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Self-healing products sense and repair damage and should help to improve product circularity and safety. Such products are at an early stage in research and development. Existing models for product life extension in life cycle assessment (LCA) were not developed for self-healing products. It is timely and urgent therefore to develop a framework for life cycle assessment for self-healing products so that their environmental impact can be optimised early at the design stage. This paper presents a new framework for LCA, based on a restoration of a product's function, and thus linking self-healing to product life extension and user acceptance. The model used within this framework uses the probabilities of self-healing, failure and user acceptance at the end of each life to quantify a product's service life extension and consequential avoided or delayed new production. The model takes into consideration multiple healing cycles with varying healing efficiencies. A case study scenario of self-healing propeller blades of an unmanned air vehicle employed for site inspection was used to test the application of the framework. The paper shows the positive contribution of self-healing in reducing life cycle impact. Sensitivity analysis revealed a tipping point where the benefits of avoided emissions outweigh the embedded impacts of self-healing technology. This clearly shows the importance of the life cycle assessment framework to understand under which conditions the environmental gains of using self-healing products are maximised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of rapidly growing sustainability challenges, pressure is mounting on businesses to decouple production from virgin resources, reduce waste and phase-out pollution. The Circular Economy (CE) is important for addressing resource efficiency within the textiles sector. In a CE for textiles, clothes would be used more, made to be recycled, and made from safe and renewable inputs. Textiles-to-textiles (T-T) recycling is a key component of a circular textiles industry yet represents only 1 % of global textiles production. This paper sets out to answer how a closed-loop system for recycling post-consumer textiles (PCT) can be scaled. Whilst T-T recycling is a rapidly emerging industry, there is a lack of clarity on the enabling conditions needed to scale significantly throughout the value chain. By means of semi-structured interviews with practitioners participating in textiles CE activities, a holistic analysis of the barriers and enablers at all stages of the value chain has been conducted. The paper concludes with practical recommendations addressing each T-T supply chain actor. It makes an important contribution to understanding how actors in the circular value chain, policymakers and convening bodies can act in concert to successfully scale a system for collecting and recycling PCT. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Consumers are not well informed on how to perform product life extension behaviours. • Consumer education motivates consumers to perform product life extension behaviours. • Credible, actionable guidance motivates adoption of product life extension behaviours. • Diverse communication channels ensure wider groups of consumers can be educated. This paper investigates consumer education as an effective intervention for adoption of product life extension behaviours by consumers of domestic appliances in the UK. Product life extension behaviours, including maintenance and repair, keep electrical appliances in use for as long as possible, ultimately supporting a circular economy by slowing the flow of materials. The study aims to demonstrate the influence communication-based interventions can have on consumer behaviour. The study was carried out in three phases over a 3-month period with seven households in Southwark Borough in London, forming an in-depth understanding of daily routines involving domestic appliance interactions. The results of the study suggest that consumer adoption of product life extension behaviours can be influenced by education. The study proposes that industry addresses the intention-action gap with improved and targeted design and delivery of education that motivates and empowers consumers to perform product life extension behaviours on their domestic appliances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Requirements for safety, reliability and extended life-time has led to the development of new, self-healing materials. In contrast to the literature where "self-healing" is described as a material property, this paper proposes a new approach which deliberates the context of the product and it's restoration of function. Besides providing clarity on "self-healing" products, which is essential for product design or life cycle assessment (LCA), technology readiness level or maturity in transition towards true or autonomous self-healing is also explored, an evaluation that is necessary for enabling healed products to be accepted and certified in applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Scenario planning is used to engage experts and users in envisioning the future of FMCG within a circular economy context. • Five future scenarios to inform a vision for the future of the FMCG industry in circular economy are presented. • A new perspective is presented on how value is created for circular economy and the role of the consumer and IT within it. • Insights from the FMCG industry bridges a gap within the literature between the circular economy and consumer studies. Abstract The aim of the study is to envision, through an inductive scenario planning methodology, future scenarios of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry in the context of a circular economy (CE). The study uses an exploratory scenario planning, an inductive approach to engage FMCG industry organisations, CE experts, end-users, and academic stakeholders in exploring the future of FMCG within a CE context. Five future scenarios that can inform a vision for the future of the FMCG industry were developed: (1) Rinse and Reuse, (2) The Cycling of Pure Materials, (3) The Rise of the Circular Retailer, (4) A World Without Supermarkets and (5) Connected Living. The analysis and discussion of the scenarios consider how value is created within circular economy and the integral role that the consumer and the IT play within it. The study provides insights on how the FMCG sector might participate in the CE and in doing so provides a basis for further research in this area. Future areas for research are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emergent vision for industrial sustainability is moving beyond the circular economy into the possibility of "immortal" products. This