A circularity indicator tool for measuring the ecological embeddedness of manufacturing

Trollman, H. ORCID: 0000-0003-2564-282X, Colwill, J. and Jagtap, S., 2021. A circularity indicator tool for measuring the ecological embeddedness of manufacturing. Sustainability, 13 (16): 8773. ISSN 2071-1050

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Abstract

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.

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: Sustainability
Creators: Trollman, H., Colwill, J. and Jagtap, S.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 5 August 2021
Volume: 13
Number: 16
ISSN: 2071-1050
Identifiers:
NumberType
10.3390/su13168773DOI
1456849Other
Rights: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Divisions: Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences
Record created by: Laura Ward
Date Added: 13 Aug 2021 08:51
Last Modified: 13 Aug 2021 08:51
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/43932

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