IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i10p2961-d233995.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Ecological Criteria of Circular Growth and the Rebound Risk of Closed Loops

Author

Listed:
  • Balint Horvath

    (Climate Change Economics Research Centre, Szent István University, Páter Károly 1, 2100 Godollo, Hungary)

  • Miriam Bahna

    (Doctoral School of Management and Business Administration, Szent István University, Páter Károly 1, 2100 Godollo, Hungary)

  • Csaba Fogarassy

    (Climate Change Economics Research Centre, Szent István University, Páter Károly 1, 2100 Godollo, Hungary)

Abstract

The implementation practices of the circular economy (CE) put a strong emphasis on preventing material losses in economic processes. The general interpretation of the concept focuses on closing technological and biological cycles by reintegrating end-of-life products into production and consumption systems. Thus, “closed loops” have become a trademark of circular transition. However, this limited perception fails to cover the essence of the CE. Besides closure, the utility of material loops can be prolonged, and a conscious consumer attitude may even prevent the creation of unnecessary material flows. This paper aims at proving that the preference of closed loops would result in deadweight losses in the long run. The conducted analysis ranks EU member states according to the most anticipated material flow indicators. Then, the study presents a new methodology to measure circular efficiency based on the available ecological capacity of the countries. The outcomes show that the poorly performing actors are in fact not far from a sustainable operation. Meanwhile, the countries with the most efficient material flow values present the widest development gap to reach the ideal level of circularity.