requires development of methods to enable the reliable and scalable production of novel products and systems that possess the inherent ability to sense and repair damage enabling in service healing and immortality. In the literature, this is mostly described by the self-healing property of the materials (polymers, metals, composites, ceramics and bio and non-bio hybrid systems). Self-healing systems are generally classified according to material type and self-repairing autonomy. This paper presents a brief review of existing immortal products and current methods of assessment. The paper presents an amalgamation of published research in the form of new process windows for the selection of self-heling materials and systems. Another contribution is made by the development of new metrics for assessing self-healing capability, with a vision to produce healing metrics that incorporate technical performance, as well as social, environmental and economic impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The minimization of energy, waste, and emissions in operations are the foremost sustainability goals in industry. The shift from a linear product lifecycle to a circular one is required, along with increased energy efficiency and reduced resource use, to achieve these goals. This paper examines how the use of Re-Distributed Manufacturing (RdM) and a Product-Service System (PSS) approach, while leveraging the latest digital manufacturing technologies, enables the shift to this new economic model. A case study illustrates this new approach and relates it to the shoe manufacturing industry. The ShoeLab case study includes an outline of the business model options supporting this new approach to sustainable production highlighting the circularity that may be achieved in employing RdM and the latest digital manufacturing technologies in the form of 3-D printing. The research conducted indicates that using IDEF0 modelling could help to realize the full potential of RdM such as the manufacturing and transport of products involving less material, energy and waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturers are exploring the extent to which digital technology applications can support their sustainability efforts by helping to convert abstract sustainability goals, such as those of net-zero emissions and circular economy (CE), into feasible and practical actions, achievements, and ultimately, a sustainable competitive edge. This work adopts a resource-based view (RBV) to explore the potential role that digital technologies play in the cultivation of a manufacturing firm's competitive advantage, and the deployment of existing internal resources and core competencies to achieve net-zero manufacturing emissions and CE. Two questions are addressed: (1) What competitive advantage(s) may be derived from the integration of digital technologies to achieve net-zero manufacturing emissions, and (2) does adopting an RBV facilitate the development of meaningful (and novel) competitive advantage? Engaged scholarship is used to analyse and apply theory to an empirical, real-world dataset documenting the perspectives and experiences of 13 manufacturing firms. Applying the VRIO framework, 21 identified digital technology-based core competencies are categorised as forms of competitive advantage that may be possible for manufacturing firms pursuing net-zero emissions. Four scenarios of digital technology adoption pathways are proposed, differentiated by the degree of radical vs. incremental interests and options available to the firm. This study highlights the critical need for firms to incorporate intangible asset management and development, including the labour and supply chain relationships, as part of their digital transformation strategies. Further, we demonstrate the potential of RBV as a lens for evaluating the competitive advantage potential of corporate sustainability initiatives, and facilitating the development of related strategies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes how energy issues and education for sustainable development (ESD) are part of the agenda for two current European projects, CoDeS and SUSTAIN. The latter is mainly concerned with the development of inquiry-based primary and lower secondary science education while the former is a network that aims to learn more about collaborations within schools and communities that foster sustainable development. Even though the words 'sustainability' and 'global warming' are not mentioned in the 2014 key stage 3 (ages 11-14) science and geography National Curriculum in England, it is suggested that teaching the difficult concept of energy within the framework of sustainability will increase the engagement and curiosity of pupils and their motivation to study science using different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore six small-medium enterprises (SMEs) across multiple sectors and their approach towards circular economy (CE) adoption. Our study explores the 'how and why' of CE adoption for SMEs, comparing opportunities and challenges around chosen tools and methods. A multi-methodological approach uses interviews, facilitated workshops and tool demonstrations to examine SMEs across agri-food, clothing, carpet, manufacturing and mobility sectors. Making sense of CE adoption means SMEs are observed in the wider context of supply chains, customers, and government/non-government organizations. We find that with some adaptation, current management tools such as value mapping, life cycle assessment, modelling & simulation, and capability maturity can assist SMEs towards becoming more circular and sustainable. Our framework presents a phased transition of CE tool deployment that encourages SMEs to go beyond waste reduction, and connect with social and environmental contexts, capturing value through circular practice from emerging servicised markets, digital technologies, and regional collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK Government's Building Schools for the Future programme has provided schools with a unique opportunity to improve education for sustainable development substantially by giving pupils the chance to study within a real-life context. This article documents an engagement project in which experts in low-energy building design are facilitating numerous engagement events with schools across Leicester city. Engagement mechanisms and techniques used to communicate the science and engineering associated with the design and operation of low-energy schools are discussed. The results demonstrate an increase in pupils' knowledge and understanding of low-energy school design, which enables them to have detailed discussions with the designers and architects of their new schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]