Bringing utilisation -focused evaluation into effect in virtual workshops

Travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced many collaboration activities online, requiring creative approaches to make these interactions work in the virtual world. This paper introduces an alternative approach to support multi -disciplinary research, when travel is out of the question. A utilisation -focused evaluation framework was used to track the success of two semi -virtual workshops held across four locations. An important feature of the approach was the regular evaluation touchpoints that provided flexibility to update workshop design. Feedback is incredibly important in virtual settings where tone and body language are largely absent, and the 'successes' of workshop activities are difficult to gauge. Incorporating these principles did not require a significant amount of time in terms of implementation but did require a commitment to the process by the programme lead and evaluator. This paper provides recommendations for people setting up a similar process.

A proposed circular-SCOR model for supply chain performance measurement in manufacturing industry during COVID-19

PurposeCOVID-19 is a global event affecting supply chain operations and human health. With COVID-19, many issues in business models, business processes and supply chains, especially in the manufacturing industry, have had to change. The ability to analyze supply chain performances and ensure circularity in supply chains has become one of the factors whose importance has increased rapidly with COVID-19. Therefore, it aims to determine which supply chain performance criteria come to the fore for the company under consideration to accelerate the transformation into high performance and circularity in supply chains.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, a new circular-SCOR model is proposed, and 17 supply chain performance measurement criteria are prioritized for a manufacturing company in the context of circular economy principles during COVID-19 by using stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis and analytical hierarchy process method, separately.FindingsAs a result, for both methods, in the case study discussed, the demand fulfillment rate is determined as the most prominent criterion in line with the circular economy principles in the COVID-19 period in manufacturing supply chains.Originality/valueIt is expected that this study will contribute to managers and policy makers as it addresses the "new normal” that started after COVID-19 and the criteria to be considered in supply chain performance measurement and emphasizes the need to adopt circular supply chains, especially in manufacturing industries.

Guest editorial: Performance measurement in supply chains during disruptions: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

[...]it becomes essential to understand the PM aspects in the face of emergency situations such as COVID-19. Since the seminal article by Benita Beamon proposing new performance measures for evaluating supply chain performance, the literature has evolved. [...]the guest editors would also like to thank the authors for their contributions and for choosing our special issue as a relevant platform to communicate their research works. The insights drawn from this SI will provide them with effective guidance to help them design, implement and improve performance measurement systems capable of effectively measuring different supply chain processes and issues during unexpected and disruptive events.Table 1 Articles published in this special issue Article Title Purpose 1 Airline catering supply chain performance during pandemic disruption: a Bayesian network modelling approach This study aims to consider the impact of implementing Bayesian network (BN) modelling to measure SC performance in the airline catering during the pandemic context 2 The role of Industry 4.0 technologies on performance measurement systems of supply chains during global pandemics: an interval-valued intuitionistic hesitant fuzzy approach This study aims to investigate supply chain performance measurement systems (SCPMSs) that are suitable and applicable to evaluate SC performance during unexpected events such as global pandemics. [...]it considers the contribution of Industry 4.0 Disruptive Technologies (IDTs) to implement SCPMSs during such black swan events 3 A systematic literature review on supply chain resilience in SMEs: learnings from COVID-19 pandemic This paper presents the state-of-art literature on supply chain resilience in SMEs in the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and provides a comprehensive view of insights gained and gaps identified and suggests potential areas of future research 4 A proposed circular-SCOR model for supply chain performance measurement in the manufacturing industry during COVID-19 This study aims to determine which supply chain performance criteria come to the fore for the company under consideration to accelerate the transformation into high performance and circularity in supply chains, considering that the ability to analyse supply chain performances and ensure circularity in supply chains has become one of the factors whose importance has increased rapidly with COVID-19 5 How do food supply chain performance measures contribute to sustainable corporate performance during disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic emergency?

