The circular economy is promoted by the EU, governments, and businesses all over the world as a concept to reach a sustainable future. The concept is embedded into the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 and aims to decouple economic growth and environmental pressure. Many studies have been conducted on the circular economy in recent years but the research on the actual environmental performance of the concept is limited. To move forward with the concept of the circular economy and reach a sustainable future, the environmental performance must be investigated. In this thesis, the environmental impact of circularity in products is investigated by comparing the environmental impact from one circular and one linear product case. To achieve this, the environmental impact and the degree of circularity is calculated with two different methods. The circularity is calculated with a circularity indicator called the Linear Flow Ratio and the environmental impact is assessed with the environmental evaluation technique Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). In the LCAs, the cases are compared for different environmental impact categories (e.g. global warming). The product that is investigated is an LED lighting fixture from the company 2P1. The circular case is based on a leasing business model and includes remanufacturing, reuse and recycling. The linear case includes production, sales, use, and disposal. The LCA results show that the environmental impact from the circular case is lower for all environmental impact categories. The environmental impact is almost exclusively from the manufacturing phase (including extraction and production of raw materials) and the use phase. The circularity results from the Linear Flow Ratio show contradicting results, presenting that the degree of circularity is higher for the linear case. By comparing the results to calculations from another circularity indicator (Material Circularity Indicator), it is concluded that a unified framework for circularity measurements is required. / Cirkulär ekonomi är introducerat av EU, länder och företag över hela världen som ett koncept för att nå en hållbar framtid. Den cirkulära ekonomin är en del av arbetet mot agenda 2030 för hållbar utveckling och strävar efter att frånkoppla ekonomisk tillväxt från miljöpåverkan. Det har forskats mycket på cirkulär ekonomi under de senaste åren men studier som undersöker det miljömässiga utförandet av konceptet saknas. För att fortsätta att utveckla konceptet och för att nå en hållbar framtid så måste den miljömässiga påverkan från cirkularitet undersökas. I denna studie undersöks miljöpåverkan från cirkularitet hos produkter genom att jämföra miljöpåverkan från ett cirkulärt och ett linjärt fall. Miljöpåverkan och cirkularitetsgraden beräknas med två olika metoder. Cirkulariteten beräknas med cirkularitetsindikatorn Linear Flow Ratio och miljöpåverkan analyseras men livscykelanalys. I livscykelanalyserna värderas miljöpåverkan för de två fallen för olika påverkanskategorier (t.ex. global uppvärmning). Produkten som undersökt är en LED-armatur från företaget 2P1. Det cirkulära fallet basers på uthyrning av armaturerna och innehåller renovering, återanvändning och återvinning. Det linjära fallet innehåller produktion, försäljning, användning och bortskaffande av produkten. Resultaten från livscykelanalyserna visar att det cirkulära fallet medför mindre miljöpåverkan för alla kategorier. Miljöpåverkan kommer nästan enbart från produktion (inklusive material) samt användning. Cirkularitetsresultaten från Linear Flow Ratio visar motsägelsefulla resultat då det linjära fallet har en högre cirkularitetsgrad än det cirkulära fallet. Genom att jämföra resultaten med beräkningar från en annan cirkularitetsindikator (Material Circularity Indicator) kan det fastställas att ett enhetligt ramverk för beräkning av cirkularitet är nödvändigt framöver.

