Regulatory Frameworks to Integrate Corporate Social Responsibility with Circular Economy Principles

This work proposes a framework with which to analyse Higher Education Institution (HEI) students’ knowledge and understanding of circular economy (CE) concepts and the potential of the CE to promote sustainability, using a contest. The framework integrates CE principles and business models with sustainable indicators, and it was applied to the accepted projects by the contest jury. The contest was launched in 2021 by the CE Working Group of the Portuguese Sustainable Campus Network to encourage creativity and the development of CE projects at HEIs. HEIs can play an essential role in promoting environmental education and creating partners with new visions for society and the economy concerning sustainability, developing knowledge, values, attitudes, and behaviours regarding the CE. The projects were mostly based on the recovery of secondary raw materials/by-products, the CE business model, and the CE principle of value optimisation. In addition, a strong relationship with environmental indicators was observed, but social and economic indicators of the CE were only marginally considered by the students. Therefore, students considered the CE as mostly mainly being related to product recovery/optimisation; thus, the CE concepts and principles and their relationship to sustainability implementation require reinforcement and transversal approaches to increase this knowledge and its dissemination.

In the context of the global economy, the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) not only serves as a moral responsibility, but has also become a legal obligation in various jurisdictions, including Indonesia. Indonesian regulations show inconsistencies in the use of CSR terms, scope, and enforcement mechanisms, as reflected in Law No. 40/2007 on Limited Liability Companies (UUPT) and Law No. 25/2007 on Capital Investment (UUPM). The UUPT limits CSR obligations to companies engaged in natural resources, while the UUPM requires CSR for all investors, regardless of business sector. This lack of synchronization creates a legal loophole that allows companies outside the natural resources sector to avoid CSR obligations. In addition, the sanction mechanism for companies that do not implement CSR is still weak, so compliance with this regulation tends to be low. This research aims to analyze the optimization of liability for companies that do not implement CSR in Indonesia through a normative juridical approach. The main findings show that legal uncertainty in CSR regulations has an impact on ineffective implementation and is often only symbolic. Some companies still consider CSR as a mere image strategy, with no real impact on society and the environment. Therefore, more stringent regulatory harmonization and more effective law enforcement mechanisms are needed. Policy revisions, strengthening sanction mechanisms, and increased supervision by relevant authorities can improve corporate compliance with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

This article discusses about the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from a moral and legal perspective. The principles of CSR are stated in Article 74 paragraph (2) of Law Number 40 of 2009 concerning Limited Liability Companies, CSR must be implemented by companies in Indonesia with the aim of building harmonious, balanced and appropriate relationships with the environment, values, norms and culture of the local community (wisdom and wisdom). local). The discussion in this article is to analyze the nature of the implementation of the CSR concept in Indonesia and why CSR is a moral and legal obligation for companies in Indonesia. The approach method used is normative juridical. Normative juridical research is research on positive legal principles and legal principles which is carried out by evaluating relevant legal rules (laws and regulations) covering all norms, values ​​and principles related to the nature of the implementation of the CSR concept in Indonesia. The results of the analysis are the essence of the realization of CSR in development by the company based on the changing needs and expectations of society, limited natural resources, better social environment, balance of responsibility and power, business has useful resources, long term benefits . CSR obligations are based on statutory orders that aim to provide justice and prosperity for the community. Social responsibility is in the moral realm, so its position is not the same as the law. Moral in social responsibility is more directed at outward actions that are based entirely on an inner attitude, this attitude is known as "morality" namely attitudes and good deeds that are truly selfless. Meanwhile, legal responsibility emphasizes the conformity of the outward attitude with the rules, even though the action is objectively not wrong, perhaps good and in accordance with the moral, legal, and cultural values ​​of the community. However, suitability alone cannot be used as a basis for drawing conclusions because they do not know the underlying motivation or intent. Keywords: CSR Principles, Morals, Law DOI : 10.7176/JLPG/121-09 Publication date :June 30th 2022

In the literature, circular economy (CE) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are increasingly interconnected concepts. Turon at al. (2016) consider CE the guidelines of conduct for designing and developing good CSR strategies. In particular, the corporate management philosophy needs to be translated into mandatory CSR reports that better frames circular economy objectives by identifying and communicating actions to achieve sustainable development goals. The purpose of this paper is to explore a number of CSR reports in order to understand if cosmetic multinationals’ (MNC) nonfinancial reporting is focused on the concept of circular economy and if CSR reports ensure an adequate level of disclosure to circular strategies. Moreover, the paper highlights the advantages that arise by converging the concepts of CSR and CE. The originality of this paper lies on providing evidence on “how” MNC are implementing a circular model. This paper contributes to our understanding on the relation between CSR and CE; it assesses the state of the art of circular strategies in MNC and proposes a consolidation of the concept of CE in terms of sustainable strategic and managerial practices communicated to the market by CSR reports. Moreover, it brings MNC to a better understanding of the ways to communicate their new circular business model. The analysis reveals a good level of attention by MNC to circularity in drafting their CSR reports that in many cases are able to describe objectives and actions that embrace multiple dimensions.

