Circular Economy, Industrial Ecology and Short Supply Chain
()
About this ebook
In contrast to the linear "take-make-dispose" model of resource consumption, a new industrial model is proposed in the form of a circular economy. This model aims to optimize the use of resources and to reduce or eliminate waste, and is based on re-use, repair, ecodesign, industrial ecology, sustainable supply and responsible consumption.
Industrial ecology and short supply chains can contribute – particularly on a territorial scale – to the emergence of a real sustainable development. This book develops these concepts and presents experiments that are taking place in France and other countries, in addition to an integrated model which details the mechanisms through which industrial ecology and short supply chains can generate economic, social and environmental profits. The possible issues and obstacles facing these new practices are also analyzed, in order to develop the outline of an adapted management and governance which will enable them to be fully realized.
Related to Circular Economy, Industrial Ecology and Short Supply Chain
Related ebooks
The 15 circular steps for cities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife Cycle Engineering of Plastics: Technology, Economy and Environment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 15 circular steps for cities - Second edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIndicators of Catchment Health: A Technical Perspective Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSustainability Indicators: A Scientific Assessment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAgricultural Waste Diversity and Sustainability Issues: Sub-Saharan Africa as a Case Study Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSustainable Consumption Through Innovation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe EIB Circular Economy Guide: Supporting the circular transition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWater – Energy – Carbon Systems: Transitioning from Linear to Circular Economy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Carbon Markets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife Cycle Assessment: Principles, Practice and Prospects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWaste to Energy in the Age of the Circular Economy: Best Practice Handbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSustainable Energy Transition for Cities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClimate Change and the Future of Seattle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClimate Preservation in Urban Communities Case Studies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWaste Reduction for Pollution Prevention Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Engineering for Sustainability: A Practical Guide for Sustainable Design Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Nature and the Marketplace: Capturing The Value Of Ecosystem Services Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Our European Future: Charting a Progressive Course in the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSustainability Compass. Think smarter, act smarter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKyoto Protocol Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecycling and Incineration: Evaluating The Choices Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClimate Solutions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEuropean Investment Bank Group Sustainability Report 2020 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCarbon Offsetting in International Aviation in Asia and the Pacific: Challenges and Opportunities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArticle 6 of the Paris Agreement: Piloting for Enhanced Readiness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFocused Action: Priorities for Addressing Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBughouse365 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Electrical Engineering & Electronics For You
Schaum's Outline of Basic Electricity, Second Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Electrical Engineering 101: Everything You Should Have Learned in School...but Probably Didn't Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Understanding Automotive Electronics: An Engineering Perspective Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Electrical Engineering Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Electrician's Pocket Manual Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic, Second Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Programming the Raspberry Pi, Third Edition: Getting Started with Python Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beginner's Guide to Reading Schematics, Third Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeginner's Guide to Reading Schematics, Fourth Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Electricity for Beginners Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Practical Electrical Wiring: Residential, Farm, Commercial, and Industrial Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Homeowner's DIY Guide to Electrical Wiring Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Basic Electricity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Upcycled Technology: Clever Projects You Can Do With Your Discarded Tech (Tech gift) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5DIY Lithium Battery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Understanding Electricity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Starting Electronics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Electrical Engineering: Know It All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Electronics Engineering Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSolar & 12 Volt Power For Beginners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Electric Circuits Essentials Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Off-Grid Projects: Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Own Off-Grid System Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRaspberry Pi Electronics Projects for the Evil Genius Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Electronics Explained: Fundamentals for Engineers, Technicians, and Makers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5C++ Programming Language: Simple, Short, and Straightforward Way of Learning C++ Programming Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Raspberry Pi Projects for the Evil Genius Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsForrest Mims Engineer's Notebook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very Truly Yours, Nikola Tesla Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Circular Economy, Industrial Ecology and Short Supply Chain
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Circular Economy, Industrial Ecology and Short Supply Chain - Delphine Gallaud
Preface
Circular economy, industrial ecology, short supply chains: all themes that recur frequently in economic and political discourse, associated as they are with the idea of a necessary and imminent change in modes of production and consumption, to preserve resources and the planet on which we live.
Yet, their meaning and the potential for technological, organizational and social innovation they carry remains vague. Can these concepts and new experiences in production and consumption be considered as innovations, new forms of organization and management of human activities? What is their potential, in terms of boosting economic activity? Do they herald new forms of labor organization and new social relationships? These are the questions that gave rise to the need for this book.
