Recognizing the responsibility businesses has in sustainable development, a rising number of entrepreneurs are attempting to innovate business models together with digital technology to address environmental and societal needs. Circular business models is an example of how businesses can become more sustainable. However, there is a growing phenomenon of entrepreneurs suggesting digital platforms as a supportive element in an enterprise to enable circular features. This research aims to investigate the role of a single entrepreneur as a transition intermediary to sustainable development by using digital platforms. Additionally, this research aims to explore the success factors and challenges this entrepreneur can uncover. Contrary to most studies, this thesis adopts the entrepreneur's perspective as being a key actor in sustainable development but also as an innovative force in a socio-technical system. A case study was conducted on the Swedish online secondhand store Sellpy. The qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Given the thesis' exploratory research design, the finding can be used in further research as artifacts for more conclusive and generalizing research. The entrepreneur, as a transition intermediary, can establish valuable partnerships and networks to accelerate circulation and sustainability awareness. Additionally, the entrepreneur can influence others by spreading knowledge to engage other entrepreneurs to innovate businesses towards sustainability. The main success factors found in this case study is the approach to develop with the user community, digital ownership, skilled and diverse workforce, and partnerships with similar businesses. The challenges discovered was to maintain and find new users to enter the circular system and the external skepticism towards sustainability-oriented businesses.

Dagens trend av industriell tillverkning och konsumtion är av linjär karaktär. Material utvinns, blir produkter och hamnar sedan på deponi. Detta examensarbete har tillsammans med Industrial Development Center AB syftat till att skapa en mer hållbar industriell tillverkning inom Skaraborgsregionen, genom att forma en produktutvecklingsprocess i enlighet med cirkulär ekonomi. Cirkulär ekonomi förespråkar att avfall inte får förekomma och att produkter och material ska cirkulera i kretslopp. Projektet bestod därför av en bred förstudie för att samla och utvärdera ett stort område med teorier, processer och företagens ansvarsroller. Vidare analyserades en generell produkts livscykel och en processkarta skapades tillsammans med cirkulär ekonomi och produktutvecklingsprocesser. Arbetet knöts an med en omfattande kravspecifikation som sedan användes som utvärderingsunderlag för vad som skulle bli en ny produktutvecklingsprocess med cirkulär ekonomi implementerat. Slutligen utvärderades resultatet med en erfaren användare för att få en initial bedömning av resultatets användbarhet för målgrupperna. Resultatet blev en miljöanpassad produktutvecklingsprocess och en folder beskrivande hur och varför cirkulär ekonomi kan gynna företag och samhälle. / Today’s trend of production and consumption has a linear type. Material is extracted, become products and then end up as landfill. This thesis has together with Industrial Development Center AB aimed to create a more sustainable industrial production within the region of Skaraborg, by forming a product development process according to circular economy. Circular economy advocates that there should be no waste and products and material should circulate throughout different cycles. Hence this thesis consist of a broad pre-study to collect and evaluate a big range of theories, processes and enterprise responsibilities. Later on a general product lifecycle was studied and a map of a process was made with circular economy and product development processes in mind. The work was tied together by a performance specification table. This document was also used as a basis for the evaluation of the final product development process with circular economy implemented. Finally, the result was also evaluated by an experienced user to get an initial assessment of the result’s usability for the target groups. The result was an environmentally adapted product development process and a folder explaining how and why circular economy is to support enterprises and the community.

Sustainable development is an eternal topic and the enterprise’ sustainability provides the answer. Furthermore, emerging market’s sustainable development is frequently mentioned recently due to the serious pollution and waste due to the blind pursuit of higher GDP (Colm, 2012). This paper aims to find out the drivers and barriers of green supply chain management (GSCM) implementation; and figure out how to strengthen the relationship between green purchasing (GP) and GSCM based on the single-case study of Guitang Group. Combining the qualitative and quantitative method, we try to explore and describe the influence on GSCM development caused by the specific background of China. Based on the suggestions of how to strengthen the relationships between GP and GSCM, it will be more efficient for us to find a suitable way for manufacturing industrial companies in China to achieve the path from green purchasing to green supply chain management.