Corporate Social Responsibility is the commitment and effort of a business entity to play a role in the implementation of social welfare. As one of the company's obligations, CSR can certainly help local governments to alleviate poverty problems in an area where a company is founded. The problem is that the Company's Corporate Social Responsibility obligations in terms of Social Welfare Theory and Law Number 40 of 2007 concerning Companies and the Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Company are linked to Social Welfare theory. The research method used by the author is by using a normative juridical approach where the main data used is secondary data, namely reference books, laws and regulations, articles, papers, etc. The results of this study are that in terms of corporate responsibility it cannot be fully carried out due to the regulations related to the implementation of the CSR program there are still legal voids and the sanctions imposed are unclear, so this affects the implementation of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) companies that are appropriate with what is regulated in Law Number 40 of 2007 concerning Limited Liability Companies but in terms of its implementation, it cannot be said that it has not been maximal for all companies in Karawang Regency in implementing the Corporate Social Responsibility program.Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Company; Social Welfare.

This study examines the awareness and implementation of Circular Economy (CE) principles within Chile’s mining sector, which represents the world’s leading copper producer. We employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys with qualitative semi-structured interviews, to evaluate perceptions and implementation levels of CE practices across diverse organizational contexts. Our findings reveal a pronounced knowledge gap: while 73.3% of mining professionals reported familiarity with CE concepts, only 57.3% could provide accurate definitions. State-owned mining companies demonstrated substantially higher CE implementation rates, with 36.5% participating in eco-industrial collaborations and 51% conducting environmental audits, compared to their private counterparts. Small enterprises (1–100 employees) exhibited particularly limited engagement, as demonstrated by 71.8% lacking established sustainability reporting mechanisms. A considerable implementation gap was also identified; although 94.8% of respondents considered CE principles integral to business ethics and 89.6% recognized CE as essential for securing a social license to operate, only 20.8% reported that their organizations maintained dedicated CE units. The research presents actionable recommendations for policymakers, including targeted financial incentives and training programs for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in mining services, the establishment of standardized CE performance metrics for the sector, and the integration of CE principles into strategic management education to accelerate sustainable transformation within Chile’s critical mining industry.

Aims: To analyze welfare and sustainability concepts framed by United Nations 2030 Agenda highlighting its commitment towards poverty and hunger; to discuss the concept of circular economy exploring the dimensions of sustainability to which it is associated; to analyze the relationship between the circular economy and the social economy, and to distinguish practices based on the assumptions of the circular economy with an inclusive impact at the level of confronting situations of vulnerability/poverty in Portugal. Method: This is a theoretical reflection based on a review of current literature, documentary analysis and searching on websites, on the opportunities of the social economy embedded in solidarity sector to foster welfare (social) sustainability by pursuing circular economy principles. Findings: The issues of poverty and hunger are central to understand the welfare concept and occupy a pole position in the agenda of human sustainability. The circular economy approach has been distinguished mainly as an alternative philosophy of growth (focusing on business) and (environmental) sustainability. Social economy anchored in solidarity organizations reveals the (neglected) social dimension of circular economy due to circular economy principles that they adopt connected to their mission. Conclusions: The opportunities of circular economy to address welfare sustainability, especially for responding to multiple social needs (e.g., basic needs) coming from the circular social economy stakeholders must be reinforced in discourses and political agendas. Also, that opens space to reconfigure the concept of circular economy widening its scope and focus on a complete approach committed to sustainability, being this a direction, that research can deepen.