Exploitative and profit-oriented business operations are unsustainably depleting the world’s resources and extensively harm the environment. Linear production systems within the manufacturing industry are partly held responsible for this ongoing issue as materials and waste are not getting reused but dumped. An alternative to the traditional linear system that increasingly gets attention in the scientific literature is a Circular Production System within the Circular Economy framework, where waste is treated as resources and streamlined back into the production system to create closed resource loops. However, most manufacturing companies nowadays follow linear production systems and have implemented the Lean philosophy to maximize output and profits, leaving environmental aspects rather behind. This context needs to be considered, when thinking of implementing circular measures within a company. Therefore, this study focused on elaborating potentials, enablers and barriers of a Circular Production System in a Lean context. A case study has been conducted within the Swedish commercial vehicle company Scania, located in Södertälje, to gather empirical data about current lean and already ongoing circular practices in a real-life environment, and on future potential of extending circular measures. Internal benchmark studies, including observational studies and semi-structured interviews have been conducted along Scania’s industrial value chain. External benchmark studies contributed to obtain data about already ongoing CPS initiatives within the manufacturing industry. Following the empirical findings, this study suggests that potentials, enablers and barriers are categorized into system, process and product level, which are interdependent and interrelated. The research revealed that due to the many influences from departments along the value chain on the production, the system as a whole needs to be investigated. This study suggests the 4R framework (reduce, reuse, remanufacture, recycle) for implementing a cascaded use of materials. Implementing a new business model giving the product ownership back to companies would facilitate circular flows in the first place. Such a new business strategy can be supported by following more advanced design strategies, that extend the product life and maintain its performance. Lean, however, was found to bear conflict issues, but is considered still useful to some extent to reduce material inputs through more efficient processes.

The world crucially needs to reduce the level of emissions being released in the environment in order to combat climate change. With the global population increasing and economies continuing to grow, the circular economy has been heralded by many as the potential solution to economic prosperity whilst also reducing primary resource use and emissions. However, the existence of environmental rebound effect has the potential to severely limit the emission reductions of the circular economy by increasing consumption elsewhere. This paper focuses on the definition of economic rebound effect and on its impact on a peer-to-peer boat sharing platform in Finland. A survey completed by users of the platform allowed for the quantitative analysis of environmental rebound effect experienced by the users and also provide insight into the consumption behaviour that created the most negative consequences. Rebound was experienced by almost all users with almost a third of users experiencing a backfire in which their overall emissions increased as a result of consumption made possible by the economic benefits of shared access. Primary production and the substitution of air travel for the leasing of a boat created large reductions in emissions, however, this was counteracted by increases in personal use and increased air travel by others. This real-life study of environmental rebound effect shows both its existence and impact on the peer-to-peer sharing of boats in Finland.

La thèse explore les potentiels d’utilisation des terres de déblais comme matériau de construction et examine la pertinence d’une valorisation de cette ressource pour une construction soutenable dans le contexte français actuel avec un focus plus particulier sur la région parisienne. Elle s'articule autour d'une double question qui s’inscrit dans le cadre de la transition écologique des milieux habités : est-t-il pertinent de transformer les terres d’excavation générées par les chantiers des grands centres urbains en ressource pour l’architecture et quels potentiels offrent-elles pour la construction de la ville durable? La croissance des grandes villes entraine chaque année la production de millions de tonnes de terres de déblais qui sont issues des terrassements nécessaires à la construction de nouveaux immeubles ou extraites lors de la création d’infrastructures de transport (tunnels, gares, routes, …). À lui seul, le chantier du Grand Paris Express « devrait peser de 30 à 40 millions de tonnes » de terres d’excavation qui seront principalement acheminées par péniches en dehors de Paris pour être stockées ou enfouies dans des sites adaptés. Ce processus représente un coût financier, énergétique et écologique phénoménal et l’enfouissement d’une ressource pourtant potentiellement utilisable, d’où l’intérêt de s’interroger sur les possibilités d’utilisation de ces terres comme matériau de construction. Au commencement de cette thèse en 2015, peu de recherches et encore moins de pratiques portaient sur ce sujet. Or, dès les premières rencontres, les acteurs ont exprimés leur intérêt pour cette possible valorisation des terres de déblais comme ressource. Il était donc temps, d’une part, de faire le point sur les connaissances scientifiques concernant la matière terre, les pratiques actuelles en architecture de terre et les professionnels spécialistes de la construction en terre. D’autre