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Purpose: This article determines the volume of greenhouse gases emitted by a range of industrial manufacturing sectors in order to give direction to public emission reduction programmes and increasing the impacts of the latter. Design/methodology/approach: To this end, it applies a classification of industrial manufacturing sectors based on their greenhouse gas emissions profiles. By making use of economic data on the consumption of energy sources and a conversion process, we obtain an estimation of greenhouse gas emissions, and consequently a profile of the direct/indirect emissions, concentration of emissions, total emissions and electrification level of each sector. Finally, this allowed us to segment the sectors into four groups. Findings: By grouping the sectors into four segments we reveal a series of group-specific characteristics, which serves as a basis for corresponding greenhouse gas reduction programmes. Special attention should be given to the segment that features a large amount of emissions concentrated in a relatively low number of firms and a low level of electrification, while making a disproportional use of public funds as compared to the volume of their emissions. Research limitations/implications: This research followed an aggregate (macro) approach, which limits the possibilities to interpret the results from a NACE level towards individual companies pertaining to a specific sector. This applies also to the use of average values for conversion factors. Take note also that some big emitter sectors, such as extractive industries and petroleum refining industries, are not included in the study. Practical implications: Public programmes should consider different approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions based on sectoral segmentation. General recommendations are proposed for each of the identified segments. Social implications: Improved public programmes can foster the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 12. Originality/value: The methodology proposed in this paper allows pointing out sectors where return on investments in greenhouse gas reduction would be highest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The circular economy is a key issue for any company, city, or institution. The linear economy model, based on "take, make, use and waste" of products and resources, has discarded potentially valuable resources and caused serious contamination problems. In contrast, the circular economy (CE) model is a strategic paradigm whose purpose is to regenerate and conserve resources through closed material loops and the sustainable use of energy in its processes. Therefore, a growing number of companies are applying different tools and techniques to implement the CE principles to innovate their products, services, and processes, achieving promising results. Thus, the main objective of this study is to suggest an implementation model named "Circular clock" based on a set of tools and techniques which firms may use for implementing CE. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents an empirical analysis based on the triangulation method that includes three different data sources: semi-structured interviews in Spain, academic literature and books, and non-academic publications from institutions and consultancy firms. Findings: The most relevant result of this study is the proposal of a Circular Clock model for circular economy implementation is based on six fields of action define in the academic literature: take, make, distribute, use, recover, and industrial symbiosis. Moreover, this study may serve as guidance in facilitating the strategic adoption of eco-innovation practices in firms' transition to a CE. Research limitations/implications: The sample of companies that participated in the triangulation is exploratory; however, this limitation is overcome by reviewing academic literature and institutional reports. On the other hand, academics could expand the selection of tools with subsequent studies. Practical implications: The current study is based on the triangulation method, which was vital to balance the theory and practice provided by academic sources, reports, and books. In addition, this study has improved our understanding of the goals or intentions that may motivate firms to implement the CE and align them with the suggested set of tools. Consequently, this study is relevant to support practitioners in selecting a tool based on the goal they want to achieve towards circular economy implementation. Social implications: This research suggests several tools; however, each organization could adapt some that it already knows. Therefore, firms and implementation leaders should customize the circle with short lines in each case. Moreover, the clock bells represent the deadline considering that every CE implementation process requires a deadline to ensure its success in micro-level or firms. Originality/value: The "circular clock" provides a didactic way for sustainability leaders, consultants, or companies to facilitate the implementation of the circular economy by choosing the field of action on which they want to focus and the most appropriate tool according to their strategy, objective, and budget. Therefore, this model is based on the balance between theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Circular economy (CE) principles have evolved in response to natural resource depletion as a set of guidelines for eliminating the linear take-use-dispose model of product consumption. The consequences of shifting from a linear to a circular supply chain are difficult to visualize in the long term. This study aims to design a methodology for building a simulation model to implement CE strategies in any small and medium-sized enterprise SME to prove policies before implementing them in the real world. This paper applied the methodology in a biological cycle case study: a confectionery factory in Mexico. Design/methodology/approach: This study evaluated service-dominant logic, ecosystem services, system dynamics, and agent-based modeling to design the proposed methodology. A series of interviews with stakeholders were performed to assess the simulation model during the development phase. The circular economy indicator prototype (CEIP) was used as a circular maturity measure of the confectionery factory. The simulator was executed in Netlogo software, implementing a four-scenario analysis based on two CE policies for the caramel recycling process. Five state variables were proposed in this analysis: confectionery waste, recycled glucose, recycling utilization, costs of recycled glucose, and profit. Findings: The CEIP score of the confectionery factory was 52%, rated as a "good" product. Regarding scenario analysis, the first scenario had the highest profit improvement. Practical implications: The simulator allowed stakeholders to understand the operation of the recycling process and visualize all variables involved in the system. Originality/value: In the CE literature, little attention has been paid to proposing a methodology for designing a simulation model to implement CE strategies in any industry. Thus, this study implements a nine-step methodology based on services context and dynamic simulation tools to design a platform to evaluate and visualize the consequences of CE strategies implementation in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The circular economy has multiple benefits and opportunities to achieve sustainability and a better future for the next generations. The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology that guides step-by-step any industrial SMEs in the transition from the linear to a circular model. