Towards circular economy indicators: Evidence from the European Union.

The European Union (EU) is moving towards sustainable development, and a key role is played by circular economy (CE) models geared towards reducing pressure on natural resources, generating jobs and fostering economic opportunities. Indicators are able to aggregate a variety of information and their use, through the use of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), allows the performance of alternatives to be monitored. This work aims to calculate the performance of the EU27 in the years 2019 and 2020 according to 15 CE indicators available on Eurostat. The results of the Analytic Hierarchy process show that the greatest impact on circularity is determined by the category 'competitiveness and innovation', which together with the category 'global sustainability and resilience' accounts for two thirds of the overall weight. The MCDA results show that Belgium prevails in both the baseline and alternative scenarios, ahead of Italy and the Netherlands respectively. In general, circular policies see western European countries excel, while the performance of eastern European countries is weaker. The implications of this work highlight the three main barriers to the development of CE models: (i) illegal waste management; (ii) lack of knowledge and low level of investment in circular technologies and (iii) low distribution of value among stakeholders. In this way, resource management based on circularity will enable Europe to meet the challenges of sustainability with less dependence on imported raw materials.

Environmental implications and levelized cost analysis of E-fuel production under photovoltaic energy, direct air capture, and hydrogen.

The ecological transition in the transport sector is a major challenge to tackle environmental pollution, and European legislation will mandate zero-emission new cars from 2035. To reduce the impact of petrol and diesel vehicles, much emphasis is being placed on the potential use of synthetic fuels, including electrofuels (e-fuels). This research aims to examine a levelised cost (LCO) analysis of e-fuel production where the energy source is renewable. The energy used in the process is expected to come from a photovoltaic plant and the other steps required to produce e-fuel: direct air capture, electrolysis and Fischer-Tropsch process. The results showed that the LCOe-fuel in the baseline scenario is around 3.1 €/l, and this value is mainly influenced by the energy production component followed by the hydrogen one. Sensitivity, scenario and risk analyses are also conducted to evaluate alternative scenarios, and it emerges that in 84% of the cases, LCOe-fuel ranges between 2.8 €/l and 3.4 €/l. The findings show that the current cost is not competitive with fossil fuels, yet the development of e-fuels supports environmental protection. The concept of pragmatic sustainability, incentive policies, technology development, industrial symbiosis, economies of scale and learning economies can reduce this cost by supporting the decarbonization of the transport sector.

Strategies for developing sustainable communities in higher education institutions.

Higher education institutions (HEIs), based on learning, innovation, and research, can support the progress of civil society. Many HEIs are implementing sustainability practices and projects to counteract climate change, often involving youth participation. The present study aimed at identifying how sustainable communities may be fostered in a university setting. To that end, a questionnaire was administered to engineering students at the start and end of a course on energy issues, assessing their perceptions of sustainability using multi-criteria decision analysis. The results showed that students placed greater value on sustainability at the end of the course. Additionally, the findings highlight that the implementation of projects aimed at tackling real problems may be useful for disseminating knowledge and sustainable practices. The main implications of this study indicate that sustainable communities in academia lay on six foundational pillars: sustainable education, energy (and resource) independence, subsidies in support of the green economy, initiatives aimed at reducing the carbon footprint, energy community development, and new green professional opportunities.

Interacting locally, acting globally: trust and proximity in social networks for the development of energy communities.

In this article, we analyze the role of social capital in the formation of sustainable energy communities. Specifically, we study the impact of different dimensions of social capital (i.e., structural, relational, cognitive) in determining willingness to participate in an energy community. Our survey data suggest that social contexts contribute to the development of energy communities, via (at least) two channels: (i) a family path, with individual perspectives showing a partial correlation with those of at least one relative, and (ii) a social channel, with higher social trust and greater interaction with neighbors favoring the propensity to participate in an energy community. The social coordination required for the formation of sustainable energy communities is determined by the quality of social interactions, and the spread of virtuous behavior is determined by not only economic policies (i.e., incentives), but also forward-looking policies favoring local aggregation and the creation of high-quality social capital. Thus, local actions and interactions can contribute to solving global climate change challenges.

Sustainable education and youth confidence as pillars of future civil society.

