Implementing the Circular Economy for Sustainable Development

Implementing the Circular Economy for Sustainable Development presents the concept of the circular economy with the goal of understanding its present status and how to better implement it, particularly through environmental policies. It first tackles the definition of a circular economy in the context of sustainability and the differences in defining the concept across disciplines, including its fallibilities and practical examples. It then goes on to discuss the implementation of a circular economy, including the increasing variety of technological, mechanical, and chemical procedures to contend with and the need for stakeholder support in addition to improved business models. The second half of the book, therefore, presents tools, approaches, and practical examples of how to shape environmental policy to successfully implement a circular economy. It analyzes deficiencies of current regulations and lays the groundwork for the design of integrated environmental policies for a circular economy. Authored by an expert in environmental economics with decades of experience, Implementing the Circular Economy for Sustainable Development is a timely, practical guide for sustainability researchers and policymakers alike to move more efficiently toward a circular economy and sustainable development. Presents a clear view of the critical components, features, and issues of a circular economy Discusses a variety of practical examples from current policies in the context of a circular economy to better understand the challenges associated with its implementation Analyzes strengths and weaknesses of current environmental policies and their interactions with innovations in engineering and science Front Matter Copyright Introduction Characterisation of the circular economy What distinguishes a circular economy? How to implement a circular economy? What are the appropriate instruments? The outline of the book Part I: The circular economy - Concept and facts Part II: Integrating the economy and the environment Part III: The circular economy in a technological context Part IV: Features of environmental policies Part V: Implementing a circular economy Part VI: Concluding remarks The circular economy - Concept and facts The circular economy - Understanding the concept The academic concept of a circular economy Practice-oriented concepts of a circular economy Remarks on societal path dependencies The circular economy-Understanding the concept References The circular economy in literature and practice The perception of the circular economy in the literature Relevance of business models Environmental innovations Sustainable development Integration of economic activity and environmental wellbeing Regenerative systems Economy and circular economy in the literature The perception of the circular economy in a practical context The Ellen MacArthur Foundation The circular economy package of the European Union The Russian TIARCENTER Conclusions from the literature review References Circular economy - A hierarchy of leaders and followers Circular economy hierarchy: Leaders Germany's closed substance cycle waste management China's eco-industrial development Circular economy leaders: A critical view Circular economy hierarchy: Followers Russia's first steps towards a circular economy Georgia's association with the European Union Circular economy followers: A critical view A country in between: The United States of America Determinants of the circular economy hierarchy References Environmental regulations with a view on the circular economy Exemplary regulations for a circular economy The waste directive of the European Union The directive of the European Union on waste electric and electronic equipment End-of-life vehicles legislation in Germany Regulations to mitigate climate change China's circular economy promotion law California's Bottle Bill Conclusions from current policies References Integrating the economy and the environment Economic foundation of a circular economy Environmental commodities and scarcity Environmental commodities Perceived scarcity of environmental commodities Relevance of a (perceived) feedback from actions Feasible allocations The allocation problems Optimal solutions Allocation mechanisms The market mechanism Central planning Summary on the economic foundation of a circular economy References Allocating environmental commodities External effects and missing markets The Tragedy of the Commons The Prisoners Dilemma Environmental policies as allocation mechanism Case study: The German refillable quota issue References Behavioural environmental economics An introduction to behavioural economics Behavioural environmental economics Prospect theory Informational requirements Social norms in environmental economics Environmental awareness and perceived feedback Case study: Sustainable use of the earth's biodiversity Behavioural economics and implementing a circular economy References The economics of implementing a circular economy The allocation problems for a circular economy The concept of a sustainable development Waste management Possible ways of handling waste The waste hierarchy Optimal allocations for the waste hierarchy Conclusions for implementing a circular economy References The circular economy in a technological context The technological environment of a circular economy Industrial ecology Perceptions of industrial ecology The economics of industrial ecology Markets for environmental technologies General aspects of markets for environmental technologies Environmental technologies in global markets Export promotions for environmental technologies Technology policy - A journey into the unknown? References Technology and information Economic reasonableness of environmental technologies and standards The concept of economic reasonableness Some formal considerations Information asymmetries Informational requirements for a design for environment Examples from the literature Case study: Promotion of renewable energy sources in Germany The original regulations