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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]

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]

This study introduces a novel typological framework for categorising Circular Economy Roadmaps (CERMs) across multiple governance levels, such as national, regional, and sectoral, responding to the fragmented landscape in current literature. Through a comprehensive review and analysis of 398 CE documents, combined with methodological approaches like natural language processing (NLP), topic modelling, and quantitative content analysis, patterns, prevalence, and priority areas in CERMs are expounded. Results underline the pivotal role of governance in CE transitions and spotlight environmental issues, especially sustainable waste management, as dominant motivations. Notably, there appears to be limited private sector involvement in CERM development. Given the inherent regional and sectoral nuances, the findings critically highlight the need for tailored CERM types to facilitate effective transitions. [Display omitted] • Proposed a typology for Circular Economy Roadmaps (CERMs) from reviewing 398 documents. • Used NLP, topic modelling, and analysis to identify patterns in Circular Economy Roadmaps. • Identified governance's key role in driving transitions in National and Municipal CERMs. • Key areas in CE strategies are sustainable waste, food, construction, and plastics. • CERMs mainly concentrated in Europe & Asia, highlighting early CE policy adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing practices for a circular economy transforms the way companies do business, notably in the manufacturing industry. However, a circular economy requires a transformation of both production and consumption systems; the standard approach for creation, fabrication, and commerce of products is challenged. Authors repeatedly call for the development of new proficiencies to attend to system transformations, but these so far have not been described for design and engineering. Given that the design of a product directly influences the way a value chain will be managed, building circular, globally sustainable value chains inevitably signifies a fundamental change in the practice of design. Comprehensive analyses were conducted on case studies from a variety of multinational enterprises that are transforming their product strategies for climate change. Changes in design processes were identified, revealing a growing necessity for industry to employ new proficiencies that support closure of material loops. This paper contributes to existing literature by depicting successful practices being implemented in industry. A variety of new capabilities are key to design for a sustainable future; these range from deeper knowledge of material composition to rich understanding of social behaviour. Resulting from this research, learning goals are proposed to serve as guidance for manufacturing companies seeking to tackle climate change. Conclusions aim to encourage researchers and academics to respond to emerging needs by re-thinking education in design and engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the adoption of a whole system approach to a more sustainable and innovative design. A case study methodology was utilised to gain improved understanding of whole system design and those factors that substantially influence its success. The paper presents a framework of those factors including the requirement for trans-disciplinary skills, the dynamics of a flattened hierarchy and the need to identify relationships between parts of the system to ultimately optimise the whole. Knowing the factors that influence the process of whole system design provides designers with the knowledge necessary to more effectively work within, manage and facilitate that process. This paper uses anecdotes taken from operational cases, across design contexts, to demonstrate those factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product lifetime extension is key strategy for a functioning Circular Economy. Yet, the role of material innovation and how this might contribute to longer product and material lifetimes has not been widely discussed. Considering the significant environmental burden of material resource extraction, the longevity of materials must also be deliberated. Inspired by biological systems, self-healing materials are a type of smart material with the ability to inherently repair themselves when damaged. Although a technology extensively investigated within the material science community, the Circular Economy and product lifetime extension implications of implementing these into products has yet to be debated. Thus, this empirical study investigates: What are the benefits, opportunities, risks and challenges for applying self-healing materials to products within the context of the circular economy? In addition to a literature review, this research was carried out utilising a survey, two round table discussions, a workshop and interviews with industry experts from several different sectors. Through thematic analysis, it was discovered that the key benefits that self-healing materials might offer to circular systems are: the ability to maintain the primary lifetime of the product from both a technical and service lifetime perspective; assistance in the refurbishing and remanufacture of products through increasing the ease of disassembly and reassembly of products; and the potential to enable alternative business models. The key risks and limitations are: issues of persistence within the system; hybridization of materials - technosphere or biosphere? whether they will cycle in the system; limitations regarding their technology development, performance and lastly queries of their liability and compliance. These findings are valuable to both fields of self-healing materials and circular economy, and they not only demonstrate what sustainability factors must be understood when developing novel self-healing compositions but also expand our understanding for how these materials might be utilised to create longer lasting products from an industrial perspective. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for future research activities which could not only help to advance the field of self-healing but also potentially product longevity and make immortal products a reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mathematical framework that provides practical guidelines for user adoption is proposed for fuel cell performance evaluation. By leveraging the mathematical framework, two measures that describe the average and worst-case performance are presented. To facilitate the computation of the performance measures in a practical setting, we model the distribution of the voltages at different current points as a Gaussian process. Then the minimum number of samples needed to estimate the performance measures is obtained using information-theoretic notions. Furthermore, we introduce a sensing algorithm that finds the current points that are maximally informative about the voltage. Observing the voltages at the points identified by the proposed algorithm enables the user to estimate the voltages at the unobserved points. The proposed performance measures and the corresponding results are validated on a fuel cell dataset provided by an industrial user whose conclusion coincides with the judgement from the fuel cell manufacturer. [Display omitted] • Data-driven modeling framework for fuel cell voltage-current performance curve. • Performance forecasting based on Gaussian process learning techniques. • Optimal sensing of performance curve based on information-theoretic techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]