While sustainability is at the centre of many government agendas, there is a great risk of entrusting strategic decisions to those lacking in sustainability expertise. It is therefore necessary to ensure that universities are the green engines of sustainable communities. The present study administered a questionnaire to students enrolled in a Management Engineering programme at an Italian university, to collect their perceptions of and opinions on sustainability and energy issues. Students completed the questionnaire twice: once prior to beginning and once at the end of term. The results showed that students held more sustainable attitudes at the end of term, and perceived sustainable education and youth confidence as the building blocks of future society. They also observed that decarbonisation of the Italian energy system and national energy independence would require the significant development of renewable systems and interventions to promote energy efficiency. In addition, they recognised subsidies for green production, energy communities, differentiated waste collection and professional skills training as crucial. The sustainable university should support younger generations by encouraging student engagement in real-world projects and the development of long-term, structured teacher-student relationships.

Circular solar: Evaluating the profitability of a photovoltaic panel recycling plant.

Photovoltaic (PV) panels have a crucial role in coping with the global warming mitigation and the energetic crisis currently affecting the European Community. However, from the circular perspective of end-of-life (EoL) management, there are still big issues to be solved in order to recover materials from this kind of e-wastes. Because of several reasons (e.g. type of embedded materials, illegal shipments, location of manufacturers) EoL businesses do not have the interest in approaching them. This poses a significant environmental concern in terms of their management. This work wants to assess the profitability of a specific PV module recycling plant, by evaluating several market contexts in which multiple scenarios of material price, investment and process costs will be considered. The results for a 3000 tonnes plant show that profitability is not verified in the absence of an avoided landfill cost. Instead, when a value of 200 €/tonnes is applied, the net present value is positive in 35.2% of the scenarios and at 87.6% when a value of 350 €/tonnes is considered. The policy choice of this value requires linking the PV module disposal fee to the circular benefits associated with its recovery.

European IoT Use in Homes: Opportunity or Threat to Households?

The residential sector is characterized by new digital challenges. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a key-driver of innovation and operations management. This study aims to measure and assess IoT devices at the level of individuals, which are households, in European countries. For this scope, through the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), we analyse data from Eurostat providing a mix of indicators allowing information to be aggregated at the level of individual Europeans and disaggregated by age group. The results highlight that only four countries (Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Malta) are classified as a high cluster in the examined scenarios. The 16-24 age group is the most involved in the uses of IoT devices, but the previous three northern European countries also show very high values for the 35-44 age group. IoT devices serve as a springboard for achieving a powerful propulsion toward technological innovation in the new business models, identifying opportunities and being a way to make many routine tasks more agile. Training programs and awareness campaigns are policy suggestions for the development of IoT devices favouring a cultural change on their use. However, there is an emerging need for studies that monitor environmental health impacts to prevent possible threats.

Assessing the relation between waste management policies and circular economy goals.

The European Union has recently prioritized waste policies by embedding them in the new Horizon Europe work programme. Here, circular economy (CE) and digitalization are matching together in order to support all the industrial sectors in increasing their sustainability level. One of the main impacts expected from the EU is a better exploitation of wasted resources. However, waste streams are very different in terms of volumes, embedded materials and management policies. Considering only those waste streams with highest volumes, this study focuses on End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV), Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Starting from some policy recommendations and analyses identified through a literature review and the support of the experts, a survey has been conducted to identify the most critical items for each waste stream. Results of the survey show that, on the one hand, end of waste strategies has the highest importance for WEEE and ELV categories. On the other hand, social change has the highest importance for MSW. Consequently, end of waste strategies and social change should be considered as enablers of reuse and recycling practices in their reference contexts. In order to counteract the significant socio-economic issues already caused by delays in taking clear decisions about climate change mitigation strategies, policymakers should focus on these policy implications urgently if even more imminent environmental catastrophes are to be avoided.

Survey data to assess consumers' attitudes towards circular economy and bioeconomy practices: A focus on the fashion industry.

This data article presents data collected through a survey with the aim of understanding consumers' behavior in the fashion industry. The analyses of these data are elaborated in the article "The circular economy and bioeconomy in the fashion sector: Emergence of a "sustainability bias"" (Colasante and Adamo 2021). As highlighted in the literature, the fashion industry contributes significantly to environmental pollution in all steps, from the production to the delivery. Often, consumers are not aware of the impact of their fashion habits on the environment and this led to the emergence of the well-known fast fashion phenomenon. Even though there is a lack of evidence on this topic, shifting consumers to embrace bioeconomy as well as circular economy principles constitutes a possible solution to reduce the impact of the fashion sector on the environment. We collected these data on consumers' habits and preferences regarding both bioeconomy and circular economy by means of a questionnaire in which a total of 402 Italian people took part by using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform. This paper aims at presenting the data split in the three main blocks: (i) consumer perception; (ii) purchasing habits; and (iii) consumers' willingness to pay (WTP). The results obtained are of interest to citizens, business, academics and policy makers to understand consumers' perception of sustainability in the fashion industry. The proposed dataset can be replicated on a global scale, on specific market segments of the fashion industry and can be used to compare the perception of the circular bioeconomy in other sectors.

