Calzolari, T., Genovese, A. and Brint, A. (2022) Circular Economy indicators for supply chains : a systematic literature review. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 13. 100160.
Abstract
Recently, the Circular Economy paradigm has emerged as an alternative to linear and unsustainable production and consumption systems. However, no established indicator exists to assist the transition of supply chains to a higher degree of circularity; also, most of the literature on Circular Economy indicators has focused on the firm rather than on the supply chain as the level of analysis. Through a Systematic Literature Review, this paper examines decision support tools, and related indicators, employed for assessing the performance of Circular Supply Chains in the academic literature. In parallel, a content analysis and a template technique are employed to evaluate how Multi National Enterprises measure the effect of the adoption of Circular Economy practices in their reports. Results are synthesised in two composite indicators, which aggregate the most commonly employed metrics. Findings show that both academic literature and industrial practice show a scarce consideration of social and circularity measurements, rather focusing on classical environmental impacts and economic ones. In the academic literature, the economic dimension is prevalent; practitioners seem to evaluate and communicate more often the environmental impacts of already adopted Circular Economy practices. This article also recognises the different and sometimes hidden worldview assumptions in current Circular Economy indicators, highlighting that different paths toward Circular Supply Chains are possible depending on value and methodological choices. Future contributions should explicetly state these assumptions and their idea of a Circular Economy.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Circular economy; Indicators; Systematic literature review; Supply chains; Performance measurement; Sustainability assessment |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number European Commission - HORIZON 2020 814247 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 14 Jan 2022 08:11 |
Last Modified: | 14 Jan 2022 08:11 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.indic.2021.100160 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:182537 |