Circular Economy - Artikel: Circular Economy. The concept and its limitations

7 important questions on Circular Economy - Artikel: Circular Economy. The concept and its limitations

Why is CE according to Korhonen et al (2017) a perfect business case?

It is a perfect business case because it makes common sense that if you extract a resource from nature and work hard to produce it to a product or service that has an economic value, you want to use this value as many times as possible.

In the article, Korhonen et al (2017) discuss the circular economy concept and its limitations. They start by arguing the CE is a response to the problematic lineair economy we are in. What is the lineair economy?

The lineair economy is the one way throughput of materials and energy between nature and human economy. It creates waste and emissions, and currently the global ecosystem is shrinking in size and volume. The lineair economy is considered to be the main challenge of SD.

The Vision of CE is constructed by the viewpoint of WCED (world commission on environment and development) and planetary boundaries. What is the inner circle of CE? And what is the main aim of the inner circle?

Reuse, remanufacture, refurbishment. Because this demands less resources and energy and are more economic than recycling. The main aim underlying this is that the time the resources spend in the inner circle should be maximized. The product value chain and life cycle should retain the highest possible value and quality as long as possible, as efficient as possible.
  • Higher grades + faster learning
  • Never study anything twice
  • 100% sure, 100% understanding
Discover Study Smart

What is the most influential background concept of CE?

The idealized version of the cradle-to-cradle concept of eco-effectiveness.

In the article, Korhonen et al (2017) give CE a scientific definition. How do they define it?

Korhonen et al (2017) define CE as an economy that is constructed from societal production-consumption systems. CE maximizes the service produced from the lineair society-nature material and energy throughput flow. This is done using clinical materials, flows, renewable energy sources and cascading 1 type energy flows.
Successful CE contributes to all three dimensions of SD. It limits the throughput flow to a level that nature tolerates and utilizes ecosystem cycles in economic cycles by respecting their natural reproduction rates.

CE is a form of network environmental and sustainability management. According to Korhonen et al (2017) it is important that these systems are self-organized. How do they interpret new consumption systems? And how do they see new business concepts?

As user groups and communities sharing the use of functions and value as opposed to consume. New business concepts may include leasing and renting the service provided.

Korhonen et al (2017) distinguish two objectives of CE: economic and social objective. Elaborate on these.

The economic objective is to reduce the production-consumption system's raw material and energy costs (I), waste management (O),  emission control costs (O), risk from legislation (I&O) and reputation (O).

The social objective is considered with the sharing economy, increased employment, participative democratic decision making, more efficient use of existing physical material capacity through cooperative and community user-system. New employment, sense of community and user groups share are the wins.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

  • A unique study and practice tool
  • Never study anything twice again
  • Get the grades you hope for
  • 100% sure, 100% understanding
Remember faster, study better. Scientifically proven.
Trustpilot Logo