A mini-review of biomethane valorization: Managerial and policy implications for a circular resource.

The green transition requires renewable energy resources, especially the role of biomass is very crucial as it promotes resource circularity if sustainable substrates are used. This mini-review focuses on green gas derived from biomass called biomethane, which appears to be strategic in the face of soaring energy costs. Hence, combined Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats-Analytic Hierarchy Process analysis is used to compare and evaluate the critical factors. The results provide not only methodological insights through the application of the local-global priority method, but also managerial insights that see biomethane as a winning element for the green transition, fighting climate change and reducing dependence on external energy sources. Subsidies have played a key role in pursuing economic sustainability; however, their use should be reduced over time and measured to the actual contribution related to environmental and social improvement. The results of this work highlight that biomethane development is important to tackle climate change and to be self-sufficient from an energy perspective. This development plan, based on circularity of resources, includes subsidies for small-scale plants, substrates from neighbouring territories, citizen involvement in decision-making processes, valorization of suitable waste from an environmental perspective and stability of political choices.

Towards the circular economy in the fashion industry: the second-hand market as a best practice of sustainable responsibility for businesses and consumers.

The transition to a circular economy is a key concern for the fashion industry. The emerging second-hand market is a practice that could enable the circular economy in the fashion industry. As this is an emerging trend, the literature has not yet sufficiently explored how it is possible to simultaneously meet consumer and industry expectations in the management of second-hand garments within the value chain. This article aimed to fill that gap with the analytic hierarchy process, which demonstrated that garment collection and recycling are not necessarily best practices for the circular economy. For this to happen, close collaboration between manufacturers and retailers in the value chain is needed to move the industry towards responsibly sustainable production and consumption models. The results emphasise that harvesting management and internal competition on low-cost collection are critical business drivers, while responsible consumption and benefits are opportunities for consumers.

Assessing regional performance for the Sustainable Development Goals in Italy.

The monitoring report on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a global context involves a large number of actors as it represents probably the biggest change that our society is implementing. Actions at all levels, from local, regional and national to the aggregation of multiple countries (e.g. EU 27) are needed to achieve a sustainable future. This work focuses on a national perspective (Italy) where multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is used to measure current performance. A sustainability score for each region is calculated from a set of 175 indicators contained in all 17 SDGs. Additionally, sustainability scores are disaggregated along the three pillars - social (1-5, 10, 16, and 17), environmental (6, 13-15) and economic (7-9, 11, and 12). The results highlight the positive performance of northern regions and, in particular, of Trentino Alto Adige, which ranks first in the two considered scenarios. In addition, the relevance of territorial specificities emerges for which the analysis of individual SDGs shows different leading regions. It is noteworthy to highlight the performance of the environmental sub-group of SDGs in southern regions, in contrast to the social and economic sub-groups. Evidently, policy actions are needed to reduce the long-lasting North/South divide-yet the highlighted heterogeneous sustainability performance along the three dimensions calls for well targeted policy measures necessary to regain competitiveness at a European and global level, without compromising with environmental sustainability.

Survey data for assessing the socio-economic performance of End of Life options of a bio-based product based on expert knowledge.

This data article aims at providing a data description about the manuscript entitled "A socio-economic indicator for EoL strategies for bio-based products" [1]. Data regarding the socio-economic assessment of End of Life (EoL) options for the specific case of PLA-based film for food packaging are presented, with a special emphasis on policy recommendations and actions for the EoL practices in the bioeconomy sectors. A new framework, based on data gathering and validation through experts involvement, is proposed in order to calculate a new indicator to measure the socio-economic performance of EoL practices (SEI-EoL) for bio-based products. Experts were identified from the Horizon 2020 LIFE-funded projects and/or Scopus databases. Two rounds of survey were carried out to determine the weights of socio-economic criteria for bio-based products and the values for the selected case study. The aggregation of these data enabled us to obtain a final ranking of different EoL alternatives. Finally, a third round of survey was conducted to further deepen our understanding of actions and recommendations needed to improve EoL practices in bio-based sectors. Resulting data have a mix of quantitative and qualitative characterization. A potential reuse of these data can allow future estimations, empirical analyses or a direct comparison with the use of experimental observations.

The post COVID-19 green recovery in practice: Assessing the profitability of a policy proposal on residential photovoltaic plants.

