Circular Economy

Foreword xiii
François-Michel LAMBERT

Introduction xvii
Karen DELCHET-COCHET

Part 1. The Circular Economy, Between Framework and Stakes 1

Chapter 1. The Circular Economy: Historical Perspective and Contemporary Issues 3
Franck AGGERI

1.1. Introduction 3

1.2. From the origins of the reflections on the circular economy to its inclusion on the public agenda 4

1.2.1. The reasons for the enthusiasm 5

1.2.2. Circular economy as a new rational utopia 7

1.3. Is the circular economy really a new practice? 8

1.3.1. Circular economy, mode 1 8

1.3.2. Circular economy, mode 2 9

1.4. Obstacles to the circular transition to mode 2 10

1.4.1. Local value creation 11

1.4.2. The need for a new industrial policy 11

1.5. References 12

Chapter 2. The Circular Economy and Lifecycle 13
Christian BRODHAG

2.1. Resources 14

2.2. Environmental context 16

2.2.1. The global question 18

2.3. Methods to address the circular economy 20

2.3.1. Historical background: from industrial ecology to circular economy 20

2.3.2. The lifecycle approach 20

2.3.3. Eco-design 22

2.4. Political and normative processes 22

2.4.1. The European and French approaches. 22

2.4.2. ISO standardization 24

2.5. Conclusion 25

2.6. References 26

Chapter 3. Circular Economy: Transformation of the Labor Market and Change in Human Resources Management Practices 29
David MORIEZ

3.1. Introduction 29

3.2. The circular economy, labor market and jobs 31

3.2.1. The circular economy: a response to the regionalization of unemployment 32

3.2.2. The circular economy: a response to structural unemployment 35

3.2.3. The circular economy: “green jobs” and “greening jobs” 36

3.3. The circular economy and human resources management practices 38

3.3.1. Green human resources management (green HRM) 38

3.3.2. Green human resources management practices39

3.4. Conclusion 41

3.5. Appendix 1 42

3.6. Appendix 2 43

3.7. Appendix 3 47

3.8. References 48

Chapter 4. The Role of Education in the Ecological and Circular Transition: Current Situation and Prospects 53
Dominique BONET FERNANDEZ

4.1. Introduction 53

4.2. Findings and challenges for universities and companies 54

4.2.1. Multidisciplinary challenges, requiring a review of training courses 55

4.2.2. The companies and universities concerned 55

4.3. How to meet the skills and training needs of the circular economy? 56

4.3.1. From Green Plan to education for sustainable development 56

4.3.2. A wide range of skills 57

4.3.3. Towards new practices 57

4.4. An initiative provided by the French Virtual University for Environment and Sustainable Development 60

4.5. The proposed 2019 law on the generalization of education on issues related to the preservation of the environment and biological diversity and climate change within the framework of global boundaries 61

4.6. Legislative proposals to be closely monitored 62

4.7. Conclusion 64

4.8. References 65

Chapter 5. Boosting the Circular Economy through Proximity: The New Competences of Local Authorities 67
Karine FABRE and Alexis POKROVSKY

5.1. What scale for proximity? 68

5.2. Understanding the territorial levels: sharing of competences in the context of waste management 70

5.2.1. Historical expertise in waste management acquired by municipalities 70

5.2.2. Territorial tiering of competences 71

5.3. The levers for steering the circular economy 74

5.3.1. An increasingly environmentally oriented public procurement 75

5.3.2. Some examples of public practices or policies: between responsible purchasing and waste reduction at source 76

5.4. Conclusion 77

5.5. References 77

Part 2. Circular Economy: A Few Tools and Approaches 79

Chapter 6. Example of a Pioneering Approach to the Circular Economy: Cradle to Cradle 81
Anne DE BÉTHENCOURT

6.1. The origins of Cradle to Cradle 82

6.1.1. Thus, Cradle to Cradle was born82

6.1.2. The founding principle: design differently and “upcycle” to create “positive loops” 83

6.1.3. Counter false good ideas 85

6.2. Creating resilient models 85

6.2.1. High-performance business models 85

6.2.2. The material passport, a key factor in traceability 86

6.2.3. Promoting the abundance of renewable energies 86

6.2.4. A recognized approach 86

6.2.5. A demanding approach 87

6.3. Some examples of C2C certified products 88

6.3.1. Carpets 88

6.3.2. Buildings 88

6.3.3. Fashion 89

6.3.4. Cleaning products 90

6.4. Conclusion 91

6.5. References 91

Chapter 7. From the Circular Economy to Industrial and Territorial Ecology Approaches: What Modes of Governance to Ensure their Sustainability? 93
Valérie FERNANDES

7.1. Introduction 93

7.2. Leverages and obstacles to the sustainability of ITE approaches: findings and analysis 94

7.2.1. Circular economy and ITE approaches: definition and key elements 94

7.2.2. Success factors and obstacles to the sustainability of ITE approaches 96

7.3. The modes of governance of ITE approaches 99

7.3.1. Key elements 99

7.3.2. The modes of governance of ITE approaches 100

7.4. Articulation of ITE approaches on the same territory: the example of the La Rochelle territory 102

7.4.1. Presentation of the three approaches 102

7.4.2. Challenges, risks and opportunities 104

7.5. Conclusion 108

7.6. References 108

Chapter 8. Sharing Economy, a Driving Force of the Circular Economy? 111
Catherine LEJEALLE