part, il s’agissait de décrypter le contexte et le système des acteurs des terres d’excavation sur le territoire du Grand Paris. Enfin, la présence d’acteurs motivés sur le Grand Paris a facilité la réflexion prospective sur le potentiel d’utilisation de ces terres en architecture, y compris en ayant la possibilité d’en observer les premiers résultats concrets. / This thesis explores the potentials of using excavated earth as a building material and examines the relevance of a valorization of this resource for sustainable buildings in the actual French context with a more particular focus on the Parisian region. It is structured around a double question within the framework of the ecological transition of the inhabited environment: is it relevant to transform the excavated earth of the construction sites of major urban centers into a resource for architecture and which are the potentials for the construction of a sustainable city ?The growth of big cities is generating millions of tons of excavated earth yearly, issued from the necessary earthworks for the construction of new buildings or excavated during the creation of transport infrastructures (tunnels, railway stations, roads,…). On is own, the Grand Paris Express construction site « should generate 30 to 40 millions of tons »[1] of excavated earth that will be principally shipped by barges out of Paris to be stocked or buried in adapted sites. This process has a huge financial, energetical and ecological cost, and a potential usable resource is buried, hence the importance of the question on the possibilities of using this earth as a building material.At the beginning of this thesis in 2015, few researches and even less practices had been done on the subject. But, ever since the first meetings, the actors expressed their interest for the possible valorization of the excavated earth as a resource.On one hand, it was time to make an inventory of the scientific knowledges of the material earth, the current practices in earthen architecture and the professional earthen building specialists. On the other hand, it was necessary to decrypt the context and the system of actors around the excavated earth in the Grand Paris territory. Finally, the presence of motivated actors in the Grand Paris has facilitated the prospective reflection on the potential use of these earths in architecture including having the opportunity to observe the first concrete results.

The construction industry releases a great amount of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, uses loads of resources and generates a lot of waste. These actions are not sustainable, and the industry has therefore created a roadmap of how to become climate neutral until 2045. A few things highlighted in this roadmap is the importance of management and a shift to circular economy, however, previous research has not covered the connection between these in construction projects. This study aims to understand and assess the influence on management when implementing circular economy in construction industry projects. To fulfill this aim, a theoretical framework was constructed consisting of potential applications of circular economy in construction industry projects. The connection between these applications and project management was thereafter investigated in an empirical study which consisted of a qualitative case study with document reviews, project observations and interviews with different project manager roles of a Swedish construction company. The findings indicate that the implementation influences the managers to focus more on the big picture and think through the choice of methods. Advance planning is essential along with discussing solutions to optimize the use of resource, have good and early communication with the right suppliers and other building sites, and conduct an accurate quantification of approved materials and focus on the handling of these. Additionally, it is vital to do a proper enrollment of new employees and to manage them toward high environmental goals. Lastly, it was found that it is difficult to pinpoint only one manager that gets affected by a specific application since all managers are involved in the implementation of circular economy. / Byggbranschen släpper ut en betydande mängd växthusgaser i atmosfären, använder mycket resurser och genererar mycket avfall. Dessa handlingar är inte hållbara och industrin har därför skapat en färdplan över huruvida de ska bli klimatneutrala till 2045. Några saker som lyfts fram i denna färdplan är vikten av ledarskap och en omställning till cirkulär ekonomi, däremot har befintlig forskning inte berört sambandet mellan dessa i byggprojekt. Denna studie syftar till att förstå och bedöma implementeringen av cirkulär ekonomis påverkan på ledarskapet av byggprojekt. För att uppfylla detta syfte utformades ett teoretiskt ramverk bestående av potentiella tillämpningar av cirkulär ekonomi i byggprojekt. Sambandet mellan dessa tillämpningar och projektledningen undersöktes sedan i en empirisk studie som bestod av en kvalitativ fallstudie med dokumentanalyser, projektobservationer och intervjuer med olika projektledarroller inom ett svenskt byggföretag. Resultaten antyder att implementeringen påverkar ledarna till att fokusera mer på helheten och tänka genom metodvalen. Förskottsplanering är väsentligt samt att diskutera lösningar för att optimera resursanvändningen, ha god och tidig kommunikation med rätt leverantörer och andra byggarbetsplatser, och en noggrann mängdning av godkända material samt fokusera på hanteringen av dessa. Dessutom är det viktigt att göra en ordentlig inskrivning av nyanställda samt att leda dessa mot högt satta miljömål. Slutligen visade resultatet att det är svårt att precisera endast en ledare som påverkas av en specifik tillämpning, eftersom alla är involverade i implementeringen av cirkulär ekonomi.