The production and consumption of today generates huge amounts of waste, and due to the increasing living standards the amount will continue to increase. The waste leads to large environmental impacts due to pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as the depletion of raw materials. This study aimed to investigate how sustainability through circular economy can drive the development towards reducing the packaging waste in a company. The ambition was to identify possible actions that could be implemented in order to decrease the amount of combustible waste and the entailed environmental impact. A case study was performed at Volvo Group Trucks Operations assembly plant in Tuve in Gothenburg. The initial part of the study consisted of a literature review and was followed by the empirical study where interviews and observations were conducted in order to investigate what actions that could reduce the packaging waste. The data was analysed and one action was selected to be further investigated, and calculations of its environmental and economic aspects are performed. Three different types of inner packaging of LDPE (Low Density Polyethelen) plastics were selected, and the calculations showed that the reduction of CO2-emissions amounts to as much as 6.3 tonnes per year and cost savings of 11 000 SEK per year when reusing the inner packaging. These savings indicate that it is profitable to return the packaging to the supplier if it is located closer than 10 200 - 16 600 km to the site. The managerial implications of implementing a returnable packaging system are the cost savings and the reduction of environmental impacts. / Produktioner och konsumtion genererar idag stora mängder avfall och på grund av den ökande levnadsstandarden fortsätter mängden avfall att öka. Avfallet leder till stor miljöpåverkan på grund av föroreningar och växthusgasutsläpp, liksom uttömning av råmaterial. Denna studien syftade till att undersöka hur hållbarhet genom cirkulär ekonomi kan driva utvecklingen mot att minska förpackningsavfallet i ett företag. Ambitionen var att identifiera möjliga förslag som skulle kunna implementeras för att minska mängden av brännbart avfall och därmed den miljöpåverkan som följer. En fallstudie utfördes på Volvo Group Trucks Operations monteringsanläggning i Tuve i Göteborg. Den inledande delen i arbetet bestod av en litteraturstudie som följdes av en empirisk studie, där intervjuer och observationer utfördes för att undersöka vilka förslag som skulle kunna minska förpackningsavfall. Datan analyserades och ett förslag valdes ut för att undersökas vidare genom beräkningar för dess miljömässiga och ekonomiska aspekter. Tre olika typer av inneremballage av LDPE-plast valdes ut och beräkningarna visade att reduceringen av CO2-utsläpp uppgick till 6,3 ton per år och kostnadsbesparingarna till 11 000 SEK per år då inneremballage återanvänds. Dessa besparingar indikerar att det är lönsamt att returnera förpackningar till leverantören om den är belägen närmare än 10 200- 16 600 km från fabriken. Incitament för företag att implementera ett retursystem är de minskade kostnaderna samt den minskade miljöpåverkan.