The development of photovoltaic (PV) energy has been very significant in the last years, thanks to cost reductions brought about by policy actions favouring the transition from a fossil to a green society. As this transition is likely to stretch over the long term, policy support must be programmed accordingly. In light of the human and economic shock effected by COVID-19, the Italian government has offered a tax deduction of 110% over 5 years for the realization of new PV residential plants. We propose to integrate this tool with the application of a bonus for energy produced and self-consumed, in order to support the development of decentralized systems. In this paper, we provide an economic assessment of a 3 kW plant in the context of several policy scenarios. The results underline the great opportunity for consumers to tackle climate change whilst obtaining relevant economic profits. The study can be replicated on a global scale.

A socio-economic analysis of biomethane in the transport sector: The case of Italy.

The transport sector has a low penetration of renewable energy, and this presents a serious obstacle to tackling climate change. Biomethane is seen as a decarbonisation solution, but only some European countries have pursued its development. Italy is one of these countries, having released a decree to stimulate development of the sector. The present work considers two typologies of substrate (the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and by-products) used in three sizes of plants (125 m3/h, 250 m3/h and 500 m3/h). A detailed socio-economic analysis is presented and policy implications are provided. The recovery of waste enables the creation of a circular economy, but the economic feasibility of such a model is verified in only some scenarios. A sensitivity analysis on the critical variables is conducted to support investment in this area. The use of green gas is found to be capable of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector, but the economic value of any environmental externality is low due to the value of carbon dioxide.

Modelling the correlations of e-waste quantity with economic increase.

Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE or e-waste) is regarded as one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world and is becoming an emerging issue owing to adverse consequences on the natural environment and the human health. This research article reveals the presence of a strong linear correlation among global e-waste generation and Gross Domestic Product. The obtained results indicate that the best fit for data can be reached by comparing e-waste collected volumes and GDP PPS. More in detail, an increase of 1000 GDP PPS means an additional 0.27kg of e-waste collected and 0.22kg of e-waste reused/recycled. Furthermore, for each additional citizen, there will be an increase of 7.7kg of e-waste collected and 6.2kg of e-waste reused/recycled. The better collection of e-waste acts an important role concerning the circular economy, and it can be an advantageous approach. Therefore, e-waste could be considered as an opportunity for recycling or recovery of valuable metals (e.g., copper, gold, silver, and palladium), given their significant content in precious metals than in mineral ores.

Scrap automotive electronics: A mini-review of current management practices.

End-of-life vehicles, together with waste from electric and electronic equipment, are known as an important source of secondary raw materials. For many years, their recovery has allowed the restoring of great amounts of metals for new cars production. This article provides a comprehensive mini-review on the end-of-life vehicles recycling topic between 2000 and 2014, with a particular focus on automotive electronics recycling. In fact, in the last years, experts focused their attention on a better exploitation of automotive shredder residue fraction, but not sufficiently on eventual electronic scraps embedded in it. Hence, studies assessing the value embedded in these scraps are rarely available in literature, causing an important gap in both recycling policies and research. The fact that, at present, the management of electronic control units (the most valuable component among automotive electronic equipment) is, as yet, off the radar in both end-of-life vehicles and waste from electric and electronic equipment Directives demonstrates the theory. Of course, their recycling would not contribute in a relevant way to reach the weighted-based recycling and recovery targets characterising current regulations, but would be very important under a critical raw materials recovery view. Results coming from the literature analysis confirm these assumptions.

A multi-objective optimization strategy for energy plants in Italy.

In recent years, Europe has promoted a series of waste regulations to achieve greater protection of the environment. This objective can be obtained by adopting an integrated management system for the reduction of waste production and developing systems for waste sorting, energy recovery and waste recycling. Such interventions that find their justification in an environmental perspective must be also sustainable from an economic perspective. An analysis of the Italian situation highlights a dependency on landfills; this phenomenon must be reduced to identify actions aimed at safeguarding and protecting the environment. The aim of this paper is to analyse the economic and environmental benefits from diverting waste from landfills towards energy recovery in twenty Italian regions.

Municipal waste management and energy recovery in an Italian region.

Diverting waste from landfill is one of the basic priorities on improving the use of resources and reducing the environmental impacts of waste management. In order to achieve this goal it is necessary to limit the amount of materials sent to final disposal and promote energy recovery. In Italy the use of recycling is registering a growing trend but the recourse to landfill is still too high with respect to European Commission targets. The aim of the paper was to analyse the financial and economic benefits that energy recovery could produce by diverting waste from landfills in an Italian region, as landfilling cannot be a solution in the long term because of its finite capacity and for various other ecological reasons. A sensitivity analysis on the critical variables of this plan and a risk analysis are also provided.