Fostering Circular Economy through Product Life Cycle Thinking

Dear Colleagues,

The circular economy is a viable and promising alternative to the currently prevailing linear economic system. The fact of having increasing demands on our planet’s limited natural resources involves the need to adopt a sustainable economic system where sustainable production and consumption should be prioritized.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the transition from the linear to the circular economy requires a deep transformation in the way we create and consume products and services. To create a society mainly based on the circular economy, industries need a new kind of circular know-how, circular strategies co-created between sectors through co-operation, and an overall change in operating methods.

The main objective of this Special Issue is to address the transition to the circular economy through the systems thinking approach and the so-called product life cycle thinking.

Therefore, the articles to be published should provide knowledge on the key elements, indicators, and methods to monitor the transition toward the circular economy in industry. For this purpose, it is essential to clearly define the drivers and barriers of the new circular economy business models that may emerge.

Likewise, this Special Issue aims to open a discussion on aspects related to the circular economy as a transformative COVID-19 recovery strategy and as an opportunity to build a resilient and low carbon recovery.

Contributions that explore the topic of circular or sustainable design based on life cycle analysis are also welcome, as well as articles that prove the importance of both product and organization environmental footprints in the circular economy.

We propose as a reference the following topics in order to guide the authors and trigger a better-orientated discussion of the scientific works that could partake in this challenge:

• Circular design and systems thinking;
• Circular economy through product life cycle thinking;
• Key elements and indicators, to monitor circularity;
• Drivers and barriers to the circular economy;
• New circular economy business models;
• Circular economy and green recovery in the post-pandemic scenario;
• Circular design and sustainable design based on life cycle assessment;
• Circular economy and product and organization environmental footprints.

Papers presenting research results with sound academic contributions and high societal impact potential are particularly welcomed.

Dr. Rikardo Minguez
Dr. Estibaliz Saez-de Camara
Guest Editors

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• circular economy
• life cycle thinking
• systems thinking
• circular strategies, life cycle assessment
• ecodesign
• sustainable production
• green recovery