EVALUATING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF LIGHTWEIGHT DRONES FOR DELIVERY: TOWARDS A SUITABLE METHODOLOGY FOR ASSESSMENT

Drone technology is widely available and is rapidly becoming a crucial instrument in the functions of businesses and government agencies worldwide. The demand for delivery services is accelerating particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic. Both companies and customers want these services to be efficient, timely, safe, and sustainable, but these are major challenges. Last-mile delivery by lightweight short-range drones has the potential to address these challenges. However, there is a lack of consistency and transparency in assessing and reporting the sustainability of last-mile delivery services and drones. This paper presents a critical review of published assessments (specifically lifecycle assessment and circularity). The study reveals a lack of comprehensive studies, and a need to examine composite and battery manufacturing developments and provides key considerations for future study development. © 2022 Mitchell et al.

Strategies in Small Businesses to Combat Plastic Overproduction

Modern production processes have been increasingly responsible for plastic overproduction for various reasons, not limited to containers and packaging. Said situation has reflected its consequences on human and animal health, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, it is imperative to consider the measures taken to reduce plastic contamination and the role of sustainability in plastic production processes. Previous studies and literature about the effects of plastics, the provisional standards, and programs to reduce contamination caused by this material have been analyzed in order to highlight its importance. Green businesses are also proposed as a more efficient solution to the problem of plastic overproduction. Some examples of small green businesses are presented to demonstrate the adoption of sustainable, eco-friendly measures in their business model and that even after some years, said models have proved to be effective by providing revenues and still following the ecological practices such as recycling different kinds of plastics and wastes. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Circularity by stock in Sri Lanka: Economic necessity meets urban fabric renovation

Persistent fiscal and political mismanagement, together with the financial pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, have driven Sri Lanka into a social and economic crisis triggering a decrease in national foreign exchange reserves, an inability to purchase vital imports, and an unprecedented rise in internal inflation rates. Within the correspondingly distressed construction sector, the idea of ‘design circularity' gains natural impetus beyond eco-system protection and responsible consumption views, as a critical strategy for responding to the material and fiscal scarcity of the country's by-now relatively closed economy. This is also in light of the fact that the post-independence history of industrial policy in the island has produced an urban landscape characterised by large underused and increasingly derelict building stock with a significant potential - and need - to be programmatically reorganised, technically recycled, and spatially and culturally re-designed. This paper moves from the proposition that, for ‘circularity' to be of use at the scale required, its design application must expand beyond conventional interpretations of material recycling, to acknowledge the overall building fabric as a critical, transformative resource available to be renewed or reborn, with varying degrees of reforms as called by the existing opportunities, underlying programmatic needs, and/or industrial constraints. In facilitating this function, architectural design has an important role to play, as particular sets of design strategies must be employed to handle the inevitable complexities between structure and form, material and content, and product and process, against a reflective understanding of local building logic, challenges and potential. To that end, professional design can help foster design approaches to resolve the technical intricacies of building fabric transformations, to strategise actions concerning work procurement and economic planning, and to provide the leading agency in setting up future-industry configurations. How this approach could inform and affect broad market notions of design circularity for Sri Lanka is evaluated through the review of three projects that focus on different programmatic transformations (residential-to-residential, residential-to-recreational, and commercial-to-recreational), are set within different geographical locales (city, periphery and in-between), and situated in and around Kandy, Sri Lanka's second largest city. The projects illustrate possible tactics for intervening on the existing fabric whilst considering the benefits of each and articulating the structural challenges for the practices involved. Copyright © 2023 Pathiraja and Tombesi.

CLOSED LOOP SUPPLY CHAINS AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY – THE POSSIBILITIES OF INTERPLAY

Background: The concepts of closed loop supply chain and circular economy are both based on the introduction of circular flow of material goods. Both concepts are becoming increasingly important not only due to the significance of reducing negative environmental impacts, but also due to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The aim of this article is to determine the role of closed loop supply chains in circular economy and to determine the possibilities of interplay regarding practical application of these concepts. Methods: The research method used in this paper is the review of the existing literature. The reviewed literature is related to the areas of closed loop supply chains and circular economy. The study focuses not only on the possibilities of interplay between these two concepts, but also similarities, differences, and related operational concepts, such as slowing or intensifying loops of flows of material goods. Results: The results concern the possibilities of interplay between closed loop supply chains and circular economy and possibilities related with building the closed loop supply chains in circular economy. One of such possibilities is building circular networks consisting of closed loop supply chains. It might include collaboration related to reducing the use, reusing, and recycling of material resources. Conclusions: The main possibility of interplay between closed loop supply chains and circular economy is collaboration between actors of different supply chains aiming at building circular networks. The main research implication is providing a basis for further research related with building closed loop supply chains and circular networks in circular economy. © Wyższa Szkoła Logistyki, Poznań, Polska.

