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- Helander, Harald, 1991, et al.
(författare)
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What do product-level circular economy indicators measure?
- 2021
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Ingår i: 4th Conference on Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) proceedings.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently, the concept of circular economy (CE) has become more popular amongst researchers and practitioners as a solution to current unsustainable production and consumption practices. Several indicators meant to quantitatively assess the CE have been suggested in both the academic and grey literature. For companies, indicators are crucial for monitoring progress and to support decision making towards improved circularity. However, no consensus regarding the definition of the CE exists and as a result there is a significant divergence of what CE indicators in fact measure. Taking a product-system perspective and focusing on resources, we review existing CE indicators at the product-level and map the physical resource flows they quantify over the life cycle on a novel, generic system model in the form of a flowchart. The analysis highlights the difference between the indicators and shows that most only address parts of the life cycle with a focus on recycling-related flows. Existing gaps identified primarily relate to the use phase, e.g. lifetime extension measures like repair, maintenance, or repurposing, but also include other relevant aspects in the use phase like energy auxiliaries. The constructed flowcharts can guide the future development of indicators or point to ways of combining several indicators to capture larger parts of the product system.
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| 2. |
- Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring the Relationship between Environmental and Economic Payback Times, and Heritage Values in an Energy Renovation of a Multi-Residential Pre-War Building
- 2021
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Ingår i: Heritage. - : MDPI AG. - 2571-9408. ; 4:4, s. 3652-3675
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cultural value and heritage have been identified as necessary for a sustainable living environment, alongside environmental concern and energy efficiency. In this study, multiple methods, i.e., life cycle assessment, payback, and questionnaires and interviews with tenants, and empirical data from a recent energy renovation of a multi-residential pre-war building with wooden construction were used to analyse the impact of the renovation on cultural and aesthetic values, environmental impact, financial payback time, and user satisfaction. In the energy renovation, the façade, which had been disfigured in an earlier renovation, was recreated to resemble the original architecture. The main questions are: What impact has the recreation of the façade on the environmental payback time in comparison to a more conventional renovation? What are the consequences for the user satisfaction and financial return on investment? The results show that the recreated façade has improved the building’s aesthetics without compromising the environmental benefits. It also resulted in better thermal comfort, which is highly valued by the tenants. The improved aesthetics are also appreciated by the tenants, but to a lesser extent. Financially, the renovation is estimated to be not viable. Results of this study can be applied in the decision-making of similar renovation projects
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| 3. |
- Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Testing product-level indicators for a more circular economy
- 2021
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Ingår i: 4th Conference on Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) proceedings.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Product level indicators can be essential for companies to guide and monitor the transition towards a more circular economy (CE). In particular, CE indicators focusing on physical resource flows are needed for informing businesses on the environmental performance of their product portfolio. Many of those indicators have been suggested but a robust assessment framework has yet to be developed. Previous reviews highlighted the limited range of CE strategies covered by one indicator at a time and recommended the use of a set of indicators to ensure comprehensive assessments. Furthermore, many existing indicators have only been tested individually on few and simple products. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which existing product-level circularity indicators are applicable to real case studies with different combinations of CE strategies. Starting from a review of the literature to identify resource-flow based indicators suitable for product-level assessment, 36 indicators are applied to three real case studies. Challenges linked to a high level of detail in product systems implementing CE strategies were encountered when applying communicated methodologies and analysing the quantitative results from the 31 indicators that were successfully applied. This paper suggests selecting both comprehensive indicators and a range of single-focus indicators to ensure an understanding of the systemic consequences of implementing CE strategies. The results also demonstrate the importance of a clear understanding of what is measured and what is missed by a given selection of CE indicators for informed decision-making.
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