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Circular Economy and Sustainability: What Are They Saying About It? – A Literature Review

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Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing: Establishing Bridges for More Sustainable Manufacturing Systems (FAIM 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering ((LNME))

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Abstract

Circular economy (CE) and sustainability are two interrelated concepts that are increasingly gaining attention in the fields of business, economics, and environmental studies. Although both concepts share similarities as they both aim to reduce the negative impact of human activities on the environment and promote sustainable development, they have predominantly been addressed separately as two independent areas of knowledge, and continue to be ambiguous. Their relationship in literature has not been clarified, which may be obfuscating their overall usage. The aim of this article is to clarify the concepts of circular economy and sustainability, to examine how these two constructs have evolved in the last decades, and to identify their similarities and differences. In this regard a specific literature review was performed. For this purpose, 48 publications were identified, and a content analysis was conducted. Based on the aforementioned literature review, key findings relatively to circular economy and sustainability are presented.

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Funding

This work is financed by national funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, IP, within the scope of the reference project UIDB/04470/2020.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CITUR-Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation School of Tourism and Maritime Technology (ESTM), Polytechnic of Leiria, Santuário de Nossa Senhora Dos Remédios, Campus 4, 2520-641, Peniche, Portugal

    Berta Costa

  2. CARME-Centre of Applied Research in Management and Economics School of Technology and Management (ESTG), Polytechnic of Leiria, Morro do Lena – Alto do Vieiro, apartado 4163, 2411-901, Leiria, Portugal

    Susana Rodrigues

Authors
  1. Berta Costa
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Correspondence to Berta Costa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Francisco J. G. Silva

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Luís Pinto Ferreira

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    José Carlos Sá

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Maria Teresa Pereira

  5. Department of Mathematics, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Carla M. A. Pinto

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Costa, B., Rodrigues, S. (2024). Circular Economy and Sustainability: What Are They Saying About It? – A Literature Review. In: Silva, F.J.G., Ferreira, L.P., Sá, J.C., Pereira, M.T., Pinto, C.M.A. (eds) Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing: Establishing Bridges for More Sustainable Manufacturing Systems. FAIM 2023. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38165-2_117

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38165-2_117

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-38164-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-38165-2

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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