Challenges and future opportunities to unlock the critical supply chain of personal and protective equipment (PPE) encompassing decontamination and reuse under emergency use authorization (EUA) conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic: Through a reflective circularity and sustainability lens.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the resulting coronavirus disease (COVID-19), was declared a public health emergency of global concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the early months of 2020. There was a marked lack of knowledge to inform national pandemic response plans encompassing appropriate disease mitigation and preparation strategies to constrain and manage COVID-19. For example, the top 16 "most cited" papers published at the start of the pandemic on core knowledge gaps collectively constitute a staggering 29,393 citations. Albeit complex, appropriate decontamination modalities have been reported and developed for safe reuse of personal and protective equipment (PPE) under emergency use authorization (EUA) where critical supply chain shortages occur for healthcare workers (HCWs) caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Commensurately, these similar methods may provide solutions for the safe decontamination of enormous volumes of PPE waste promoting opportunities in the circular bioeconomy that will also protect our environment, habitats and natural capital. The co-circulation of the highly transmissive mix of COVID-19 variants of concern (VoC) will continue to challenge our embattled healthcare systems globally for many years to come with an emphasis placed on maintaining effective disease mitigation strategies. This viewpoint article addresses the rationale and key developments in this important area since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and provides an insight into a variety of potential opportunities to unlock the long-term sustainability of single-use medical devices, including waste management.

Toward resilient organizations after COVID-19: An analysis of circular and less circular companies.

The COVID-19 pandemic had large repercussions for our economy and organizations. Improved resilience can give organizations the ability to withstand crises and build back better and faster. This article assesses resilience of organizations and sole proprietorships in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic with eight circular strategies as explanatory variables. Furthermore, these eight circular strategies are also used to assess the organizations' and sole proprietorships' resilience outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis is conducted to explain how circular strategies can help companies and sole proprietorships maintain stability. The analysis was performed by means of a survey conducted between May and June 2020 in Flanders (Belgium), using a sample of 542 respondents. After performing a regression analysis combined with expert opinions collected through interviews, we find that companies and sole proprietorships with a higher circularity score have a significantly higher resilience score during crises and during normal times, compared to less circular companies. Furthermore, we find that the size of the company does not matter during a crisis to adapt and react flexibly, while it is important when there is no crisis. Finally, we argue that it is the combination of different circular strategies which yields to the highest results for the organizations' resilience and we provide policy recommendations based on the most asked support measures.

Circular economy, circular regenerative processes, agrowth and placemaking for tourism future

Purpose>This conceptual paper explores the possibility to envision circular regenerative processes embracing agrowth and placemaking within tourism;an industry remarkably connected to the Anthropocene and its detrimental impacts on the planet. Drawing on theorisations of circular economy, on the concept of agrowth, and on theories of placemaking, this viewpoint offers a novel conceptual framework to imagine a regenerative future for tourism.Design/methodology/approach>The authors connect the ancient archetype of “circularity”, largely used to make sense of life on Earth, with the Greek concept of oikonomia. The resulting notion of a circular oikonomia is then intersected with theories of placemaking. In doing so, the authors are driven by the idea of de-growth, as an “a-growthism” urging the abandonment of the faith towards growth for an enduring stable regenerative agrowth.Findings>The authors offer a novel conceptual framework to counteract the negative impacts of Anthropocene and envision future scenarios in which tourism can make a difference by enacting enduring regenerative processes for places and human and non-human entities.Originality/value>The originality of this study lies in the conceptual framework proposed to imagine the future of tourism, hospitality and mobilities in circular regenerative terms. This study envisions stable and enduring regenerative processes of natural assets, materials, products, services and resources as well as a tourism space made up of lively, multiple, transformative relationships and interactions among people and the environments people live in and travel to.

