The Circular Economy (CE) is generally understood as an opportunity to transform the current unsu... more The Circular Economy (CE) is generally understood as an opportunity to transform the current unsustainable linear economic system by redesigning the way organisations provide goods and services rethinking how society consumes and uses those resources. In this context, the public sector is mainly recognised as an actor enabling the implementation of a sustainable CE through governmental interventions and policy initiatives. However, there is a lack of studies considering the public sector at an organisational level. CE in organisations includes a wide range of different practices that are important to examine in order to analyse the CE implementation process. Consequently, this study aims to characterise the current state of implementing circular practices and supporting strategies in central public sector organisations. To fulfil this aim, a questionnaire survey was sent to the organisations pertaining to the Portuguese Central Public Administration, as surveys are valuable tools to systematically collect information on various topics. The results demonstrate a relatively low level of implementation. Circular practices such as purchasing remanufactured or used items, using sharing platforms, increasing the efficiency of buildings, adopting green human resources and collaborative initiatives for circularity, and assessing and communicating about CE activities have presented low levels of adoption. At the same time, waste collection for recycling and dematerialisation practices showed good implementation levels. There is, thus, immense potential for further implementation of circularity in central public sector organisations in Portugal. This research contributes to deepening the understanding of the extent to which circular practices are embedded in public sector organisations and identifying the main implementation strengths and weaknesses. This research has the potential to help practitioners and researchers in the transition towards circularity in identifying circular opportunities in their organisations and in building a vision to further implement circularity in public sector organisations.
Abstract In recent years, the circular economy (CE) paradigm has emerged as a mainstream policy d... more Abstract In recent years, the circular economy (CE) paradigm has emerged as a mainstream policy discourse having the potential to disrupt linear economic development pathways by extracting and retaining the maximum value from existing resources through their recirculation. Highlighting the diverse circuits of value implicated in local CE development, this article considers how the ecological (material) and extraeconomic (social) premises of CE thinking can be harnessed through mission-driven social enterprises (SEs). Using a case study of a SE project in Graz, Austria, which is engaged in CE activities across the textile, interior design/wood, and food sectors, it proposes a novel heuristic framework for examining the role of circuits of value in constructing alternative circular narratives and local circular economic development trajectories. In doing so, this framework positions SE as an entity entangled in a complex web of interconnected material and social relations and practices that occur across coexisting mainstream and alternative economic spaces of production, exchange, and consumption. By aligning the CE concept with circuits of value, the article further shows the importance of mapping and conceptualizing value flows and feedback loops associated with the local development of the CE in a given spatial and temporal context.
The paper is focused on the complexity of household recycling waste management (HRWM). In particu... more The paper is focused on the complexity of household recycling waste management (HRWM). In particular, municipal solid waste (MSW) is presently and has been an environmental issue and previous studies reluctantly to converge the essential aspect of reverse logistics (situational factors) as well as behavioural issues (personal factors) in one holistic framework. The study used an interdisciplinary approach and has found that a "symbiosis effect" perspective appears to be a robust framework to bring together active household recycling waste systems and sustainable development considerations to enhance both sustainability and the economy. Further, the study provides empirical evidence examining both situational and personal factors of households and their interactions, which were previously not well-understood.
The management of waste is a major social, envi-ronmental and economic issue, which traverses all... more The management of waste is a major social, envi-ronmental and economic issue, which traverses all areas of public, private sectors, and impacts on the daily activities of households and individuals. Having implications for environmental protection, resource conservation, and the control of carbon emissions, waste has become a major area of public policy, an industrial sector and a subject of a burgeoning area of multi-disciplinary academic research. In recent years waste has begun to appear as an explicit topic for study within ...
The Circular Economy (CE) is generally understood as an opportunity to transform the current unsu... more The Circular Economy (CE) is generally understood as an opportunity to transform the current unsustainable linear economic system by redesigning the way organisations provide goods and services rethinking how society consumes and uses those resources. In this context, the public sector is mainly recognised as an actor enabling the implementation of a sustainable CE through governmental interventions and policy initiatives. However, there is a lack of studies considering the public sector at an organisational level. CE in organisations includes a wide range of different practices that are important to examine in order to analyse the CE implementation process. Consequently, this study aims to characterise the current state of implementing circular practices and supporting strategies in central public sector organisations. To fulfil this aim, a questionnaire survey was sent to the organisations pertaining to the Portuguese Central Public Administration, as surveys are valuable tools to systematically collect information on various topics. The results demonstrate a relatively low level of implementation. Circular practices such as purchasing remanufactured or used items, using sharing platforms, increasing the efficiency of buildings, adopting green human resources and collaborative initiatives for circularity, and assessing and communicating about CE activities have presented low levels of adoption. At the same time, waste collection for recycling and dematerialisation practices showed good implementation levels. There is, thus, immense potential for further implementation of circularity in central public sector organisations in Portugal. This research contributes to deepening the understanding of the extent to which circular practices are embedded in public sector organisations and identifying the main implementation strengths and weaknesses. This research has the potential to help practitioners and researchers in the transition towards circularity in identifying circular opportunities in their organisations and in building a vision to further implement circularity in public sector organisations.
Abstract In recent years, the circular economy (CE) paradigm has emerged as a mainstream policy d... more Abstract In recent years, the circular economy (CE) paradigm has emerged as a mainstream policy discourse having the potential to disrupt linear economic development pathways by extracting and retaining the maximum value from existing resources through their recirculation. Highlighting the diverse circuits of value implicated in local CE development, this article considers how the ecological (material) and extraeconomic (social) premises of CE thinking can be harnessed through mission-driven social enterprises (SEs). Using a case study of a SE project in Graz, Austria, which is engaged in CE activities across the textile, interior design/wood, and food sectors, it proposes a novel heuristic framework for examining the role of circuits of value in constructing alternative circular narratives and local circular economic development trajectories. In doing so, this framework positions SE as an entity entangled in a complex web of interconnected material and social relations and practices that occur across coexisting mainstream and alternative economic spaces of production, exchange, and consumption. By aligning the CE concept with circuits of value, the article further shows the importance of mapping and conceptualizing value flows and feedback loops associated with the local development of the CE in a given spatial and temporal context.
The paper is focused on the complexity of household recycling waste management (HRWM). In particu... more The paper is focused on the complexity of household recycling waste management (HRWM). In particular, municipal solid waste (MSW) is presently and has been an environmental issue and previous studies reluctantly to converge the essential aspect of reverse logistics (situational factors) as well as behavioural issues (personal factors) in one holistic framework. The study used an interdisciplinary approach and has found that a "symbiosis effect" perspective appears to be a robust framework to bring together active household recycling waste systems and sustainable development considerations to enhance both sustainability and the economy. Further, the study provides empirical evidence examining both situational and personal factors of households and their interactions, which were previously not well-understood.
The management of waste is a major social, envi-ronmental and economic issue, which traverses all... more The management of waste is a major social, envi-ronmental and economic issue, which traverses all areas of public, private sectors, and impacts on the daily activities of households and individuals. Having implications for environmental protection, resource conservation, and the control of carbon emissions, waste has become a major area of public policy, an industrial sector and a subject of a burgeoning area of multi-disciplinary academic research. In recent years waste has begun to appear as an explicit topic for study within ...
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Papers by Pauline Deutz