Denna studie syftar till att undersöka konsumenters kännedom och uppfattningar om miljömärkningar i textilbranschen samt om de ger avtryck i deras konsumtion. Studien har genomförts med en kvantitativ ansats genom en enkätundersökning som är utformad utifrån en kvalitativ förstudie. Tidigare litteratur menar att standardiserade miljömärken är mycket bättre än butikskedjornas egna miljömärkningar då de är baserade på en oberoende organisations kriterier. Utifrån denna studie kan det dras en slutsats om att de standardiserade miljömärkningarna är mer igenkända och pålitliga än butikskedjornas egna, speciellt “Svanen” och “Bra Miljöval”. Tidigare litteratur har visat att kunskap är en viktig bidragande faktor för att minska miljöpåverkan vid konsumtion av plagg. Konsumenter vill göra rationella och medvetna hållbara val men brist på information och kunskap kring olika miljömärken gör det svårt. Denna avsaknad på medvetenhet och kunskap beror till stor del på begränsningar i marknadsföringsstrategier och så kallad “branding” av miljövänliga märkningar. Studien bekräftar även tidigare forskning som menar att den största anledning till att konsumenter inte köper hållbara plagg är på grund av bristande kunskap inom området. / This study aims to identify consumers knowledge and perceptions towards eco-labels in the textile industry and if they give an impression on their consumption. The study has been conducted with a quantitative approach through a questionnaire survey that is designed on the basis of a qualitative study. Earlier literature shows that standardized eco-labels are much better than stores own eco-labels since they are based on the criteria of an independent organization. Based on this study, a conclusion can be drawn that the standardized eco-labels are more recognized and reliable than store chains own, especially "Svanen" and "Bra Miljöval". Previous literature has shown that knowledge is an important contributing factor in reducing the environmental impact when consuming garments. Consumers want to make rational and conscious sustainable choices, but lack of information and knowledge about different eco-labels makes it difficult. This lack of awareness and knowledge is largely due to limitations in marketing strategies and branding of environmentally friendly labels. The study also confirms previous research that show that the biggest reason why consumers do not buy sustainable garments is because of lack of knowledge about its impact on the environment.

Syfte: Studiens syfte är att utifrån ett ledarperspektiv få ökad förståelsen för vilka utmaningar organisationskulturen bidrar till vid arbetet med cirkulära affärsmodeller.   Metod: Studien utgår från en hermeneutisk vetenskapstradition med en induktiv ansats. Metoden som tillämpats är kvalitativ och data har samlats in genom 10 semistrukturerade intervjuer för att sedan sammanställas i en tematisk analys. Intervjuer har genomförts med ledare som arbetar med CE och varje respondent har fått en anonymitetskod för att de inte ska kunna identifieras.   Resultat & slutsats: Studien visar att de ledare som vi intervjuat arbetar främst med affärsmodellerna Regenerering, Share och Loop som är kopplade till ramverket ReSOLVE och som respondenterna kallar Förnyelsebar och Återbruka. De främsta barriär och hinder kopplad till organisationskulturen och CE handlar om kunskapshantering och motivation. Studien visar att en ledare kan hantera dessa hinder genom att främja ett öppet klimat och bygga in arbetet med CE som en naturlig del i arbetet. Organisationer med en kultur som har ett externt fokus och där medarbetarnas värderingar ligger i linje med organisationens värderingar främjar arbetet med CE.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien har bidragit med en ökad förståelse för att olika affärsmodeller i ReSOLVE kan ha varierad miljömässig påverkan. Att medarbetare ser ett större perspektiv och att CE är en naturlig del i processen underlättar arbetet med CE. En kundorienterad organisation visar sig också föra arbete med CE framåt. Förslag på fortsatt forskning: För att stärka vår studie ytterligare föreslår vi fortsatt forskning gällande ytterligare perspektiv utöver ledarens syn på arbetet med CE. Vi föreslår också att framtida forskning kan undersöka affärsmodellers påverkan på miljön samt att utveckla forskning kring sambandet mellan en kundorienterad organisation och CE. / Aim: The aim of the study is to increase the knowledge of the challenges that organizational culture contributes to when working with circular business models, based on a leadership perspective.   