Circular Urban Metabolism Framework

Purpose The escalation in demand for buildings in tropical zones has risen resulting from global population growth. Moreover, the construction industry is under growing pressure to adapt sustainable practices. Hence, this research aims to investigate how Circular Economy (CE) principles can be converged with Tropical Design Strategies (TDS) to enhance sustainability within the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative approach was employed with three rounds of Delphi technique, following semi-structured expert interviews. Collected data were analysed through content analysis. Findings Four passive design strategies were explored as the most suitable strategies for building designs in the tropical regions. To amalgamate passive design strategies of Tropical Designs (TD) with the most practicable CE R principles, 23 number of methods were proposed to each passive design strategy. Furthermore, 11 enablers were revealed in converging TD with CE. Among them, green building design, advanced design software and bioclimatic designs are the enablers which are applicable for all the design strategies. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first kind of research which was done converging three concepts of CE, TD and sustainability. Moreover, this research defined various approaches on how to integrate CE R principles with each identified passive design strategy as an influential approach for ameliorating sustainability. This research contributes to the practice by proposing methods to building designers and architects on how to design buildings in tropical regions following CE principles while ensuring sustainability.

Urbanization and building production that accelerate with globalization, cause excessive resource consumption and waste generation. The circular economy concept which is a contemporary economy approach, has been developed to solve this environmental and economic problem. The construction sector and architectural practice that provide building production need innovative solutions through the circular economy concept, as they consume different resources and produce waste crises. The circular economy concept is applied with the "adaptive reuse" approach in the field of architecture. One of the important applications of the concept of adaptive reuse is the reuse of architectural elements and materials. However, the relationship between the concept of circular economy and the reuse of architectural elements can be developed by examining several recent projects and its advantages. In this article, it is aimed to examine the relationship of this architectural reuse approach with the circular economy concept and to emphasize its importance. For this purpose, the theoretical perspectives and effects of circular economy were examined in the first part of the article, and the reflections of the circular economy concept on architecture were given in the second part. This section continues with description of the comparative analysis methodology that relates the building life cycle and circular economy principles to examine the architectural projects built as an example of circular economy paradigm. In the third chapter, two architectural sample projects built in China and France were selected and introduced. Being pioneers in their countries in circular economy approaches and the different environmental policies of countries have been effective in the selection of examples from different geographies. The fourth part consists of analyzing the projects according to circular economy parameters using comparative analysis method. In the last section, analysis results show that although China is one of the pioneers in adopting circular economy principles with architectural design and building life cycle, it has been found that France considers circular economy design from a broader perspective. Also, the design approach with circular economy criteria in different stage of building life cycle is gaining momentum over the years through national and local governments and collaborations. It is recommended that technological design systems such as BIM can be developed as integrated cloud systems that can share information from other sectors. Because the building life cycle is not only related to the architecture and construction sector. It is a cyclical system and economy that works with different sectors such as supply and waste management.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been recognized as a significant contributor to the economy of developing countries. The study uncovers the potential causes of CSR discrepancies in Nigeria, a nation with divergent business prospects, evaluates their implications, and provides effective way-outs. CSR has achieved substantial interest worldwide as enterprises attempt to weigh profit-making services with social and environmental obligations. Yet, there is extensive interest in disagreements between organizations’ CSR obligations and their actual implementation. By synthesizing documented literature, the study reveals factors responsible for the discrepancy of CSR in Nigeria, such as ineffective stakeholder involvement, consumer attitude, inadequate resources, poor frameworks, and lack of consistent reporting. Furthermore, the implications imposed by CSR are examined, including missed chances for social impact, reputational damage, consumer perception, and workers' morale and commitment. Since CSR discrepancies are crucial to both enterprises and legislators, the study underscores addressing stakeholder engagement, clear frameworks for CSR implementation, transparency in reporting, and adequate resource allocation that can bring about sustainable development. The insights provided by this study can inform CSR policy development and effective corporate practices in Nigeria.

The transition towards sustainability in product engineering has become paramount due to the increasing environmental challenges posed by traditional linear models of production and consumption. Circular economy (CE) principles, which emphasize reducing, reusing, and recycling resources, offer a promising approach to sustainable product engineering. This paper explores the integration of CE principles in product design, focusing on the reduction of waste, the extension of product life cycles, and the use of renewable resources. The study investigates how these principles contribute to environmental conservation, economic efficiency, and social well-being, with a focus on the engineering discipline. The results of a case study on sustainable product design, supported by statistical analysis and simulation research, demonstrate the significant role CE can play in the development of sustainable products. The growing challenges posed by environmental degradation, resource depletion, and increasing waste highlight the need for a more sustainable approach in product engineering. Circular economy (CE) principles, which focus on minimizing waste and maximizing the reuse of resources, offer a transformative model for sustainable product development. By integrating CE principles, product engineers can not only extend the lifespan of products but also optimize resource usage, reduce waste, and minimize environmental impact. This paper examines the role of CE principles in sustainable product engineering by focusing on key concepts such as designing for durability, disassembly, and material recovery. A detailed case study illustrates the successful implementation of CE in product design, showcasing its potential to drive innovation and sustainability. The paper also presents statistical analysis and simulation research to demonstrate the environmental and economic benefits of circular design practices. The results suggest that products designed with CE principles offer substantial reductions in waste, energy consumption, and carbon emissions. This study underscores the significance of adopting CE principles to achieve a more sustainable and circular future for product engineering.