Suggested Citation

  • Balint Horvath & Miriam Bahna & Csaba Fogarassy, 2019. "The Ecological Criteria of Circular Growth and the Rebound Risk of Closed Loops," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:10:p:2961-:d:233995
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/10/2961/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/10/2961/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Birol, Fatih & Keppler, Jan Horst, 2000. "Prices, technology development and the rebound effect," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(6-7), pages 457-469, June.
    2. Walter R. Stahel, 2016. "The circular economy," Nature, Nature, vol. 531(7595), pages 435-438, March.
    3. Venkatachalam, L., 2007. "Environmental economics and ecological economics: Where they can converge?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2-3), pages 550-558, March.
    4. Trevor Zink & Roland Geyer & Richard Startz, 2016. "A Market-Based Framework for Quantifying Displaced Production from Recycling or Reuse," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 20(4), pages 719-729, August.
    5. Clive L. Spash, 2011. "Social Ecological Economics: Understanding the Past to See the Future," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(2), pages 340-375, April.
    6. Sorrell, Steve, 2007. "Improving the evidence base for energy policy: The role of systematic reviews," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1858-1871, March.
    7. Spash, Clive L., 2013. "The shallow or the deep ecological economics movement?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 351-362.
    8. A. Greening, Lorna & Greene, David L. & Difiglio, Carmen, 2000. "Energy efficiency and consumption -- the rebound effect -- a survey," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(6-7), pages 389-401, June.
    9. Wei, Taoyuan, 2010. "A general equilibrium view of global rebound effects," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 661-672, May.
    10. Narayan, Paresh Kumar & Prasad, Arti, 2008. "Electricity consumption-real GDP causality nexus: Evidence from a bootstrapped causality test for 30 OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 910-918, February.
    11. Sorrell, Steve, 2009. "Jevons' Paradox revisited: The evidence for backfire from improved energy efficiency," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1456-1469, April.
    12. Saunders, Harry D., 2008. "Fuel conserving (and using) production functions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 2184-2235, September.
    13. Paul E. Brockway & Harry Saunders & Matthew K. Heun & Timothy J. Foxon & Julia K. Steinberger & John R. Barrett & Steve Sorrell, 2017. "Energy Rebound as a Potential Threat to a Low-Carbon Future: Findings from a New Exergy-Based National-Level Rebound Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-24, January.
    14. repec:dau:papers:123456789/10972 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Plumecocq, Gaël, 2014. "The second generation of ecological economics: How far has the apple fallen from the tree?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 457-468.
    16. Harty D. Saunders, 1992. "The Khazzoom-Brookes Postulate and Neoclassical Growth," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4), pages 131-148.
    17. Roland Geyer & Brandon Kuczenski & Trevor Zink & Ashley Henderson, 2016. "Common Misconceptions about Recycling," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 20(5), pages 1010-1017, October.
    18. Fenna Blomsma & Geraldine Brennan, 2017. "The Emergence of Circular Economy: A New Framing Around Prolonging Resource Productivity," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 603-614, June.
    19. Juana Camacho-Otero & Casper Boks & Ida Nilstad Pettersen, 2018. "Consumption in the Circular Economy: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-25, August.
    20. Stern, David I., 2004. "The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Kuznets Curve," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1419-1439, August.
    21. Trevor Zink & Roland Geyer & Richard Startz, 2018. "Toward Estimating Displaced Primary Production from Recycling: A Case Study of U.S. Aluminum," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(2), pages 314-326, April.
    22. Balint Horvath & Edmund Mallinguh & Csaba Fogarassy, 2018. "Designing Business Solutions for Plastic Waste Management to Enhance Circular Transitions in Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-20, May.
    23. Csaba FOGARASSY & Éva NEUBAUER & Hasan MANSUR & Anita TANGL & Judit OLÁH & József POPP, 2018. "The Main Transition Management Issues And The Effects Of Environmental Accounting On Financial Performance– With Focus On Cement Industry," REVISTA ADMINISTRATIE SI MANAGEMENT PUBLIC, Faculty of Administration and Public Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 2018(31), pages 52-66, December.
    24. Missemer, Antoine, 2012. "William Stanley Jevons' The Coal Question (1865), beyond the rebound effect," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 97-103.
    25. Joanne Evans & Lester C. Hunt (ed.), 2009. "International Handbook on the Economics of Energy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12764.
    26. Brookes, Leonard, 2000. "Energy efficiency fallacies revisited," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(6-7), pages 355-366, June.
    27. Schipper, Lee & Grubb, Michael, 2000. "On the rebound? Feedback between energy intensities and energy uses in IEA countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(6-7), pages 367-388, June.
    28. Maria Csutora, 2012. "One More Awareness Gap? The Behaviour–Impact Gap Problem," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 145-163, March.
    29. J. Daniel Khazzoom, 1980. "Economic Implications of Mandated Efficiency in Standards for Household Appliances," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4), pages 21-40.
    30. J. Daniel Khazzoom, 1989. "Energy Savings from More Efficient Appliances: A Rejoinder," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1), pages 157-166.
    31. Alan Murray & Keith Skene & Kathryn Haynes, 2017. "The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Concept and Application in a Global Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 369-380, February.
    32. John A. Mathews & Hao Tan, 2016. "Circular economy: Lessons from China," Nature, Nature, vol. 531(7595), pages 440-442, March.
    33. Trevor Zink & Roland Geyer, 2017. "Circular Economy Rebound," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 593-602, June.
    34. Mateusz Lewandowski, 2016. "Designing the Business Models for Circular Economy—Towards the Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-28, January.