Method: The study originates from a hermeneutical science tradition with an inductive approach. The method used is qualitative and data has been collected through semi structured interviews and later compiled in a thematic analysis. The interviews have been conducted with leaders working with CE and all of the respondents have been anonymized through anonymity codes.   Result & conclusions: The study indicates that the interviewed leaders primarily use the business models Regenerate, Share and Loop that are linked to the ReSOLVE framework, that the leaders refers to as Renewable and Reusable. Knowledge management and motivation are the main barriers and obstacles associated with the organizational culture and CE. The study shows that the leader can handle these barriers by promoting an open organizational climate and make CE as a natural part of the business. Organizations that have a culture with an external focus and where the employee’s values are in line with the values of the organization facilitates the work with CE.   Contribution of the thesis: The study has contributed to an increased understanding that different ReSOLVE business models can have different environmental effects. A bigger perspective and working with CE as a natural part of the process facilitates the work with CE. A customer-oriented organization have also turned out to foster CE.   Suggestions for future research: In order to further strengthen our study, we propose continued research regarding further perspectives on the work with CE in addition to the leader’s view. We also propose future research to investigate the environmental impact of the business models. And to develop research on the relationship between a customer-oriented organization and the work with CE.

Bakgrund: Världsekonomin har länge präglats av en linjär ekonomi, ett system som inte är hållbart och ett hot mot en framtida stabil ekonomi. Cirkulär ekonomi har lyfts fram som ett mer hållbart alternativ. Företagen är de som behöver vara drivande för att en omställning från linjär ekonomi till cirkulär ekonomi ska vara möjlig och en del företag har redan idag påbörjat detta arbete genom att implementera en cirkulär affärsmodell i sin verksamhet. En del tidigare forskning visar på ekonomiska fördelar för företag som arbetar med cirkulära affärsmodeller, en del visar på ekonomiska nackdelar. Denna studie vill bidra både teoretiskt och praktiskt genom att studera företags drivkrafter till att styra till en cirkulär affärsmodell och därmed undersöka om det finns andra drivkrafter än ekonomisk lönsamhet.  Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka drivkrafter som motiverat företag till att börja arbeta med cirkulär ekonomi. Genom att studera företagens syn på intäkter och kostnader i samband med att ställa om till en cirkulär ekonomi ämnar studien bidra med bättre förståelse för vilken påverkan ekonomisk lönsamhet har på företags beslut om hur verksamheten ska styras. Syftet är även att undersöka om det finns andra drivkrafter än ekonomisk lönsamhet som påverkar motivationen till att styra till en cirkulär affärsmodell. Då studien ämnar bidra med förståelse för vilka drivkrafter företag har haft till att börja arbeta på detta sätt bör studien vara av intresse för de beslutsfattare som verkar för att företag ska styra sin verksamhet till en cirkulär ekonomi. Metod: För att svara på studiens frågeställning och uppfylla syftet har kvalitativ metod använts i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med företag som påbörjat sitt arbete med en cirkulär affärsmodell. De teorier som används i studien för att analysera den empiri som samlas in är aktieägarteorin, intressentteorin och självbestämmandeteorin. