental objectives in ISO 14001 certified Environmental Management Systems (EMSs), an issue that has been overlooked in the literature. More specifically, the flexible nature of ISO 14001 to set environmental objectives, considering the role of their stakeholders, and the specific environmental aspects addressed in the environmental objectives are analyzed. The field work based on mixed methods combined 20 qualitative interviews with a survey to 277 Danish certified organizations. Findings show that the key stakeholders for EMSs - namely, employees and customers - are rarely involved to set the environmental objectives, as top managers in collaboration with environmental managers set them. Objectives within the areas of energy/climate, waste, and water consumption are the most common ones, while the least used ones deal with biodiversity, lifecycle assessments and design. Thus, the rather operational focus of the EMSs is highlighted. Implications for organizations, managers, and other stakeholders are discussed. • EMS in Danish organizations focus on operations and process optimization. • Customer demand is a key motivation for Danish organizations to implement EMS. • Environmental objectives focus on energy/climate change, waste & water consumption. • The least used environmental objectives concern external and product-related areas. • For EMS to remain relevant, environmental objectives should reflect new environmental trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]