Renewables in the Circular Economy and Business

The use of renewable energy sources enables the decarbonization of the economy. Moreover, the share of renewable energy in the global energy balance is growing. Government policymakers encourage increased investment in renewable energy generation capacity, even though the higher price of such energy compared with energy from traditional sources remains an obstacle to the complete abandonment of the use of fossil fuels for energy generation. This study examines the relationship between macroeconomic characteristics and energy consumption from renewable sources in 159 countries from 1990 to 2020. A positive association was identified between economic inequality and renewable energy consumption (a 1% increase in economic inequality was associated with a 0.58% increase in renewable energy consumption) and between GDP per capita and renewable energy consumption (a 1% increase in GDP per capita was associated with a 0.11% increase in renewable energy consumption). The negative association between economic inequality and the GDP per capita interaction with renewable energy consumption mitigates the use of energy from renewable sources in developing countries with high levels of economic inequality.

This study outlines key strategies to create and implement long-term energy plans, as evidenced by 15 case studies. Renewable energy and efficient companies such as Tesla, Siemens, and Vestas have presented higher value added by industry, but they emit less carbon. For instance, Tesla achieved a 3.5% value added by industry and a 50% reduction in carbon emissions with a 50% renewable energy share commitment but obtained 4%, that is, a 0% value added by industry with a 60% renewable energy share. There is thus a requirement for harmonization and for the review of these coordination goals such as how policies are aligned and incentives offered as well as the incorporation of topics like sustainable energy policies into broader policy frameworks. Pursuant to the econometric model, a 10% boost in renewable energy use will arise in a 1.2% gain in industrial value added and a 5% decrease in carbon emissions. These findings are supported by case studies of companies that emphasize the importance of a complete plan for sustainable energy development.

Energy efficiency and climate protection have shaped environmental discussion. Climate change objectives and regulations are increasing, especially in heat- and energy-intensive industries. An example is the iron and steel industry, which accounts for approximately 4–5% of global energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. This study reviews waste heat recovery potentials and elucidates methodologies for their quantification based on physical and technical optima while ensuring economic production conditions (cost minimization, maximization of plant utilization, preservation of product quality, and competitiveness). It further introduces and explains the KPIs as specific heat input (kWh/t) and heat utilization rate (%), describing the economic potential of waste heat, overall prices, and the cost structure of alternative production technologies or heat sources. These KPIs are critical for evaluating waste heat utilization efforts and detailing their calculation processes. Ways of waste heat recovery are linked to an overview of possible technologies.

Increasing the energy efficiency level of buildings is crucial for recovering the Ukrainian economy and resolving the dependence on external energy sources. This study presents a toolkit of scientific and methodical approaches to the infrastructural and marketing support of energy-saving systems, allowing one to solve the existing problems in the national energy sector systematically. Based on monitoring the results, practical strategies for further development have been identified, aimed at constantly increasing energy efficiency, energy sustainability, economic security, and scaling up energy efficiency programs. It has been established that the technical and economic substantiation of energy-saving projects based on assessing energy costs and economic effect levels allows the creation of a foundation for involving new participants in scaling up positive experiences. The energy-saving system infrastructure and marketing support are vital in implementing national economy recovery projects by stimulating the demand for energy-efficient solutions and the transition to sustainable development. The practical implementation of this approach in the example of one communication and logistics infrastructure facility made it possible to reduce the cost of heat energy consumption by 5.8 times. The discounted payback period for the implemented energy-saving measures ranges from 0.16 to 3.16 years. Scaling this project will expand the influence of energy efficiency processes on other critical infrastructure facilities, increase the overall energy efficiency level in various economic sectors, reduce dependence on energy sources, and contribute to preserving natural resources and reducing their negative impact on the environment.

The study investigates the issues with financial stability in the energy sector, focusing on the recommendations for enhancing unstable aspects and the factors that affect stability. This sector has been found to be facing several financial challenges including regulatory issues, market volatility, and technological shocks. These problems have also led to instability of the financial environment, thus making the sector to struggle in search of capital and funding for its operations. To address these vulnerabilities, several measures have been suggested, which include adopting new technology, establishing ways of managing risks, and improving the relations between industries and regulatory bodies. From the regression analysis of computational assessment of the financial contingency of the energy segment, GDP (0.2848), government subsidies (0.1373), and interest rates (0.1916) make the main effects observed. For instance, higher energy price volatility (− 0.0297) is associated with a poor financial stability position which in turn means that tools of risk management are necessary to counter policy changes in energy prices.

The study proposes mechanisms for implementing compliance management in energy enterprises, considering relevant international and national security requirements. Approaches to sustainable energy development using renewable sources and proposed requirements for such energy equipment were analysed. To ensure the sustainable development of energy enterprises, the author proposes a compliance management model based on a structural and hierarchical system of regulatory support for safety and energy efficiency in the nuclear power sector, which forms a compliance policy. The mechanisms for implementing compliance management include an algorithm for compliance monitoring and control of the safety of power equipment operation, which is based on the proposed mathematical model for assessing technical conditions. The developed assessment models provide operational information on the actual current technical conditions and indicators of operational safety of power equipment, which allows constant monitoring of the technical condition of the equipment, regulation of the frequency of preventive maintenance and repairs to maintain the equipment in good condition, prediction of resources, and solving the issue of extending the service life or the expediency of equipment restoration, which in turn allows effective management of the energy enterprise and ensures equipment safety.