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have a crucial role in the sustainable development transition, considering that they represent most of the world's companies. Design/methodology/approach: To develop this methodology, two research techniques were used: a focus group and storyboarding. Findings: The resulting methodology, called Ecopyme, comprises five steps: 1) Firm identity, 2) Diagnosis, 3) Planning, 4) Get the ball rolling, and 5) Assessment and feedback. In addition, two key criteria that must be included in the whole process were identified: value creation in the firm through a circular economy and organization commitment from the top management to the staff. Research limitations/implications: The Ecopyme methodology has two limitations: It does not propose either implementation tools or involve consumers and actors at the meso (e.g., eco-industrial parks) and macro (e.g., cities, provinces, countries) levels. Practical implications: This study will help policymakers understand the SMEs' perspective and remove barriers that may hinder the paradigm shift. The methodology is also a useful tool for consultants and entrepreneurs to incorporate the circular economy (CE) principles into their business. Originality/value: In the CE literature, little attention has been paid to proposing a structured methodology to implement CE in SMEs. Thus, the study provides a step-by-step methodology that guides any industrial SMEs to transition from linear to circular. Also, it provides additional evidence concerning the importance of human commitment in changing firms' paradigm because people can encourage the adoption of responsible production practices if firms commit CEOs, sustainability managers, and staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study describes an empirical study demonstrating the application of circular economy (CE) to respond to an urgent call to reduce plastic waste by utilizing waste from the furniture industry. Design/methodology/approach: this study employed the measurements of environmental impacts of plastic and wood-based toothbrushes using a life cycle assessment, complemented by an analysis of the wood substitution design process from a CE perspective. Findings: The findings from this study not only shed light on quantifying the benefits of product valorization improvement and retention but also provide a means of weighing the value against raw materials and production costs. Research limitations/implications: The developed model is still limited to the use of waste to replace existing product materials. This study also did not include other industrial waste such as agro-industrial waste or other degradable materials which may open up many chances for further studies. Practical implications: The study's primary contribution is a design rationale that assists the substitution of plastic material with wood waste, using toothbrushes as a case example of the substituted products. Social implications: This newly developed material can give potential income sources for the communities. Originality/value: The novelty of this study lies to the substitution model of non-degradable materials to a more environmentally friendly material which is studied thoroughly from functional analysis, design alternatives, and evaluation based on environmental, economic, and social aspects especially in case of personal care products (toothbrush). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The circular economy (CE) paradigm, traditionally based on the 3R (reuse, recycle, and remanufacture) principles, provides benefits for sustainability and represents a big opportunity for manufacturing enterprises to reduce costs and take economic advantages. This paper proposes an approach that can help stakeholders transition towards CE oriented business by evaluating the economic convenience of introducing a manual disassembly line to recover the components of End-of-Life (EoL) products in a traditional manufacturing system. Design/methodology/approach: The conceptual approach is generic and based on the characteristics of EoL products and on the reusability and recyclability features of every component. Then, based on the type of product and the disassembly sequence, the disassembly line is built in the virtual environment along the assembly line. The virtual environment must take into account the probabilistic parameters that characterise each real industrial context. Therefore, the assembly-disassembly lines are linked with the variables and economic functions needed to process the outputs of the approach application. Findings: Implemented in a virtual environment, the proposed approach evaluates a priori possible economic and environmental benefits coming from the integration of a disassembly line within a manufacturing context. The approach considers the variability of the EoL products’ status (their reusability and recyclability indices), provides the optimal number of operators that must be assigned to the manual disassembly line and determines the maximum reduction of the product cost that can be gained by introducing the disassembly line. Furthermore, an application example is provided to show the potential of the tool. Originality/value: Recently, the scientific literature has dealt with the issue related to the disassembly process of EoL products from several perspectives (e.g. disassembly line scheduling, planning, balancing, with and without the consideration of the quality of EoL products). However, to the best of our knowledge, no study provided an approach to evaluate the convenience of the investment in a disassembly line. Therefore, this document contributes to this research field by proposing a simple approach that supports the decision-making process of traditional manufacturing enterprises to evaluate a priori the economic return (i.e. how much the product cost decreases) and provide an estimate of the environmental benefits of integrating a manual disassembly line of EoL products with a traditional manufacturing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research analyzes the maturity of environmental management as well as the degree of to which the Circular Economy has been implemented in Basque SMEs. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 17 case studies were carried out in industrial SMEs companies in the Basque Country. Findings: The main results show that companies are limited to complying with the law and in many cases are worried about the image of the company, although they are not committed to environmental issues. There is still a lot to do in SMEs, as they are the companies that face the biggest challenges due to a lack of resources. Originality/value: Circular Economy aims to change a linear economy into promoting sustainability of the economy while also engaging in sustainable environmental protection. This research has focused on small and medium enterprises as they represent a 99% of companies in Europe and they are the ones that have the most difficulty reaching a stage of environmental excellence due to their limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]