    35. Narayan, Paresh Kumar & Narayan, Seema & Prasad, Arti, 2008. "A structural VAR analysis of electricity consumption and real GDP: Evidence from the G7 countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 2765-2769, July.
    36. Berkhout, Peter H. G. & Muskens, Jos C. & W. Velthuijsen, Jan, 2000. "Defining the rebound effect," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(6-7), pages 425-432, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mendoza, Leidy Milena Nieves & Cely, William Alonso Morales, 2022. "Una mirada a la brecha entre actitud y comportamiento del consumidor en la economía circular," Revista Tendencias, Universidad de Narino, vol. 23(1), pages 372-394, January.
    2. Kalkabayeva Gaukhar & Aibot? Rakhmetova & Marina Assanova, 2021. "Financing of Eco-innovations: Sources and Trends in Kazakhstan," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(1), pages 173-179.
    3. Gustavo Pineiro-Villaverde & María Teresa García-Álvarez, 2020. "Sustainable Consumption and Production: Exploring the Links with Resources Productivity in the EU-28," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-13, October.
    4. S.M. Mizanur Rahman & Junbeum Kim & Gilles Lerondel & Youcef Bouzidi & Laure Clerget, 2019. "Value Retention Options in Circular Economy: Issues and Challenges of LED Lamp Preprocessing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-20, August.
    5. Csaba Fogarassy & David Finger, 2020. "Theoretical and Practical Approaches of Circular Economy for Business Models and Technological Solutions," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-9, June.
    6. Luca Adami & Marco Schiavon, 2021. "From Circular Economy to Circular Ecology: A Review on the Solution of Environmental Problems through Circular Waste Management Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, January.
    7. Konrád Kiss & Csaba Ruszkai & Katalin Takács-György, 2019. "Examination of Short Supply Chains Based on Circular Economy and Sustainability Aspects," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-21, September.
    8. Armand Kasztelan, 2020. "How Circular Are the European Economies? A Taxonomic Analysis Based on the INEC (Index of National Economies’ Circularity)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-11, September.
    9. Luiz C. Terra dos Santos & Adrielle Frimaio & Biagio F. Giannetti & Feni Agostinho & Gengyuan Liu & Cecilia M. V. B. Almeida, 2023. "Integrating Environmental, Social, and Economic Dimensions to Monitor Sustainability in the G20 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Karen Turner, 2013. ""Rebound" Effects from Increased Energy Efficiency: A Time to Pause and Reflect," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4).
    2. Thomas, Brinda A. & Azevedo, Inês L., 2013. "Estimating direct and indirect rebound effects for U.S. households with input–output analysis Part 1: Theoretical framework," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 199-210.
    3. Saunders, Harry D., 2014. "Toward a neoclassical theory of sustainable consumption: Eight golden age propositions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 220-232.
    4. Koesler, Simon & Swales, Kim & Turner, Karen, 2016. "International spillover and rebound effects from increased energy efficiency in Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 444-452.
    5. Koesler, Simon & Swales, Kim & Turner, Karen, 2014. "Beyond national economy-wide rebound effects: An applied general equilibrium analysis incorporating international spillover effects," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-025, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Rocha, Felipe Freitas da & Almeida, Edmar Luiz Fagundes de, 2021. "A general equilibrium model of macroeconomic rebound effect: A broader view," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. David Font Vivanco & Jaume Freire‐González & Ray Galvin & Tilman Santarius & Hans Jakob Walnum & Tamar Makov & Serenella Sala, 2022. "Rebound effect and sustainability science: A review," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(4), pages 1543-1563, August.
    8. Freire-González, Jaume, 2017. "Evidence of direct and indirect rebound effect in households in EU-27 countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 270-276.
    9. Lin, Boqiang & Chen, Yufang & Zhang, Guoliang, 2017. "Technological progress and rebound effect in China's nonferrous metals industry: An empirical study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 520-529.
    10. Sorrell, Steve, 2009. "Jevons' Paradox revisited: The evidence for backfire from improved energy efficiency," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1456-1469, April.
    11. Colmenares, Gloria & Löschel, Andreas & Madlener, Reinhard, 2019. "The rebound effect and its representation in energy and climate models," CAWM Discussion Papers 106, University of Münster, Münster Center for Economic Policy (MEP).
    12. Figge, Frank & Thorpe, Andrea Stevenson, 2019. "The symbiotic rebound effect in the circular economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 61-69.
    13. Guerra, Ana-Isabel & Sancho, Ferran, 2010. "Rethinking economy-wide rebound measures: An unbiased proposal," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6684-6694, November.
    14. Alcott, Blake, 2005. "Jevons' paradox," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 9-21, July.
    15. Tugba Somuncu & Christopher Hannum, 2018. "The Rebound Effect of Energy Efficiency Policy in the Presence of Energy Theft," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-28, December.
    16. Estrella Trincado & Antonio Sánchez-Bayón & José María Vindel, 2021. "The European Union Green Deal: Clean Energy Wellbeing Opportunities and the Risk of the Jevons Paradox," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-23, July.
    17. Michael Huesemann & Joyce Huesemann, 2008. "Will progress in science and technology avert or accelerate global collapse? A critical analysis and policy recommendations," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 10(6), pages 787-825, December.
    18. Dahlqvist, Anna & Lundgren, Tommy & Marklund, Per-Olov, 2017. "Assessing the Rebound Effect in Energy Intensive Industries: A Factor Demand Model Approach with Asymmetric Price Response," Working Papers 150, National Institute of Economic Research.
    19. Lange, Steffen & Pohl, Johanna & Santarius, Tilman, 2020. "Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    20. Wang, H. & Zhou, P. & Zhou, D.Q., 2012. "An empirical study of direct rebound effect for passenger transport in urban China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 452-460.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:10:p:2961-:d:233995. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.