scholarly journals Can chemical regulation in the European union keep up with the evolution of the circular economy?

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1095-1097
Author(s):  
Agnieszka D. Hunka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Chemical Regulation

European experience in transition to circular economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
European Experience ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
The Eu

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.

scholarly journals A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1229
Author(s):  
Alberto Di Bartolo ◽  
Giulia Infurna ◽  
Nadka Tzankova Dintcheva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Environmental Risks ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Net Zero

The European Union is working towards the 2050 net-zero emissions goal and tackling the ever-growing environmental and sustainability crisis by implementing the European Green Deal. The shift towards a more sustainable society is intertwined with the production, use, and disposal of plastic in the European economy. Emissions generated by plastic production, plastic waste, littering and leakage in nature, insufficient recycling, are some of the issues addressed by the European Commission. Adoption of bioplastics–plastics that are biodegradable, bio-based, or both–is under assessment as one way to decouple society from the use of fossil resources, and to mitigate specific environmental risks related to plastic waste. In this work, we aim at reviewing the field of bioplastics, including standards and life cycle assessment studies, and discuss some of the challenges that can be currently identified with the adoption of these materials.

scholarly journals Towards Circular Economy—A Comparative Analysis of the Countries of the European Union

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Ewa Mazur-Wierzbicka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Population Member ◽  
Research Population

There are many studies which implement and assess existing measurement manners and document the progress of entities towards the circular economy (CE) at various levels, or present or propose new possibilities of measurement. The majority of them refer to the micro level. The aim of this paper is to conduct a multidimensional comparative analysis of the implementation of circular economy by EU countries. After an in-depth critical analysis of the literature, CE indicators which were proposed by the European Commission were adopted as a basis. Owing to the research population-Member States of the European Union (EU-28), focusing on the said indicators was declared reasonable in all aspects. The classification of EU countries according to the level of their advancement in the concept of CE was adopted as a main research task. In order to do so, a relevant index of development of circular economy was created (IDCE). This will allow us, inter alia, to trace changes in the spatial differentiation of advancement of the EU countries in implementing CE over the years, to identify CE implementation leaders as well as countries particularly delayed in this regard. The comparative analysis was conducted by means of statistical methods. On the basis of the analyses, it was concluded that among all EU countries, those of the old EU are the most advanced in terms of CE. The analysis confirmed significant rising trends for IDCE only in the case of Belgium and The Netherlands.

scholarly journals Modeling the Circular Economy Processes at the EU Level Using an Evaluation Algorithm Based on Shannon Entropy

Processes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Busu ◽  
Mihail Busu
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Shannon Entropy ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Second Law Of Thermodynamics ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Composite Indicator ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scale Reduction ◽  
Evaluation Algorithm ◽  
Material Circulation

In this paper we propose a methodology to study circular economy processes based on mathematical modelling. In open-ended systems, waste could be converted back to recycling, transforming the economy from linear to circular. The concept of entropy and the second law of thermodynamics give the argument for a scale reduction of material circulation. As humans extract more and more energy and matter for the economy, the degree of entropy is likely to increase. Based on the findings of economic studies on the implications of industrialization in the case of growing economies, this study aims at evaluating circular economy processes at the European Union (EU) level using a Shannon-Entropy-based algorithm. An entropy-based analysis was conducted for the 28 European Union countries during the time frame 2007–2016. The modelling process consists of constructing a composite indicator which is composed of a weighted sum of all indicators developed by an algorithm based on Shannon Entropy. The weights assigned to each indicator in our analysis measure the significance of each indicator involved in the development of the composite indicator. The results are similar to the international rakings, consolidating and confirming the accuracy and reliability of this approach.

scholarly journals The Market’s Maturity for Public Procurement of Circular Furniture: A Study from Latvia

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (15) ◽  
pp. 242-250
Author(s):  
Jana Simanovska ◽  
Inese Pelsa
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Gross Domestic Product ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Important Task ◽  
Domestic Product ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Material Efficiency ◽  
Survey Results

Public procurement plays an important role in the market by making up 14% of the Gross Domestic Product in the European Union, therefore it is seen as an important instrument to promote such products and services that better meet society’s demands, for example, sustainability. Starting from 2015, circularity is an important aspect of sustainability. Furniture is among the product groups with a significant impact on the material footprint, therefore approaches to increase material efficiency and circularity are of high value. With this research, the authors investigate the market’s maturity, i.e. the readiness of suppliers to offer circular furniture and services, as well as the readiness of municipalities to uptake it. 20 companies and 27 municipalities took part in the survey. Results show that the surveyed companies currently are more ready to offer more circular products and services than municipalities require in the procurement tenders. Most surveyed municipalities are maintaining and repairing the furniture by themselves that is a circular approach but without outsourcing. The market consultation before the tendering could help to understand the market abilities better and lead to more circular purchasing contracts. This is an important task considering the importance of public procurement in promoting a circular economy.

scholarly journals MEASURING THE PROGRESS TOWARDS CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-35
Author(s):  
Nicolae Pintilie ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
Continuous Actions ◽  
Consumption Waste

This paper aims to create an image of progress towards circular economy registered by European Union countries through specific indicators. In this way, this paper is based on the study and analysis of the 13 indicators, grouped on 4 pillars: Production and consumption, Waste management, Secondary raw materials, Competitiveness and innovation. After the presentation of the methodology, the paper develops an analysis in time and space of the selected indicators, then an analysis of the countries with their grouping on clusters, creating a map of them and highlighting the current situation of circular economy in the European Union. Moreover, the paper also presents the evolution of the countries regarding circular economy, which has a big importance taking into account that in the European Union the preoccupations for this concept is higher from one period to another. Among the most interesting results are: (1) a massive concentration of countries with problems for Waste management pillar; (2) Europe is one of the regions with the largest contribution in terms of circular economy, but the concept is developing differently from one country to another; (3) The scoreboard evolution is particularly useful in revealing the continuous actions adopted by countries in order to facilitate the conversion to circular economy. Finally, the paper presents possible limits of the research, but also future directions of its development.

scholarly journals Barriers to the Circular Economy: Evidence From the European Union (EU)

2018 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 264-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Kirchherr ◽  
Laura Piscicelli ◽  
Ruben Bour ◽  
Erica Kostense-Smit ◽  
Jennifer Muller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
The European Union

Institutional entrepreneurship enablers to promote circular economy in the European Union: Impacts on transition towards a more circular economy

2021 ◽  
Vol 281 ◽  
pp. 124841
Author(s):  
María del Mar Alonso-Almeida ◽  
José Miguel Rodriguez-Anton ◽  
Llorenç Bagur-Femenías ◽  
Jordi Perramon
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Institutional Entrepreneurship
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