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet från de företag som deltagit i studien visar att möjlighet till positiv påverkan på intäkter och kostnader på kort sikt inte haft särskilt stor inverkan på beslutet att styra till en cirkulär affärsmodell. En del arbetar med cirkulär ekonomi trots att de i dagsläget ser negativ ekonomisk påverkan av det, att kortsiktigt öka vinsten tycks inte varit vad som motiverat till att styra mot en cirkulär affärsmodell. Det som snarare tycks motivera företagen är att en cirkulär affärsmodell hjälper dem leva upp till svensk lagstiftning och ökade miljökrav, samt att det finns en vilja att minska sin klimatpåverkan. Förutom detta framkommer det att kundernas och marknadens efterfrågan på miljövänliga alternativ är något som i stor utsträckning motiverat företagen att arbeta för en cirkulär ekonomi. Resultatet går till viss del i linje med tidigare forskning. Det som skiljer sig är att lagar och miljökrav samt miljöintresse är mer framträdande än tidigare forskning visat. Det vore därför intressant att i vidare studier undersöka drivkrafter till cirkulära affärsmodeller utifrån institutionell teori. Det vore även intressant att studera skillnader vid en jämförelse mellan små, medelstora och stora företag eller börsnoterade och onoterade företag. / Background: For a long time, the world economy has been built on a linear economy, a system that is not sustainable and a threat to a sustainable future economy. A circular economy has been raised as a more sustainable alternative. It has been brought forward that the firms will have to lead the work towards a circular economy for the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy to be possible, and some firms have already started this work by implementing a circular business model. Some previous studies have shown that a circular business model generates economic benefits, some have shown economic disadvantages. This study aims to give theoretical and practical contributions by studying the drivers that has determined companies to implement a circular business model, and thereby examine if there are other drivers than economic profitability. Purpose: The aim of the study is to explore which drivers have motivated firms to start working towards a circular economy. By studying the firm’s view on revenues and costs in conjunction with their work for a circular economy the study aims to contribute with knowledge regarding to which extent economic profitability has an impact on the decision to change the business model. An additional aim with the study is to explore if there are other drivers that has had an impact on the motivation to direct the business towards a circular business model. Since the study aims to contribute with understanding regarding which drivers that have motivated firms to work this way, the study should be of interest for decision makers who want firms to start working towards a circular economy. Method: To answer the research question, and to achieve the purpose of the study, a qualitative method has been used by conducting semi-structured interviews with firms which are working with a circular business model. The theories that have been used to analyse the empirical data are the shareholder theory, the stakeholder theory and the self-determination theory. Result and conclusion: The result shows that the opportunity to have a positive impact on revenues and costs in the short term has not had an impact on the decision to direct the business towards a circular business model for most of the companies that have been a part of this study. Some of them work toward a circular economy even though it currently has a negative impact on their profit. Economic profitability in the short term does not seem to have been what has motivated them into directing the business towards a circular business model. It seems that they would rather have been motivated to work with a circular business model because they need to follow environmental regulations and live up to certain environmental requirements in procurement, together with a will to lower their impact on the environment. Besides this it appears that the demand for environmentally friendly products from the company's customers and the market in general is something that has motivated the companies to work towards a circular economy. The results comply with earlier studies to some extent. Differences are that drivers in terms of laws and environmental requirement in procurement are mentioned more in this study than in earlier studies. For further studies it would therefore be interesting to study drivers for a circular economy using institutional theory. It would also be interesting to study differences between drivers for small, medium and large companies, or differences between listed and unlisted firms.