Very quickly, the question of territory emerged as the central issue in our reflections. Experiments in industrial ecology or the setting up of short supply chains, are often conducted in a specific territory – a conurbation, a city or a neighborhood; and it is interesting to consider the regional impacts of these new experiments. Can they contribute to the creation or perenniality of activities in these areas? Or to the creation of jobs? To the preservation of resources? If so, how? What are the difficulties and obstacles that might hinder such dynamics? What roles must public and private actors play to accelerate existing processes? These are the questions we have tried to answer in this book.
This book is the result of work carried out within the Research Network on Innovation (http://2ri.eu), whose objective is threefold: to observe and analyze processes of innovation; to build theories surrounding systems of innovation; and to empower research in economics and innovation management. La Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris and the Institut CDC pour la Recherche of the Groupe Caisse des Dépôts have also contributed to the production of this book. We would like to thank Dimitri Uzunidis, President of the Research Network on Innovation, for giving us the opportunity to write this book. Thanks are also for our colleagues who participated in research programs, a part of the results of which are discussed in this book. They are, respectively. Antje Burmeister (Researcher, Ifsttar), Fedoua Kasmi (PhD student, Clersé UMR 8019, ULCO) and Celine Merlin-Brogniart (Associate Professor, Clersé UMR 8019, University of Lille 1) for the research program conducted in Dunkirk on industrial ecology in 2014–2015 (RRI, 2015)
Delphine GALLAUD
Blandine LAPERCHE
March 2016
Introduction
Notwithstanding the early actions of whistle-blowers such as Rachel Carson with the publication of Silent Spring in 1962, or that of the Meadows report The Limits to Growth in 1972, awareness of the impacts of human activity, and especially production activities, on the environment is growing increasingly. The Kyoto Protocol (1992) has been the subject of 30 years of dispute and its implementation has been limited mostly by the fact that the countries responsible for generating the largest amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG) are not applying it. Public policy remains timid in the face of the challenges, emphasized by scientists, posed by climate change and its impact on human health. Consequently, governments impose few regulations on the activities of corporations, preferring to rely on approaches involving voluntary commitment and on the pressure brought to be borne by consumers against the polluting activities. Consumers, for their part, remain relatively unconcerned by these issues. With the exception of a minority of citizens committed to the actions for environmental protection or the search for an overall improvement in their quality of life, most people do not make the connection between this protection and its subsequent effects on human health. Citizen awareness has increased in the past decade, particularly in the context of the publication of the first studies demostrating the impacts of environmental degradation on increased cancer rates or on reproductive ability.
However, scientific research and concrete experiments contribute to arouse public awareness about the challenges facing society. The proliferation of concepts such as circular economy, industrial ecology and short supply chains, along with concrete experiments, are giving rise to possible ways of transforming our methods of production and consumption, particularly on regional scales. Circular economy is undoubtedly the broadest of these concepts. It has been introduced as a new industrial model aimed at optimizing the use of resources and reducing or eliminating waste. Thus, circular economy is opposed to the linear model of resource consumption based on the take, make, dispose
triptych typical of our industrial societies. There are multiple approaches and activities that use circular economy, and these vary according to the definitions and countries being considered. These include reuse, repair, recycling, functional economy, eco-design, industrial ecology, sustainable supply and responsible consumption, in other words a profusion of concepts which demonstrates that the definition of circular economy has not yet stabilized completely.
Among these activities, industrial ecology is often cited as related to circular economy. Substitution flows (in which the waste or residue from a production process becomes part of another production process) and mutualization flows (grouped purchases of materials, collections of waste, etc.) can be smoothly integrated into a strategy of reduction, reuse or recycling of waste matter. Short supply chains, which are based on the reduction of the number of intermediaries between the producer and the consumer, are sometimes referenced in broader definitions of circular economy. As a matter of fact, short supply chains are part of strategies being developed for responsible and collaborative consumption (new types of relationships between producers and consumers) and they put forward the factor of proximity, which plays a vital role in the operational implementation of circular economy on a regional scale. In this book, we have chosen to emphasize industrial ecology and short supply chains as two important components of circular economy, for two main reasons.
Industrial ecology and short supply chains share common characteristics and this the first reason that industrial ecology can be considered a form of industrial
short supply chain [LAU 13]. When waste, residue or a sub-product of a production process is used as a primary material in another production process the number of intermediaries between the producer of the resource and the user of this resource is, in general, reduced (as compared to classic methods of supply). This is the main characteristic of a local supply chain. Industrial symbiosis could, thus, be defined as a set of industrial short supply chains. In both the approaches/models, the issue of proximity between actors is essential, leading us to our second reason.