Paving the way towards circularity in the building sector. Empa’s Sprint Unit as a beacon of swift and circular construction

In order to achieve the CO2 targets stipulated within the Paris Agreement, future buildings must be constructed in such a way, that their emission profile will be close to zero. In order to achieve this, a radical shift towards a circular construction manner which encompasses topics like material reuse (i.e. design for multiple lifecycles), design-for-disassembly (allowing for maximum recovery of materials and minimization of construction waste) must be promoted against todays, conventional construction practices. Furthermore, the current Covid-19 pandemic has shown that buildings must be constructed in a more flexible manner, in order to be adaptable to changing needs as quickly as possible – including new types of needs. A transition to such a circular construction practice requires also new approaches for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), taking into account issues such as the circularity or multiple life cycle of materials. Conventional LCA methods fail to deliver trustworthy results as they are designed to assess products and buildings that have only a single life cycle. In this context, a newly constructed unit, set to be the embodiment of the circular construction principle that incorporates all the above-mentioned concepts in the form of a cluster of flexible office spaces, has been integrated into the research building NEST (Next Evolution in Sustainable Building Technologies) – a platform located at the Empa campus in Dübendorf (Switzerland), where novel building technologies can be tested and validated under realistic conditions. Its name: Sprint. In this paper, the environmental performance of Sprint is assessed through LCA, using three different approaches – the EN15804 method, the Product Environmental Footprint method and the Linear Degressive approach – with the latter two approaches considering the circularity of materials, while each one having an own, distinctive allocation rule for the split of the impacts between the current, the previous and the subsequent lifecycles.

Life cycle assessment and circularity evaluation of the non-medical masks in the Covid-19 pandemic: a Brazilian case.

This paper aims to evaluate the life cycle impact and the circularity of face masks to support government public policies in extreme consumption of these products as in the case of the Covid-19. The reference case was the Brazilian context for using and consuming Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Two types of face masks were defined for analysis: handmade reusable face masks made with cotton fabric and single-use face masks made with nonwoven fabric. To achieve this goal, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) steps following ISO 14040 and the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation were applied. The results obtained show that the reuse of face masks has a better environmental performance over five uses. The comparative analysis between the ReCiPe 2016 and IMPACT World+ methods shows that the impact categories linked to human health are the most important in terms of environmental impact. Nevertheless, the trend toward improved environmental performance for the handmade reusable face mask has continued. The possibility of recycling shows that the reintegration of material after the use of the product could improve the environmental performance of both face masks. Finally, the reuse increases the circularity of cotton fabric masks compared to nonwoven fabric masks according to MCI. In this way, it is possible to observe that the handmade reusable face mask has a better environmental performance and a higher circularity than the single-use face mask. Thus, the results of the environmental performance and circularity of the face masks may support the decision of government agents to guide the public in the use of face masks, not only contributing to the protection of health against Covid-19, but also reducing the environmental impact of PPE. Furthermore, the methodological steps adopted in the study gives greater reliability in the conclusions obtained.

Circular Economy as a Mechanism of Resilience Against COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the entire global dynamic, causing numerous rapid adaptation processes by companies to survive. The positive impact caused by quarantine via reducing NO2 contamination is examined in this chapter. Perhaps, once countries resume their usual activities, atmospheric NO2 concentrations will rise again. Plans made in Europe are written as the European Green Deal. The Donut Economics approach is also described. Finally, initiatives being developed in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are presented. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Dynamics of Value Creation and Sustainability in a Rapidly Changing Economic System

The global economic system is at a threshold of transformation. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an inflection point for economies all over the world. As the world is moving toward circularity, it is the right time to reflect upon what would be the economic strategies required to ensure the feasibility of a circular economy. This paper dwells upon the dynamics of value creation and sustainability in the ever-changing global economic system. The creation of a circular economy demands rethinking the process of production keeping sustainability in mind. The approach is to emphasize reducing wastage and ensuring bringing circularity in all domains like human resource, finance, marketing and operations. After detailed literature, the objectives of the paper were identified. This being a relatively new subject the research methodology adopted for the paper is a detailed exploratory study of secondary data like research papers, articles and Websites. The concept of value creation has to be integrated with all the systems. Transdisciplinary systems have to be created to reduce costs and create an atmosphere of value creation. Circularity as a strategy requires a huge amount of planning and rethinking the way operations are conducted in any company. The authors have attempted to identify the economic strategies which can be adopted by the policy-makers around the globe and specifically, in India. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Virtual Tourism, Carbon Footprint, and Circularity

