Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.3
Journals
IJERPH
Special Issues
Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy
ijerph-logo
Submit to IJERPH Review for IJERPH Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 27542

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Sukanlaya Sawang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Faculty of Business and Law, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK
2. QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4001, Australia
Interests: small business; innovation; entrepreneurship; self-employment; psychological wellbeing
Dr. Anna Bogush

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, Wolston Ln, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Coventry CV8 3LG, UK
Interests: environmental science; geochemistry; environmental engineering; material science; analytical chemistry and biogeochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Garry Kuan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University, London UB8 3PH, UK
Interests: sport psychology; sport science; neuro-psychophysiology; music therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Circular Economy (CE) has attracted remarkable attention globally, as it can contribute to the balance between economic development and environmental sustainability, so as to address increasing critical resource scarcity and environmental issues. The circular economy business model is supported by “an eco-effective economy” perspective rather than that of “an eco-efficient economy”, where wastes can be transferred effectively as resources for other enterprises in industries (Ellen McArthur Foundation, 2012 [1]). Therefore, an increasing number of enterprises have begun to adopt the CE principals as part of their business model/ operation. The objective of this Special Issue is to explore the issue surrounding sustainable businesses or enterprises and Circular Economy, under interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches.

This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts on areas including, but not limited to, the following:

• The adoption of circular economy practices/principals
• Circular economy and entrepreneurship
• Circular business models
• Organizational innovation through circular economy
• Sport and circular economy
• Circular economy in emerging economy
• Circular strategies and circular economy-oriented innovation
• Eco-innovation and circular economy
• Small and medium-sized enterprises and circular behaviours
• Green entrepreneurship
• Circular economy and stakeholder engagement
• Circular economy in water treatment
• Circular economy in waste management
• Circular economy in plastics
• Circular economy and industrial symbiosis

Original articles, viewpoints (impactful reports and commentaries) or perspectives (based on systematic reviews) are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Sukanlaya Sawang
Dr. Anna Bogush
Dr. Garry Kuan
Guest Editors

References

  1. Ellen Macarthur Foundation. Towards the Circular Economy. 2012. Available online: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/business/reports (accessed on 8 January 2021).