Svenskar slänger över 7,5 kg kläder per år i hushållsavfall och 60 procent av dessa plagg är hela och skulle kunna återanvändas. Det nuvarande linjära systemet som utnyttjar jordens resurser och producerar produkter som sedan kasseras, bidrar till bland annat stora mängder avfall och utarmning av naturresurser. Detta är en ohållbar resurshantering. Med den cirkulära ekonomin kan redan använda resurser återanvändas fler gånger istället för att kasseras. Konsumenter visar idag på ett allt större intresse för miljön och hur deras köp kan påverka miljön. Trots detta visar rapporter på att svenskars klädkonsumtion ökar och att unga människor är aktiva konsumenter som sällan tänker på miljön när de handlar. För att skapa en medvetenhet och beteendeförändring krävs kunskap och förståelse. Den cirkulära ekonomin tar inte hänsyn till den bakomliggande orsaken till den ökande resursanvändningen, vilket är människors konsumtionsbeteende. För att kunna övergå till den cirkulära modellen måste man därför undersöka människan och dess roll samt konsumtionsbeteende.   Denna uppsats utgår från den cirkulära ekonomins 3R-princip och konsumtionsbeteende. Syftet med studien är att undersöka unga konsumenters kunskaper och beteende inom 3Rprincipen genom en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Empirin har samlats in genom åtta djupintervjuer med unga konsumenter i åldern 23-27 år som studerar på universitet eller högskola. Resultatet visar på att unga konsumenter som studerat 3R-principen i sin utbildning har kunskaper inom området, men finner inte dessa tillräckliga för att kunna göra hållbara val. Resultatet visar även på en positiv inställning till återvinning och återanvändning av kläder men inte prioriteten att agera hållbart. Slutsatsen är att unga konsumenter har kunskaper inom 3R-principen men dessa är inte tillräckliga för att ändra sitt konsumtionsbeteendet. Unga konsumenter har även intresse och vilja att agera mer hållbart men inte prioriteten att faktiskt göra det. / Swedes throw over 7.5 kg of clothing a year in the garbage and 60 percent of these garments are whole and could be reused. The current linear system, which exploits the Earth's resources and produces products that are later discarded, contribute to both large amounts of waste and depletion of natural resources. This is an unsustainable resource management. With the circular economy, already used resources can be reused multiple times instead of being discarded. Consumers today show an increasing interest in the environment and how their purchases can affect the environment. Nevertheless, reports show that Sweden's clothing consumption is increasing and that young people are active consumers who rarely think about the environment when shopping. To create awareness and behavioral change requires knowledge and understanding. The circular economy doesn’t take into account the underlying cause of increasing resource use, which is human consumption. Therefore, in order to switch to the circular model, one must examine humans and their role as well as consumption behavior.   This essay is based on the circular economy's 3R principle and consumption behavior. The aim of the study is to investigate young consumers' knowledge and behavior within the 3R principle through a qualitative research method. The empirical material has been collected through eight in-depth interviews with young consumers aged 23-27, studying at university or college. The result shows that young consumers who studied the 3R principle in their education have knowledge in the field, but do not find these sufficient to make sustainable choices. The result also shows a positive attitude towards recycling and reuse of clothing, but not the priority to act sustainable. The conclusion is that young consumers have knowledge within the 3R principle, but these are not enough to change their consumption behavior. Young consumers also have an interest and willingness to act more sustainable, but not the priority to actually do so.

Environnementaliser le développement du pays sans changer significativement le rythme de la croissance économique et urbaine, tel est le pari engagé depuis 2006 par les autorités chinoises pour faire face à la pression croissante sur les milieux naturels et à la lourde dégradation environnementale engendrées par le développement accéléré. La Chine est probablement le seul pays au monde où la sobriété énergétique et environnementale dans la fourniture des services urbains essentiels (eau, assainissement, électricité, gaz, chaleur, gestion des déchets solides) est aussi vigoureusement recherchée dans des politiques d'économie circulaire et opérations de parcs éco-industriels et d'éco-cités dans le contexte d'un développement économique et urbain soutenu et prolongé. Sur la base d'une investigation menée à Shanghai, Suzhou et Tianjin, trois villes à la pointe des transformations en Chine, combinée à une étude du cadre national et de la situation globale du pays, la thèse vise à analyser la substance et les formes de l'environnementalisation des services urbains essentiels mise en œuvre en Chine. Notre recherche montre que les ambitieuses politiques chinoises d'environnementalisation des services essentiels se traduisent dans les villes par une amélioration partielle de la qualité environnementale de leur fourniture, alors que l'horizon de la sobriété et de l'économie circulaire demeure lointain. La prégnance de la fabrique urbaine développementaliste fait structurellement obstacle à l'émergence de systèmes techniques de réutilisation des ressources alternatifs aux réseaux conventionnels. La voie d'environnementalisation des services essentiels empruntée dans les villes chinoises reste trop techno-centrée et trop exogène à la planification urbaine pour que l'environnementalisation et en particulier la quête de sobriété soient plus substantielles. Sur le plan opérationnel, ces enseignements invitent, en Chine et au-delà du terrain chinois, à une intégration plus importante des questions liées à la fourniture des services essentiels dans la planification et l'aménagement des villes / Environmentalising the country's development without significantly changing the pace of economic and urban growth: such is the difficult challenge set since 2006 by the Chinese authorities to deal with the increasing pressure bearing on natural environment and major environmental damage caused by accelerated development. China is probably the only country in the world where a goal of energy and environmental sobriety in the provision of urban utilities (water, waste-water, electricity, gas, heating, waste management) is so vigorously sought in circular economy policies, more specifically in eco-industrial parks and eco-cities projects, in the context of a strong and extended economic and urban development. Based on an investigation conducted in Shanghai, Suzhou and Tianjin, three cities at the forefront of transformations in China, and combined with a study of the national framework and the overall situation in the country, the thesis aims to analyze the substance and the forms of the urban utilities' environmentlisation implemented in China. Our research shows that the ambitious Chinese policies of urban utilities' environmentalisation leads in the cities to a partial improvement in the environmental quality of their provision, while the horizon of sobriety and circular economy remains distant. The prevalence of the developmentalist urban fabric stands structurally in the way of the emergence of resources reuse-oriented alternative technical systems to conventional networks. The urban utilities' environmentalisation path taken in the Chinese cities is too technocentric and too exogenous to urban planning for the environmentalisation and especially the quest for sobriety to be more substantial. Operationally, these findings encourage a greater integration of utilities' provision issues in the planning and development of cities, both in China and beyond the Chinese context