8.1. Introduction 111

8.2. Web 2.0 disrupts consumption practices 112

8.2.1. Arguments over definitions 112

8.2.2. Mapping the sharing economy 114

8.3. The circular economy in Moore’s chasm 115

8.3.1. The pillars of the circular economy and the role of consumption 115

8.3.2. Adoption of the circular economy: consumer behavior 116

8.3.3. Moore’s chasm to cross 117

8.4. The uses of the sharing economy 118

8.4.1. Motivations 118

8.4.2. Percolation of uses 120

8.5. Conclusion 121

8.6. References 122

Chapter 9. The Circular Economy from the Perspective of Voluntary Standardization 125
Anne BENADY, Melodie MERENDA and Mérylle AUBRUN

9.1. Why and how has voluntary standardization appropriated the concept of the circular economy? 125

9.1.1. A need expressed by economic actors 125

9.1.2. Towards an ISO standard 128

9.2. The main principles of the XP X30-901 standard 129

9.2.1. Structure and content of the reference framework 130

9.3. The circular economy project management standard, a suitable tool for evaluating, enhancing and improving projects 133

9.3.1. Towards a “Circular Economic Assessment” 133

9.3.2. First feedback from users 134

9.4. References 135

Part 3. Activity Sectors through the Prism of the Circular Economy 137

Chapter 10. Circular Economy and Construction 139
Vincent AUGISEAU

10.1. Introduction 139

10.2. Global environmental issues related to construction 139

10.3. Sixteen elements of definition 141

10.3.1. Three principles of the circular economy according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation 143

10.3.2. Definitions from the six levers for a transition to a circular economy according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation 144

10.3.3. Definitions according to a strategy similar to an R scale 145

10.3.4. Definitions according to the stages of a building’s lifecycle 146

10.3.5. Definitions of the circular economy close to that of sustainable development 147

10.3.6. Cross-referenced analysis of definitions 148

10.4. Policies and projects aiming to apply the concept of the circular economy to construction 148

10.4.1. Policies 148

10.4.2. Research and development projects 149

10.4.3. Construction and urban development projects 150

10.5. Four main limitations 150

10.5.1. An uncertain delimitation of the scope of the circular economy between waste management and sustainable development 151

10.5.2. Low consideration of the territorial context 152

10.5.3. A scale for the application of the circular economy concept that is too narrow 153

10.5.4. Insufficient coordination between the circular economy and spatial planning 153

10.6. Conclusion 154

10.7. References 154

Chapter 11. Understanding the Concept of Waste to Avoid its Production 159
Yvon PESQUEUX

11.1. Introduction 159

11.2. Waste defined as that which crosses a boundary 161

11.3. The ambiguity of waste 163

11.4. Institutional definitions of waste 164

11.5. Lifecycle analysis 169

11.6. Conclusion: arguing about boundaries 171

11.7. References 173

Chapter 12. When Fashion Brands Try to Adopt a Circular Economy 175
Bénédicte BOURCIER-BÉQUAERT, Karen DELCHET-COCHET and Valérie FERNANDES

12.1. Introduction 175

12.2. State of play 177

12.2.1. The circular economy: main principles and application in companies 177

12.2.2. CE in textile companies in France: a waste-based approach 179

12.3. Methodology 182

12.4. Results 183

12.4.1. There is a collector and… a collector 183

12.4.2. A still partial implementation of the CE 184

12.5. The limits of the actions implemented 187

12.6. Conclusion 189

12.7. References 190

Chapter 13. The Circular Economy and Packaging: Challenges and Avenues for Reflection 193
François CABARET

13.1. Division function 195

13.1.1. Bulk goods 196

13.1.2. The sale in unit packaging 197

13.1.3. Sales in the so-called family or “giant” promotional packaging 197

13.2. Protection function 197

13.3. Marketing and communication functions 200

13.4. Service functions 201

13.5. Reflection points 202

13.6. Conclusion 202

13.7. References 203

Chapter 14. The Circular Economy and Toy Sector 205
Karen DELCHET-COCHET and Coralie DAMAY

14.1. The toy sector between impact and innovation 206

14.1.1. The main characteristics of the toy sector 206

14.1.2. The circular economy in the toy sector: a lifecycle perspective 208

14.2. A toy is more than “just a product” 213

14.2.1. Toys, the company’s flagship products 213

14.2.2. A brief historical return 214

14.2.3. The role of the toy in educating the future consumer? 215

14.2.4. Toys and environmental education 215

14.2.5. The toy, a role to be redefined 216

14.3. To conclude: proposals for rethinking our relationship with toys 218

14.4. References 219

Postface 223
Jean-Louis BERGEY

List of Authors 227

Index 229