for renewable energy sources in Germany Conclusions from the promotion of renewable energy sources in Germany References The rebound effect and path dependencies The economic rebound effect Classification of economic rebound effects Empirical results for economic rebound effects Rebound effects in a circular economy Psychological rebound effects How to deal with the rebound effect? Path dependencies Technological path dependencies Societal path dependencies References The digital transformation - An ongoing process Circular economy and digital economy - A close relationship Smart cities for a circular economy Circular economy and digital economy - Various challenges Case study: E-commerce and circular economy Critical aspects of the sharing economy Critical aspects of online shopping References Features of environmental policies Environmental policies for implementing a circular economy How to allocate environmental commodities? Laissez-faire Technology-guidance Command-and-control policies Augmented market system Structural requirements for environmental policies Local framework conditions Integrating the stakeholders Linking policy tools References Environmental standards Economic background Environmental standards in an international context Adjusting environmental standards Best available techniques Dynamic standards Public research activities Case study: Emission standards for vehicles Dynamic emission standards for vehicles Social construction of reality References Market-oriented policy tools The pollution tax The polluter pays principle Avoidance possibilities Cost efficiency of a pollution tax Tradable emission certificates Features of markets for certificates The emission trading system of the European Union (EU ETS) The Coase theorem Voluntary contributions Flexible, information-based environmental policies References Holistic policy approaches Integrated waste management The EPR principle General aspects of the EPR principle Experiences with EPR policies Constitutive elements of an IEP Constitutive element I - The locality principle Constitutive element II - Integrating affected agents Constitutive element III - Linking policy tools Implementation of the EPR principle Collection systems Producer responsibility organisation References The economics of the waste hierarchy The waste hierarchy - Revisited Waste hierarchy in practice - A literature review Economic integration of the waste hierarchy Prevention of waste - The forgotten child Various aspects of waste prevention Some empirical evidence Societal path dependencies Reuse of commodities Economic context of reusing commodities Environmental benefits of reusing commodities Societal path dependencies Recycling of waste commodities Economic context of recycling Recycling and path dependencies References Implementing a circular economy Where are we on the road to a circular economy? Roots of the circular economy How to deal with information issues? Facts andobservations Economy-guidance to a circular economy Technology-guidance to a circular economy Holistic environmental policies Case study: Germany on the road to a circular economy Waste management in Germany Other circular economy strategies in Germany Germany's progress to a circular economy References Packaging waste in a circular economy Setting the targets of the policy Auxiliary environmental regulations Reducing the opportunities for landfilling General take back requirements Limiting trade with packaging waste Collection and separation of packaging waste Relevance of socio-economic, cultural and technical factors Collection systems with monetary incentives Applications of the EPR principle How to address the various stakeholders? Vested interests For-profit compliance schemes An IEP for packaging waste Households Producers of packaging Compliance schemes Putting everything together References WEEE and ELV in a circular economy An integrated environmental policy for WEEE Collection of WEEE A refund or deposit system for WEEE? An IEP for implementing the EPR principle Reusing and remanufacturing electrical and electronic equipment An integrated environmental policy for old cars and ELV Collection of ELV An IEP for implementing the EPR principle Reusing and remanufacturing vehicles Some final remarks regarding these policies References Climate change mitigation in a circular economy Global attempts to mitigate climate change The Kyoto protocol Copenhagen, Paris, Madrid and then? Renewable energy sources and emissions trading Renewable energy sources Emissions trading systems Implementing the EPR principle A national ETS for implementing the EPR principle An international ETS for implementing the EPR principle An integrated environmental policy for combatting climate change? References Plastics in a circular economy One type of plastic is not like another Common types of plastics Some critical issues regarding the handling and recycling of plastics A look at the global situation Import and export of plastic waste China's ban on imports of plastic waste Global streams of plastic waste after China's ban Cornerstones of an IEP for plastics and plastic waste Fundamental aspects of an IEP The constitutive elements of an IEP Constitutive element I Constitutive element II Constitutive element III Where are we with the IEP for plastics and plastic waste? References Textiles in a circular economy Objectives of an IEP for textiles Regulations for textile wastes Regulations for waste textiles Collection of waste textiles Some empirical results A take-back system for used and waste textiles Implementing the EPR principle for textiles The waste hierarchy regarding textiles References Circular economy - A summary in times of corona Sustainability and the implementation of a circular economy Sustainability and the waste hierarchy IEPs for the implementation of a circular economy Packaging waste Waste electrical and electronic equipment End-of-life vehicles Climate change Plastic waste Textile waste Circular economy in times of Corona Developments in favour of a circular economy Concluding remarks References Index