Can we align global production and consumption systems with sustainability? Can business growth actually lead to a healthier planet? Can companies innovate through the circular economy to create competitive advantage and genuine impact? Waste to Wealth proved that the emerging circular economy advantage exists – now Lacy, Long and Spindler show you how to realize it at speed and scale in The Circular Economy Handbook. We stand at a crossroads, with rising geopolitical and geo-economic tensions, massive technological change and a host of social and environmental challenges. We are pushing planetary boundaries to their limits, with climate change and threats to biodiversity and oceans as just a few examples. Significant impacts are already being felt, and both people and planet face potentially catastrophic and irreversible consequences if we don’t urgently change our global model and systems. Our current linear “take, make, waste” models of production and consumption will not be sustainable in a world of some 9 billion people by 2050, especially with ever-expanding rates of consumption. Thriving within these dynamics demands more than incremental adjustments to business-as-usual. The circular economy offers a powerful means to decouple growth from use of scarce and harmful resources, enabling greater production and consumption with fewer negative environmental impacts—at the same time, making companies more innovative and competitive. In fact, this book shows that $4.5 trillion in economic value is at stake. Delivering on the promise of a circular economy demands impact and scale, extending through value chains and, ultimately, disrupting the entire economic system. In The Circular Economy Handbook, the authors illuminate the path from insight to action, from linear to circular. With case studies, advice and practical guidance, they show leaders how to pivot towards a holistic circular organization, embedding circularity internally and delivering broad-based system change. With unique insights across business models, technologies, and industries – featuring stories and real-world examples from circular pioneers – this book is the essential guide to help companies become leaders in the movement to secure the circular economy advantage.

Waste to Wealth proves that 'green' and 'growth' need not be binary alternatives. The book examines five new business models that provide circular growth from deploying sustainable resources to the sharing economy before setting out what business leaders need to do to implement the models successfully.

The concept of circular economy is based on strategies, practices, policies, and technologies to achieve principles related to reusing, recycling, redesigning, repurposing, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recovering water, waste materials, and nutrients to preserve natural resources. It provides the necessary conditions to encourage economic and social actors to adopt strategies toward sustainability. However, the increasing complexity of sustainability aspects means that traditional engineering and management/economics alone cannot face the new challenes and reach the appropriate solutions. Thus, this book highlights the role of engineering and management in building a sustainable society by developing a circular economy that establishes and protects strong social and cultural structures based on cross-disciplinary knowledge and diverse skills. It includes theoretical justification, research studies, and case studies to provide researchers, practitioners, professionals, and policymakers the appropriate context to work together in promoting sustainability and circular economy thinking. Volume 1, Circular Economy and Sustainability: Management and Policy, discusses the content of circular economy principles and how they can be realized in the fields of economy, management, and policy. It gives an outline of the current status and perception of circular economy at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels to provide a better understanding of its role to achieve sustainability. Volume 2, Circular Economy and Sustainability: Environmental Engineering, presents various technological and developmental tolls that emphasize the implementation of these principles in practice (micro-level). It demonstrates the necessity to establish a fundamental connection between sustainable engineering and circular economy. Presents a novel approach linking circular economy concept to environmental engineering and management to promote sustainability goals in modern societies Approaches the topic of production and consumption at both the micro- and macro-levels, integrating principles with practice Offers a range of theoretical and foundational knowledge in addition to case studies that demonstrate the potential impact of circular economy principles on economic and societal progress

This open access book discusses the challenges and opportunities faced by companies in an age that increasingly values sustainability and demands corporate responsibility. Beginning with the historical development of corporate responsibility, this book moves from academic theory to practical application. It points to ways in which companies can successfully manage their transition to a more responsible, sustainable way of doing business, common mistakes to avoid and how the UN Sustainable Development Goals are integral to any sustainability transformation. Practical cases illustrate key points. Drawing on thirty years of sustainability research and extensive corporate experience, the author provides tools such as a Step-by-Step strategic guide on integrating sustainability in collaboration with stakeholders including employees, customers, suppliers and investors. The book is particularly relevant for SMEs and companies operating in emerging markets. From a broader perspective, the value of externalities, full cost pricing, alternative economic theories and circular economy are also addressed.

Urbanisation and climate change are pushing cities to find novel pathways leading to a sustainable future. The urban context may be viewed as a new experimentation space to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Urban symbiosis and the circular economy are emerging concepts attracting more and more attention within the urban context. Moreover, new business models are emerging around sharing and peer-to-peer practices, which are challenging existing roles of actors in society. These developments are having an important impact on the flows of resources and the use of the city infrastructure, and each research area has taken a different perspective in the analysis of such impacts. This Special Issue aims to explore what a “circular city” could constitute and how and why cities engage in circularity. This Special Issue includes seven high-quality papers on the theories and practices of circular cities. Actors, concepts, methods, tools, the barriers to and enablers of circular cities are discussed and a solid base and inspiration for the future development of circular cities are provided.

This book provides an overview of a circular economy. This model has profound consequences for production, employment, education, money & finance but also induces a shift in public policy and taxation. Its economic advantage lies in designing out waste and favouring radical resource productivity with the prospect of rebuilding capital & resilience.

The concept of circular economy is based on strategies, practices, policies, and technologies to achieve principles related to reusing, recycling, redesigning, repurposing, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recovering water, waste materials, and nutrients to preserve natural resources. It provides the necessary conditions to encourage economic and social actors to adopt strategies toward sustainability. However, the increasing complexity of sustainability aspects means that traditional engineering and management/economics alone cannot face the new challenges and reach the appropriate solutions. Thus, this book highlights the role of engineering and management in building a sustainable society by developing a circular economy that establishes and protects strong social and cultural structures based on cross-disciplinary knowledge and diverse skills. It includes theoretical justification, research studies, and case studies to provide researchers, practitioners, professionals, and policymakers the appropriate context to work together in promoting sustainability and circular economy thinking. Volume 1, Circular Economy and Sustainability: Management and Policy, discusses the content of circular economy principles and how they can be realized in the fields of economy, management, and policy. It gives an outline of the current status and perception of circular economy at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels to provide a better understanding of its role in achieving sustainability. Volume 2, Circular Economy and Sustainability: Environmental Engineering, presents various technological and developmental tools that emphasize the implementation of these principles in practice (micro-level). It demonstrates the necessity to establish a fundamental connection between sustainable engineering and circular economy. Presents a novel approach, linking circular economy concepts to environmental engineering and management to promote sustainability goals in modern societies Approaches the topic on production and consumption at both the micro and macro levels, integrating principles with practice Offers a range of theoretical and foundational knowledge in addition to case studies that demonstrate the potential impact of circular economy principles on both economic and societal progress