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

13 pages, 2064 KiB  
Article
Implementing the Circular Economy by Tracing the Sustainable Impact
by Sebastian Lawrenz, Benjamin Leiding, Marit Elke Anke Mathiszig, Andreas Rausch, Mirco Schindler and Priyanka Sharma
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(21), 11316; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111316 - 28 Oct 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4022
Abstract
Sustainability is one of the most critical issues today. Thus, the unsustainable consumption of resources, such as raw materials, CO2 emissions, and the Linear Economy needs to be changed. One framework for a more sustainable economy is the Circular Economy. Although [...] Read more.
Sustainability is one of the most critical issues today. Thus, the unsustainable consumption of resources, such as raw materials, CO2 emissions, and the Linear Economy needs to be changed. One framework for a more sustainable economy is the Circular Economy. Although the concept of the Circular Economy has been around since the 1990s, yet we are still far from enabling a Circular Economy. Therefore, a turnaround to the current linear economy as well as a change in society is necessary. In this paper, we get down to the essence of the status quo in the Circular Economy, identify the main barriers, such as lack of information, unsustainable economic models, ignorance, missing incentives, and propose software-driven solutions to tackle these challenges. Our solution extends the service description language by introducing the sustainability impact factor. The goal is to motivate end-users towards a more sustainable behavior without making massive restrictions on their lives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2492 KiB  
Article
Green-Extension Design—A New Strategy to Reduce the Environmental Pressure from the Existing Consumer Electronics
by Siliang Yi and Chih-Fu Wu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(18), 9596; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189596 - 12 Sep 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2341
Abstract
Existing electronic devices will quickly become e-waste when encountering technological iterations, which results in serious environmental and public health problems. Previous circular economy research has mainly focused on the development of new products with long life or recycling discarded products. This study firstly [...] Read more.
Existing electronic devices will quickly become e-waste when encountering technological iterations, which results in serious environmental and public health problems. Previous circular economy research has mainly focused on the development of new products with long life or recycling discarded products. This study firstly proposes the Green-Extension Design (GED) strategy for developing adaptable accessories that provide existing products with the ability to continue to work in a different context. Competitiveness was selected to evaluate the performance of GED, and three competitiveness components were derived through principal component analysis (PCA). Moreover, AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) was applied to define the weights of the three competitiveness components, and a GED model was established on the basis of production function. Furthermore, the calculation method for each competitiveness component was defined. The GED strategy is aimed at extending the life of existing products, as well as reducing resource waste and environmental pollution. The GED model based on competitiveness components can enable enterprises to design products of high competitiveness and obtain market share as a result. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 1296 KiB  
Article
Economic Policy Uncertainty, Environmental Regulation, and Green Innovation—An Empirical Study Based on Chinese High-Tech Enterprises
by Yue Zhu, Ziyuan Sun, Shiyu Zhang and Xiaolin Wang
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(18), 9503; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189503 - 9 Sep 2021
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 4286
Abstract
As the continuous changes in environmental regulations have a non-negligible impact on the innovation activities of micro subjects, and economic policy uncertainty has become one of the important influencing factors to be considered in the development of enterprises. Therefore, based on the panel [...] Read more.
As the continuous changes in environmental regulations have a non-negligible impact on the innovation activities of micro subjects, and economic policy uncertainty has become one of the important influencing factors to be considered in the development of enterprises. Therefore, based on the panel data of Chinese high-tech enterprises from 2012–2017, this paper explores the impact of heterogeneous environmental regulations on firms’ green innovation from the perspective of economic policy uncertainty as a moderating variable. The empirical results show that, first, market-incentivized environmental regulation instruments have an inverted U-shaped relationship with innovation output, while voluntary environmental regulation produces a significant positive impact. Second, the U-shaped relationship between market-based environmental regulation and innovation output becomes more pronounced when economic policy uncertainty is high. However, it plays a negative moderating role in regulating the relationship between voluntary-based environmental regulation and innovation output. This paper not only illustrates the process of technological innovation by revealing the intrinsic mechanism of environmental regulation on firm innovation, but also provides insights for government in environmental governance from the perspective of economic policy uncertainty as well. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 4660 KiB  
Article
How Do Firms Promote Green Innovation through International Mergers and Acquisitions: The Moderating Role of Green Image and Green Subsidy
by Hang Wu and Yiying Qu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(14), 7333; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147333 - 8 Jul 2021
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4505
Abstract
Carrying out green innovation is beneficial for firms to cope with environmental protection pressure and achieve sustainable development. Existing research has paid enough attention to the driver of green innovation, but still does not reveal how green innovation can be conceived and realized. [...] Read more.
Carrying out green innovation is beneficial for firms to cope with environmental protection pressure and achieve sustainable development. Existing research has paid enough attention to the driver of green innovation, but still does not reveal how green innovation can be conceived and realized. This paper answers the above question from the perspective of international M&As, examines the relationship between exploratory international M&As, exploitative international M&As and green innovation performance, and further probes into how strategic and environmental factors moderate the green innovation effectiveness of exploratory and exploitative M&As. Results indicate that exploratory and exploitative international M&As both are beneficial for green innovation performance, and to maximize green innovation performance, implementing exploratory M&As is more beneficial for firms pursuing high green image and operating in a high green subsidy environment. By contrast, carrying out exploitative M&As is more effective for firms pursuing low green image and operating in a low green subsidy environment. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 331 KiB  
Article
Proposing Circular Economy Ecosystem for Chinese SMEs: A Systematic Review
by Zhejun Min, Sukanlaya Sawang and Robbert A. Kivits
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(5), 2395; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052395 - 1 Mar 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4468
Abstract
Circular economy (CE) has attracted so much attention around the world as it can contribute to the balance between economic development and environmental sustainability, to address the increasing critical resources scarcity and environmental issues. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China are a [...] Read more.
Circular economy (CE) has attracted so much attention around the world as it can contribute to the balance between economic development and environmental sustainability, to address the increasing critical resources scarcity and environmental issues. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China are a major driving force in the economy with 43 million SMEs in 2020. Most of them maintain the traditional economic development method of “take–use”, without considering the environment. This has caused great harm to the environment and resource availability. Therefore, Chinese SMEs must adopt CE in their business to address this issue. The current study aims to explore the key barriers (lack of time, lack of human resources and finance) and enablers (e.g., network, innovation, and reputation) for Chinese SMEs CE adoption. The current study employs a systematic review approach with thematic analysis to identify the internal and external barriers and enablers of CE adoption among SMEs. Moreover, a CE ecosystem has been proposed for identifying the key actors in the CE system, which will be beneficial for policy-makers to take into account when drafting and adjusting CE laws and regulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy)

Review

Jump to: Research

19 pages, 1125 KiB  
Review
A Critical Review of EU Key Indicators for the Transition to the Circular Economy
by Roxana Lavinia Pacurariu, Sorin Daniel Vatca, Elena Simina Lakatos, Laura Bacali and Mircea Vlad
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(16), 8840; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168840 - 22 Aug 2021
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 6305
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to analyze the extent to which the system of indicators that is used in the Monitoring Framework for the transition to the circular economy (CE) is efficient and relevant in their contribution to the sustainable development of [...] Read more.
The objective of this paper is to analyze the extent to which the system of indicators that is used in the Monitoring Framework for the transition to the circular economy (CE) is efficient and relevant in their contribution to the sustainable development of European communities. The fundaments of the transition framework and the main characteristics of the circularity indicators are presented. A critical review was performed in order to fulfill the objective of analyzing the current indicators. It is concluded that the indicators in the current framework are (as a selection from a very broad range of indicators theoretically proposed and with estimated practical applicability) limited from the perspective of circularity only to waste generation and recycling processes containing recyclable materials, without including important circularity indicators related to the prolonging and extending the life cycle of products and materials. This paper proposes and defines such an indicator, based on the consideration of the fundamental scalars describing economy, mass, energy, time, and value, respectively. The indicator is described and its applicability in all the phases of the economy is estimated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-6
Back to TopTop