A Circularity Indicator Tool for Measuring the Ecological Embeddedness of Manufacturing

Circularity in manufacturing is critical to reducing raw material usage and waste. Ecological embeddedness examines circular relationships intended to benefit both economic actors and the natural environment. By understanding circular relationships in the value chain, manufacturers can formulate str...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2021-08, Vol.13 (16), p.8773
Main Authors: Trollman, Hana, Colwill, James, Jagtap, Sandeep
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Best practice
Business models
Climate change
Consumers
Economic aspects
Environmental aspects
Environmental impact
Factor analysis
Literature reviews
Manufacturers
Manufacturing
Manufacturing industry
Pragmatism
Supply chains
Sustainability
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Summary:Circularity in manufacturing is critical to reducing raw material usage and waste. Ecological embeddedness examines circular relationships intended to benefit both economic actors and the natural environment. By understanding circular relationships in the value chain, manufacturers can formulate strategies that are eco-effective. This work develops and validates an original circularity tool to measure the ecological embeddedness of manufacturers using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The tool is tested on process manufacturers selling products in the United Kingdom. The three main results are that the tool is useful and comprehensive (87% of users), enables simple comparisons with competitors, and identifies weaknesses in strategies related to the five dimensions connecting manufacturers, consumers, and the environment: understanding, realising, utilising, negotiating, and reclaiming. Manufacturers may use the tool to improve their ecological embeddedness, and sector-based circularity levels may be established for policy development. The novelty of the tool is in the use of ecological relationships to support achievement of a circular economy.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su13168773