This chapter aims to analyze the tourism sector globally and the creation of virtual tourism. It is presented along with the previous context of the sector and the damage made by the COVID-19 pandemic. This lens shows how virtual tourism emerged as an alternative to traditional tourism while people worldwide were forced to stay home during the uncertainty of the pandemic. Virtual tourism would be related to the arising environmental tendencies expected to be embraced by the industry companies to make tourism a more sustainable economic activity and, therefore, reduce its carbon footprint through circularity. Finally, it also analyses the possibility of its per durability once the consequences and lags of the pandemic are solved. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Virtual Education: Carbon Footprint and Circularity

Virtual education has appeared to upgrade traditional education in different dimensions, such as easing the learning process, developing new teaching methodologies, and eliminating distance barriers. Since the pandemic outbreak by COVID-19, this situation has intensified, forcing students and educators to adapt to this new scenario, which involves staying at home and using electronic devices for long hours, which seems to contribute positively to the environment, as there is no need to attend education centers where physical installations and different services are used. However, little has been said about the environmental impact of virtual learning. Nevertheless, to have a transparent approach and determine virtual education sustainability, it is essential to analyze its implications. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy: Integration Opportunities Generated by Startups

Background: The purpose of this study is to analyze the adoption and implementation of technologies related to Industry 4.0 and the integration with circular economy (CE) to minimize the effects of resource scarcity in emergency situations. Method: The study was developed in two stages: The first consists of a systematic review of the literature for analytical categorization of the technologies of Industry 4.0 that can be useful for implementation in the circular economy. In the second step, empirical validation was carried out with 45 foodtech startups from the agribusiness value chain, farm to table, reuse, and waste management and disposal segments. Results: The contributions of the study show that: (i) The business models of startups in the food segment are closely aligned with the assumptions of circular economy. (ii) The technologies of industry 4.0 are supporting the implementation of circular economy in foodtech companies. (iii) Digitization, traceability, software as a service, traceability, digital solutions, and shared platforms occupy the leadership in the interface between CE and industry 4.0. (iv) Partnerships are strategic elements in the creation of innovative ecosystems for the success of foodtech startups. Conclusions: We conclude this paper with a diagnosis about companies involved in the foodtech segment in addition to the proposition of a business and sectorial agenda to consolidate the Industry 4.0 technologies in order to promote circular economy.

Circular Thinking, Social Innovation and Governance

The current institutional governments, companies and the society as a whole are not being effective in meeting many of the current challenges. Some of these, such as environmental, ecological, energy and health protection challenges among others, have grown far beyond us all. A deep transformation of our political, economic, social and environmental fabric has become increasingly necessary. The circular economy is an opportunity as a new model of economic and social development, since it represents a new way of thinking and acting where everything is connected. In this article, the urgent need for all the actors that make up the development process to provide a circular way of thinking and social innovation is strongly emphasized;especially for Governance to lead and support an important process of essential changes for the staging of a new approach and paradigm of our economic activity that is also respectful of social and environmental standards, which also has positive consequences in the protection of health against SARS-CoV-2. © 2021 ACM.

Automatic device for remote measuring of circularity: Development and implementation in education courses

In conjunction with the development of technology, teaching in educational institutions around the world has also changed from traditional teaching, where blackboards and chalk were used, to modern teaching with blended or completely online learning environments. Online teaching became a necessity over the past year as the COVID-19 pandemic occurred throughout the world. One of the biggest problems that arose was the impossibility of students to work with equipment on the spot during laboratory exercises. In turn, many universities have used labs with physical devices that can be launched remotely through the Internet from anywhere. One such device is presented in this paper. An automatic device for the remote measurement of geometric tolerances, circularity, was developed and applied in the teaching process at the University of Novi Sad. The exercises were performed by students who remotely started and controlled the device and measured the deviation of the actual from the defined diameter of the work piece in the desired cross section. At the end of the semester, students completed an evaluation questionnaire and expressed satisfaction with the implementation of this exercise. © 2021 University of Kuwait. All rights reserved.