Increasing environmental and social pressure caused by human activity requires action toward a sustainable society. As our population grows and the proportion living in urban areas increases, cities are in a unique position to affect change. This has led to Circular Economy (CE) gaining momentum in municipalities as a tool for their city. Despite this momentum, there is lack of clarity about what CE is, how it can be most effectively implemented, and its relationship to strategic sustainable development (SSD). This research synthesized definitions of CE used in the field and investigated 21 cities worldwide to see how their municipalities have implemented CE practices. Using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), the implemented actions were critically examined for their strategic contribution toward a sustainable society. The findings suggest that CE is defined broadly, and interpreted differently by different users. In some cases, this presents challenges for its strategic use. The CE actions examined are concluded to be within the boundaries of a sustainable society, as defined by the FSSD. Their strategic approach is determined to be largely positive, with some exceptions. Depending on its application, CE is concluded to be a useful, albeit insufficient, tool for municipalities working toward SSD.

Over the last couple of decades, sustainability has gained importance in the business world, and a concept that has often been used as a prime example of how to deal with today’s environmental problems is circular economy. Even though the topic is relatively new, there has already been quite some debate about its actual advantages and disadvantages, and while there is as of yet no consensus, the majority argues that the application of circular economy practices will be beneficial for the environment. Which is exactly what this research has attempted to ascertain by looking at 78 firms from a wide range of industries yet all from the Nordic region, since this geographical area has been hailed repeatedly for their sustainability. This was done by performing a hierarchical regression analysis on the data in order to explore a possible relationship between the score of a firm on the benchmark of circular economy practices and its corresponding environmental performance, specifically energy consumption, water usage and greenhouse gas emissions. The hierarchical regression analysis showed a significantly positive relationship between a firm’s score on the benchmark of circular economy practices and its energy consumption, while controlling for firm size, industry, debt ratio,slack resources and country of origin, which was contrary to expectations. No such relationship was found between a firm’s benchmark score and their water usage, the same goes for greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, this research has taken an important step in understanding the relationship between circular economy practices and a firm’s environmental performance, and in doing so has opened up new avenues to explore in terms of future research. While the Nordic region is on the right track, there is still a long road ahead.