The aim of this book is to study the contribution of the circular economy to sustainable regional development. By sustainable regional or territorial development, we mean that kind of development which, on the territorial scale, takes into account the economic, social and environmental dimensions inherent to the concept of sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development was introduced following the Brundtland Report [BRU 87], which defined it as the form of development which makes it possible to fulfill the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to fulfill their own needs. It falls at the intersection of three economic, environmental and social pillars.
Industrial ecology and short supply chains can have a territorial dimension if local actors build this one. The initiation of substitution flows (this is also true, albeit to a lesser extent, of mutualization flows) assumes geographic proximity between participants in industrial symbioses. Short supply chains can also imply this kind of proximity, even if the adjective short
refers to the reduced number of intermediaries (as compared to classic distribution channels). The reference to territories in these two approaches (industrial ecology and short supply chains) which links them to circular economy, led us to study in detail their functioning and their possible contribution to sustainable development. How might industrial ecology and short supply chains contribute to the perenniality of activities and to the creation of new activities and subsequently new jobs? What are the difficulties and challenges existing in their operational implementation? These are the questions we have tried to answer in this book.
These points are developed in two chapters. The first examines new models that have been developed in an attempt to account for the impact of economic activities on the environment better. We then move on to a review of the definitions of circular economy, industrial ecology, and short supply chains; and examine the evolution of the meaning assigned to these concepts. We also give key examples of their operational implementation. Finally, this section shows the links that can be made between these models so as to encourage sustainable regional development. It is our belief that industrial ecology and short supply chains, considered as tools for the implementation of circular economy, can contribute to sustainable regional development via the safeguarding and/or creation of new activities, the strengthening of social relations, and the limitation/reduction of the environmental impacts of human activities. In the second chapter, we will show that their contribution to this type of development is not, however, a spontaneous process. We will discuss the limits, difficulties and challenges of implementing these development models as well as the pivotal role of public policy in overcoming difficulties and potential blocking factors.
1
Building Region-based Sustainable Development: Vocabulary and Tools
The awareness of the negative implications of human activities on the environment has gained ground recently, despite several early warnings. The definition and implementation of circular economy, industrial ecology and short supply chains, however, show a growing consciousness of the environmental impacts of economic activities; and are part of an approach aimed at developing a more sustainable model of economic development.
The common point of all these approaches is to be systemic and to take into account the set of actors concerned by various economic activities. Circular economy, industrial ecology and short supply chains rely on close and new relationships between businesses and between these businesses and the end-consumer. Circular economy seeks to move away from the linear model of industrial activity – take, make, dispose
– so as to offer approaches that include interaction loops among actors. Industrial ecology and short supply chains can be considered as part of the conceptual and practical toolbox needed to foster the transition toward this new model of development. Finally, these approaches of industrial ecology and short supply chains are closely linked to the territory, as long as local actors build this relationship within the region by activating proximity. Successful experiments take place against the backdrop of various spatial levels depending on the projects carried out by the actors. We will pose the question of the pertinent spatial scale of these models, and show how these theoretical approaches, when combined with concrete processes, can contribute to sustainable regional development.
Finally, these approaches are, for the moment, both intellectually and in the fact, most often developed separately. Short food supply chains have to do more specifically with the thematic subcategory of food systems, while industrial economics concerns manufacturing activities. The contribution of this chapter is, therefore, to offer an integrated analysis of industrial ecology and short food supply chains. In this chapter, we will discuss new approaches that take into account the manner in which economic activities affect the environment negatively, in such a way as to attempt to prevent these negative effects. We will begin by giving definitions of circular economy, industrial ecology and short supply chains, illustrated in each case by concrete experiments. We will then present arguments showing why and how industrial ecology and short supply chains can participate in the building of sustainable regions.
1.1. Circular economy
The concept of circular economy is a fairly recent one and its definition, which is not yet stabilized, owes much to the work of the MacArthur Foundation (section 1.1.1). However, experiments related to circular economy have been developed in various parts of the world since the early 2000s (section 1.1.2). The theoretical and factual roots of the concept are much older (section 1.1.3).
1.1.1. The circular economy according to the MacArthur Foundation
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was created in 2010 and focuses a large part of its activities on circular economy. The foundation’s report, Towards the Circular Economy
, written by the MacKinsey consulting group, examines the economic potential offered by circular economy. The first volume, which was published in January 2012, has Economic and business rationale for an accelerated transition
, as a subtitle, while the second one, "Opportunities