With the extreme growth of electronic waste worldwide and in Brazil, there is a huge need for enhancement of recycling processes for this sort of waste. Considering the extremely relevant topic, the main objective of this research is to study about regulations and corporate strategies towards electronic waste recycling in Brazil and to compare it with the European context. The specific objectives are: To analyse the general European scenario concerning sustainability and electronic waste, in order to compare it with the Brazilian scenario; to study the main regulations for the treatment of electronic waste in Europe and in Brazil; to identify the main actors involved in the recycling process of electronics in Brazil; to analyse how some of the main electronics\' manufacturers inform on their websites about actions towards recycling of electronics in Brazil and in Europe; and to study about how some of the main electronics\' manufacturers in Brazil are dealing with the recycling of electronics from both a strategic and operational point of view. With a qualitative nature, the research has different approaches in terms of methodology. Both the part of the European scenario and the part of institutional and legal aspects in Brazil are based on secondary data. The part of the case studies brings an analysis on the websites in Brazil and in the United Kingdom of some electronics\' manufacturers, results from the contact with their customer services in Brazil and a final part of interviews with two of these companies, one of these companies\' recycling partner and a recycling association of electronics. Among the main programmes from the European Commission identified towards a sustainable growth, there is The Europe 2020 Strategy and the 7th EAP. While the European Union has the WEEE and RoHS Directive in terms of legislation, Brazil relies on the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS). Most of the companies analysed do not have a direct link for information about discard on their homepages in Brazil, while some do not have any information on the matter. By contacting the customer service support, some companies have provided divergent information from the websites. It has been possible to observe that many companies do not have proper actions towards the recycling of electronics in Brazil, in addition to not dealing with the residue in a strategic manner. The companies in the United Kingdom have, in general, better actions than the ones in Brazil, with most of the same companies having different actions according to the country. Among the main uncertainties identified in the recycling of electronics, there are: Different recycling technologies; unknown environmental impacts; different product design and composition; unknown reverse logistics costs; variable cost of recycling; rapidly changing nature of electronics; unpredictability about return of items concerning quantity, quality and timing; unknown destination of WEEE; different value of scrap materials; lack of common legislation; complexity of regulations; lack of environmental consciousness and lack of residues\' classification and regulations on the PNRS. / Com o extremo crescimento de resíduos eletrônicos ao redor do mundo e no Brasil, há uma enorme necessidade de aprimoramento dos processos de reciclagem para tal tipo de resíduo. Considerando o tema de extrema relevância, o objetivo geral da presente pesquisa é o de estudar a respeito das regulamentações e estratégias corporativas em relação à reciclagem de resíduos eletrônicos no Brasil e compará-las com o contexto europeu. Os objetivos específicos são: Analisar em termos gerais o cenário europeu a respeito de sustentabilidade e de resíduo eletrônico, a fim de compará-lo com o cenário brasileiro; estudar as principais regulamentações no que tange ao tratamento de resíduos eletrônicos na Europa e no Brasil; identificar os principais atores envolvidos no processo de reciclagem de eletrônicos no Brasil; analisar como alguns dos principais fabricantes de eletrônicos informam em seus websites sobre ações para reciclagem de eletrônicos no Brasil e na Europa; e estudar como alguns dos principais fabricantes de eletrônicos no Brasil lidam com a questão da reciclagem de eletrônicos tanto sob o ponto de vista estratégico como operacional. Com uma natureza qualitativa, a pesquisa tem diferentes abordagens em termos de metodologia. Tanto a parte do cenário europeu como a parte de aspectos institucionais e legais no Brasil são baseadas em dados secundários. A parte dos estudos de caso traz uma análise sobre os websites no Brasil e no Reino Unido de algumas fabricantes de eletrônicos, resultados do contato com o serviço de atendimento ao consumidor de tais empresas no Brasil e uma parte final com entrevistas com duas das empresas, um parceiro de reciclagem de uma das empresas e uma associação de reciclagem de eletrônicos. Entre os principais programas da Comissão Europeia identificados para um crescimento sustentável, há a Estratégia Europa 2020 e o 7° EAP. Enquanto a União Europeia tem as Diretivas WEEE e RoHS em termos de legislação, o Brasil conta com a Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos (PNRS). A maioria das empresas analisadas não tem um link direto para obter informações sobre o descarte em suas homepages no Brasil, enquanto que outras não têm qualquer informação sobre o assunto. Ao contatar o serviço de apoio ao cliente, algumas empresas forneceram informações divergentes dos websites. Constatou-se que muitas empresas não estão com ações adequadas à reciclagem de eletrônicos no Brasil, além de não estarem lidando com o resíduo de maneira estratégica. As empresas do Reino Unido têm, em geral, ações melhores que as do Brasil, com a maioria das empresas tendo diferentes ações de acordo com o país. Entre as principais incertezas identificadas na reciclagem de eletrônicos, destacam-se: Diferentes tecnologias de reciclagem; impactos ambientais desconhecidos; design e composição de produto variados; custo desconhecido de logística reversa; custo variável de reciclagem; natureza rapidamente mutável dos equipamentos eletrônicos; imprevisibilidade de retorno dos itens em relação à quantidade, à qualidade e ao tempo; destino desconhecido dos resíduos; valores distintos de materiais de sucata; falta de legislação comum; complexidade de regulamentações; falta de consciência ambiental; e falta de classificação e regulamentação dos resíduos na PNRS.

Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse portent sur la définition du paradigme de régénération issu des principes du développement durable et de l’économie circulaire. L’idée est de limiter l’épuisement des ressources de la sphère naturelle en exploitant les gisements de «déchets» de la sphère technique et en diminuant la production de déchets. La notion de régénération émerge d’une analogie entre la sphère naturelle et la sphère technique, et fait apparaitre les concepts de «nutriments» et de «décomposeurs». Le concept de nutriment permet de revisiter la fin de vie d’équipements domestiques ou industriels, en les voyant comme des nutriments techniques capables de nourrir certaines filières industrielles après transformation. Ces transformations sont opérées par des décomposeurs dans le milieu naturel, et des régénérateurs dans le milieu industriel. Quatre types de régénérateurs ont été définis. Pour chaque type de régénérateurs, des exigences sur le produit devant être satisfaites par les produits «déchets» sont identifiées afin d’assurer la régénération de ces produits. D’autres exigences ont été définies au niveau du processus de régénération pour spécifier les actions de régénération. Ces deux types d’exigences doivent être maintenus tout au long du cycle de vie du produit. La maintenance a été identifiée comme le processus fondamental pour surveiller et maintenir au travers du temps la capacité de régénération et ainsi prolonger la durée de vie des produits. Lorsque les régénérateurs mettent en place une stratégie de régénération, il est nécessaire d’évaluer sa faisabilité. Nous avons donc proposé un outil d’aide à la décision, en modélisant d’une part le comportement du produit au cours de son cycle de vie, ainsi que le comportement des régénérateurs, et d’autre part l’effet des exigences sur le produit et sur le processus. Les modèles choisis sont les System Dynamics qui permettent la modélisation et la simulation des interactions entre les variables d’un système complexe. Cet outil d’aide à la décision permet d’éprouver les propositions de la thèse, au tour d’un exemple de régénération d’un D3E / This thesis is dedicated to the regeneration paradigm from the principles of sustainable development and circular economy. The intention is to limit the exhaustion of natural resources and to reduce waste production through exploiting “waste” deposits of technosphere. The notion of regeneration emerges from an analogy between the natural and technical sphere. It brings to light the concepts of “nutrients” and “decomposers”. The nutrient concept enables to revisit the end of life of domestic or industrial equipment. These equipment are seen as technical nutrients that can feed industrial sectors. The regenerators, called decomposers in nature, are intermediates processors to process “waste” in technical nutrients. Four regenerators have been identified. For each regenerator, product requirements are identified to ensure the regeneration of “waste” product. Additional requirements have been defined in the regeneration process to specify regeneration actions. These two types of requirements must be maintained throughout the product lifecycle. Maintenance process has been identified as fundamental industrial process to monitor and maintain over time the regeneration capability of a product. When regenerators implement a regeneration strategy, it is necessary to assess its feasibility. That is why we proposed a decision- making tool by modeling the product’s behavior during its lifecycle and the regenerator’s behavior, and the effect of the requirements on the product and process. The selected models are System Dynamics. These models allow the modeling and simulation of interactions between the variables of a complex system. The decision-making tool allow test the proposals of this thesis through a regeneration example of an electronic waste