Abstract
The circular economy (CE) can drive sustainability. For companies to select and implement circularity strategies, they need to evaluate and compare the performance of these strategies both in terms of progress towards CE but also based on their feasibility and business outcomes. However, evaluation methods for circularity strategies at the product level are lacking. Therefore, this research proposes a multi-criteria evaluation method of circularity strategies at the product level which can be used by business decision-makers to evaluate and compare the initial business of the company, transformative and future circularity strategies. This multi-criteria evaluation method aims to assist business decision-makers to identify a preferred strategy by linking together a wide variety of criteria, i.e., environmental, economic, social, legislative, technical, and business, as well as by proposing relevant indicators that take into consideration, where possible, the life cycle perspective. It also allows for flexibility so that criteria, sub-criteria, and weighing factors can be altered by the business decision-makers to fit the needs of their specific case or product. Two illustrative examples based on case companies are presented to verify and illustrate the proposed method.
Highlights
In the last decade, the circular economy (CE) concept has become an issue of heightened interest for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, companies, and industries [1,2,3]
This study focuses on the inlet part of the waste collection system due to frequent failure
Even though various methods and indicators have been developed by academics to measure the progress towards CE, there is a lack of circularity strategies’ evaluation methods at the product level [13,21]
Summary
The circular economy (CE) concept has become an issue of heightened interest for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, companies, and industries [1,2,3]. CE moves away from the conventional linear approach which utilizes a “make-use-dispose” economic model to one that is “regenerative by design” [4,5] It aims to eradicate waste through careful design; reduce negative impacts; rebuild environmental, economic, and social capital; and maintain the value of products, components, and materials [6,7]. Widespread adoption of circularity strategies still has not taken place [11] and companies are struggling to implement and operationalize CE. This means that CE research is focusing on understanding the barriers and challenges that companies face (e.g., [11,12]) as well as developing decision-making support in the form of tools, metrics, and methods for companies to implement circularity strategies [13]
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