Circular Economy

The circular economy seeks its development through various efforts. Specific action guidelines and indicators are required for different levels, types of organizations, regions, etc. Likewise, diverse experiences are required to build indicators for each reality. A review of some indicators is made, and specific evidence is presented for each material or country. Future research is needed to test various indicators for their importance and validity.

New education programs related to the circular economy model are being developed and companies applying the circularity model and strategies according to the company and the context in which it is developed. This article aims to know what skills and knowledge new professionals require to minimize the risks in the transition from one model to another and the continuity of circularity. Throughout the literature review, it is shown that the knowledge and application of the circular economy model are focused on engineering careers but not on business careers, which through their acquired knowledge have significant contributions to competitiveness, consumer behavior, supply and demand, costs, and other variables that are important in a decision-making process of a circular economy. In the end, the competencies that are achieved through the different subjects and methodologies suggested are determined and the different actors that should be considered when developing a subject or a circular economy program.

Leadership has been a crucial topic of moving forward in times of COVID-19, and as can be seen in the chapter, it forces having to address different needs, from the death of workers, providing good teams, maintaining commitment, maintaining leadership image, avoiding harmful habits in closing, and mainly, ensuring smooth and effective communication in all teams locally and globally. Many people have passed away, many companies have remained, and that more than ever should drive the focus of academic and research efforts on leadership in times of crisis. About resilience, there is a need to lead processes that have sustainability at their core, specifically with projects that include sustainable indicators and certifications such as footprinting.

Food loss is a global problem with significant social, economic, and ecological impacts. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a third of the food produced globally is lost or wasted along the food supply chain (FSC). Food requires water for its production. This water consumption can be measured under the WF indicator's Water Footprint (WF). This indicator makes it possible to measure fresh water's direct and indirect use throughout the food supply chain. Estimates of the water footprint of crop production range between 5,938 and 8,508 km³/year. The greater the loss or waste of food, the greater the water consumption. Therefore, applying strategies related to the circular economy is an alternative solution. This chapter provides the relationship between food loss and the water footprint to provide alternative solutions under the circular economy model.

3D printing is part of the advanced technology that is beneficial in many areas such as construction, packaging, and medicine because it can create objects that can offer a better understanding of specific prototypes or models that you want to study. In addition, it also allows a smaller-scale production with lower costs for companies, so its use represents a comparative advantage and allows creating complex and more personalized designs to offer to its customers. In general, three-dimensional printing represents an efficient form of production that has a wide range of possibilities for its use. However, it is essential to know its impact at the environmental level to manage better and control its use. In the present work, we seek to know the relationship between circularity and three-dimensional impressions and the carbon footprint on the planet. Different sources and comparisons were made, and examples were proposed to explain and describe each previously proposed relationship to meet the research objective. The analysis results concluded that the impact was undoubtedly less than traditional production methods but that there is much room for improvement to reduce further the footprint left by 3D printing, such as a change in the use of materials. On the other hand, it is possible to achieve 3D prints that are circular and sustainable over time by making the necessary efforts. Additionally, the requirements for sustainable production through 3D printing must be not only feasible but also accessible to all to make a real change starting from the smallest companies and individuals that use this technology to the mass productions made by large companies.

The academic and scientific literature agreed that the current economic, social, and environmental contexts require it to be treated immediately, especially in the packaging industry. Even though countries, organizations, and consumers took action to solve these problems, a change in the economic situation impacts the environmental and social ones and vice versa. To address all of them simultaneously, developing an economic model considering the three factors is necessary. This chapter discusses how a circular economy can lead to economic and sustainable growth, focusing on the packaging industry and carbon footprint. Analyzing what is currently done can also show a general picture of the current circular economy practices worldwide.

The anthropogenic activities developed in the manufacturing and distribution of products that are carried out at greater intensity to meet the growing demand and consumption worldwide produce a more significant amount of greenhouse gases (GHG), which impacts global warming. In the same way, the problem of the scarcity of natural resources, increasingly growing, creates the need to seek better alternatives with a sustainable approach to protect the state of the planet in which we live. For this, the support of governments, companies, and even consumers is required. This chapter takes the perspective of the circular economy (CE) as an opportunity to implement sustainable methods based on the management and reduction of waste, giving them a new function. Adding the use of the carbon footprint (CF) as a tool that allows knowing the impact of anthropogenic activities on the environment is added. In addition, confirmed cases aim to reduce GHG emissions by implementing a more efficient system that originates based on the CE principles.

Unsustainable food supply chains are negatively affecting the environment. As a result, this topic has been debated worldwide, and several actors came to the same conclusions: intervention and actions are a must. Nonetheless, this approach was not standardized, and countries and companies are implementing circular economies differently. This chapter aims to outline the current circular economy approach taken internationally and discuss the barriers of this last. A qualitative analysis was conducted by collecting several case studies and understanding the identified practices and challenges. In the findings, the authors discovered that countries’ policies remain weak globally, though the demand is increasing. Drawbacks and limitations such as economic resources, technological innovation, and incentives are evidenced.

Year by year, the waste footprint has been increasing significantly; thousands of tons of waste generated by various industry sectors is already bringing irreparable changes in the world. One of the principal industries that produce these effects is the fashion industry, which used to follow a traditional linear fashion promoted by marketing where consumption by demand becomes a “necessity.” However, this perspective has been changing, where the final consumer nowadays is more conscious about the process and the negative aspects that fast fashion means for the environment and the social aspect. This current chapter analyzes the aspects that the fashion industry generates, such as economic, environmental, and social impact, and the solution that provides the fashion and textile circularity for the sector with practical cases being implemented.

Companies that offer a good have a significant carbon footprint due to the production of their products. In this way, a selection of more environmentally friendly materials is sought to reduce pollution, so that unused or no longer helpful raw materials can be reused in the production of other derived products. This research details a circular economy framework for carbon footprint reduction, focusing on material selection. Most of the articles reviewed date from 2017 to 2021, demonstrating that the topic is new to the research area. Based on the literature review, research on the circular economy in feedstock sorting has focused on the recovery and recycling of waste to facilitate circularity in future. The framework presented also allows analysis from an eco-efficiency point of view because it considers economic and environmental aspects that improve products and processes using technologies. This way provides professionals with a new approach to efficiently cost-effectively managing their waste. In addition, circularity can be especially useful for the long-term strategy work of various companies regardless of the sector they are in, but which are in the goods production sector.

The textile and food industries are two sectors whose water consumption generates a significant environmental footprint. The production of industries must be focused on sustainability if the organizations for these sectors are improved. Therefore, it is necessary to focus the analysis on the sustainable alternatives applied in the supply chain by applying circular strategies. This chapter presents water use and its water footprint in the industries above. In addition, some strategies applied to improve water footprint levels—which involve water consumption and pollution—through circular strategies are presented. Finally, some trends and external and internal factors that can determine the successful implementation of a sustainable supply chain are presented.

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.

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.