Manufacturing industry is under permanent pressure to maintain its economic growth and profitability as strong societal backbone. At the same time pressures of waste generation and resource consumption are increasing as result of manufacturing operations. Since manufacturing industry is one of the major consumers of natural resources it is therefore essential to reduce dependency on natural resources by decoupling economic growth from consumption. Resource efficiency approaches can improve the performance of production systems by reducing resource losses. However, the fundamental assumption at the basis of resource efficiency approaches is that resources are available infinitely. As a consequence, challenges of sustainability and resource scarcity remain inadequately addressed. The objective of this research is to develop analysis methods and decision support tools for manufacturing industry to facilitate its transition from linear production systems to circular manufacturing systems, which are economically viable and environmentally sustainable. The initial scope of study focuses on industrial resource efficiency assessment in production systems. Expanding the view to a manufacturing system perspective, the current research is explored with regard to circular manufacturing systems in the context of economic benefits, resource scarcity and waste generation. Systematic analysis methods and decision support tools are developed for industrial companies to facilitate the adaption of circular manufacturing systems. These developments are supported by industrial case studies. The analysis methods are to the largest extent based on agent-based simulation approaches. The tools are capable of assessing the economic and environmental impact of different business models, design strategies as well as supply chains settings. Moreover, the tools are able to determine whether introductions of new (circular) business models will be adopted by customers. One empirical market study is performed to investigate value propositions of a circular business approaches based on customer decisions. / <p>QC 20170825</p>

Pour comprendre la gestion des déchets à Yaoundé, deux angles d’analyse ont été abordés. Il s’agit de la gestion linéaire basée sur les stratégies de collecte, de transport, de traitement, de mise en décharge des déchets et de la transition vers une économie circulaire. Le chevauchement des pouvoirs, les insuffisances organisationnelles, techniques et managériales à Yaoundé sont à l’origine d’inégalités environnementales et d’accès au service public de déchet. Ceci a engendré les risques et nuisances comme la prolifération des dépôts sauvages, les incinérations à ciel ouvert, les inondations et les pathologies liées aux déchets.Les limites de la gestion linéaire ont amené les pouvoirs publics à poser à partir de 1992 les bases d’un nouveau système basé sur le recyclage des déchets appelé aujourd’hui sous le vocable international économie circulaire. Celle-ci se développe sur le terrain à travers les filières formelles et informelles de récupération, de réparation, de réemploi/réutilisation, d’achat et de revente des déchets, de compostage et de recyclage. Cette stratégie gouvernementale, appuyée par les acteurs de la société civile et privés, se structure depuis 2010 par la création de nouvelles filières comme le projet de méthanisation à la décharge de Nkol Foulou, le recyclage des déchets d’équipements électriques et électroniques et l’adoption en 2012 d’un cadre juridique sur l’économie du déchet. L’activité de la réparation connait un dynamisme qu’il serait important de structurer. Mais la perception négative du déchet par les populations freine encore l’essor de ce domaine d’activités. D’où la nécessité de sensibiliser, d’informer et d’éduquer les yaoundéens afin d’améliorer la gestion des déchets. / In a bid to construe the issue of solid household waste management in Yaounde, two analytical frameworks were adopted. A linear management of waste based on strategies of collection, transportation, processing, dumping-ground for waste accumulation and a switch towards a circular economy. Since the overlapping of powers as well as the technical, management and organisational shortcomings stand originally as the root cause of environmental disparities, it hardly favours the public management of waste. This has entailed stakes and harm such as irregular dumping sites, open incineration, floods as well as waste related pathologies.Because of lapses in linear management, the authorities have decided to lay the foundations of a new system relying on the recycling of waste known internationally as “circular economy”. Circular economy is being developed in precise areas such as formal and informal recoveries, repair, reuse, buying and resale of waste, composting and recycling. Such a governmental strategy, supported by actors of the civil and private societies was concretised by the creation in 2010 of new sectors such as the project of methanisation in the dumping-ground of Nkol Foulou, the recycling of electrical and electronic equipment wastes. In addition, the adoption of a juridical framework of the waste economy followed in 2012. To sum up, it is evident that, as time goes by, the repairing activity is become so dynamic that there is a greater need to restructure it. However, people still have negative perception of waste that hinders the breakthrough of this area. Finally, it is compulsory to sensitize, inform and educate Yaounde city dwellers for the improvement of solid waste management in Cameroon.