The persistent exploitation of natural resources and the consequent use of consumption are driving global food demand with the result that agricultural activity is becoming less and less environmentally friendly. The circular economy (CE) can become a valid alternative, inserting the economic-agricultural system into the harmonic process of material circulation. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) model is particularly interesting not only because of the ethical dimension of the company but also as a factor of strategic business improvement that combines the concepts of CSR and CE as possible solutions for developing sustainable business processes. The objective of the work is to highlight a detailed framework of how the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Italian agri-food industry can provide an adequate level of communication, circular strategies and social responsibility practices. The research methodology is based on a qualitative multiple study conducted on a sample of nine companies in the Italian territory. The study highlights the attention of companies on the issues of the CE for the achievement of the set sustainable objectives and the attention to CSR and CE practices. The work has several implications. It provides a further understanding of CSR and CE policies as enabling factors for the development of sustainable organizational performance in agriculture. Moreover, it better investigates the relationship between CSR and the CE. Finally, it analyses the SMEs state of the art in the CE field and strengthens the concept of CE by analysing corporate practices consistent with sustainability reports.

The purpose of this article is to propose a novel classification of the interrelationships between Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies and circular economy (CE) principles that highlights the most conclusive findings and extant gaps in the relevant research. A systematic literature review has been developed to locate, select and evaluate relevant contributions made to CE interrelationships with I4.0 technologies. Studies have been analysed and classified according to the specific I4.0 technology and CE principle addressed (10Rs). The articles have been clustered into three main groups: (i) useful application of materials, (ii) extending the lifespan of products and their parts and (iii) smarter product use and manufacture. A mind map of the investigated articles has been used to establish the interrelationships between individual technologies and each CE principle at the supply chain level. Based on this classification, a focus group interview (FGI) was held with experts to dig deeper into the interrelationships between I4.0 technologies and CE principles. The FGI results have identified how each as yet unexplored I4.0 technology could be linked to each CE principle. A Fuzzy Delphi (FD) study was also applied to identify the most relevant I4.0 technologies for improving CE principles and closing gaps in the literature regarding the 10R CE principles. In addition, guidelines have been established to assist with practical applications and generate a research agenda on the interrelationships between I4.0 technologies and CE principles at the supply chain level. Implications for theory include the extension of view from the research gaps between I4.0 technologies and the 10Rs identified in the literature; also, an FGI and FD were performed based on the detected research gaps to identify future lines of research for academics and offer useful guidance to directors and managers on I4.0 technology interrelationships for improving at least one of the 10R CE principles. The contribution to practice aims to enable managers to easily identify which technology from the I4.0 domain should be used to advance any given CE principle. Lastly, we provide useful guidance on the application of as‐yet‐unused technologies to improve CE principles.

This research examines participants’ familiarity with circular economy concepts, the integration of these concepts in their organizations, encountered barriers, levels of awareness and understanding, implemented circular practices, perceived benefits, the importance of sustainability, financial or operational challenges, motivators for embracing a circular economy, and the accessibility of support and resources. The findings indicate that participants have an average degree of awareness regarding circular economy concepts. While some organizations have completely or partially implemented circular economy principles, a significant portion has not yet integrated them, suggesting a need for more initiatives. Financial limitations, supply chain restrictions, and a lack of knowledge are the primary barriers to adoption. Employee knowledge and comprehension of circular economy concepts have room for improvement. Commonly implemented circular practices include renewable energy use, material recycling, and product lifespan extension. Perceived benefits include cost savings, resource conservation, and increased stakeholder participation. Sustainability may not be considered important in overall strategy and decision-making by a majority of participants. Financial or operational difficulties are experienced by some organizations during the adoption of circular economy principles. Motivators for embracing a circular economy include cost savings, brand reputation, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder expectations. Participants highlighted a need for more support and resources to implement circular economy projects. Overall, the survey highlights the varying levels of familiarity, integration, challenges, awareness, and understanding of circular economy concepts among participants, and underscores the importance of addressing barriers, raising awareness, and providing sufficient support and resources for advancing circular economy principles.