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A Process Oriented MCDM Approach to Construct a Circular Economy Composite Index

Author

Listed:
  • Ana Garcia-Bernabeu

    (Escola Politècnica Superior d’Alcoi, Universitat Politècnica de València, P. Ferrándiz y Carbonell 2, 03801 Alcoy, Spain)

  • Adolfo Hilario-Caballero

    (Escola Politècnica Superior d’Alcoi, Universitat Politècnica de València, P. Ferrándiz y Carbonell 2, 03801 Alcoy, Spain)

  • David Pla-Santamaria

    (Escola Politècnica Superior d’Alcoi, Universitat Politècnica de València, P. Ferrándiz y Carbonell 2, 03801 Alcoy, Spain)

  • Francisco Salas-Molina

    (Facultad de Economía, Universitat de València, Av. Tarongers s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

Abstract

The purpose of this contribution is to develop a Circular Economy Composite indicator to benchmark EU countries performance. Europe is at the forefront of the global transition towards a sustainable and circular economy. To this end, the European Commission has launched in 2015 a Circular Economy Action Plan including a monitoring framework to measure progress and to assess the effectiveness of initiatives towards the circular economy in the European Union (EU) and Member States. Still, this monitoring framework lacks a composite indicator at the national level to aggregate the circular economy dimensions into a single summary indicator. Although there is a wide range of sustainability composite indicators, no aggregate circular economy index exits to this date. We use a multi-criteria approach to construct a circular economy composite index based on TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preferences by Similarity to Ideal Solutions) methodology. In addition, we introduce a novel aggregation methodology for building a composite indicator where different levels of compensability for the distances to the ideal and anti-ideal (or negative-ideal) values of each indicator are considered. In order to illustrate the advantages of this proposal, we have applied it to evaluate the Circular Economy performance of EU Member States for the year 2016. This proposal can be a valuable tool for identifying areas in which the countries need to concentrate their efforts to boost their circular economy performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Garcia-Bernabeu & Adolfo Hilario-Caballero & David Pla-Santamaria & Francisco Salas-Molina, 2020. "A Process Oriented MCDM Approach to Construct a Circular Economy Composite Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:618-:d:308736
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Purvis, Ben & Genovese, Andrea, 2023. "Better or different? A reflection on the suitability of indicator methods for a just transition to a circular economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    2. José Carlos Romero & Pedro Linares, 2021. "Multiple Criteria Decision-Making as an Operational Conceptualization of Energy Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Elena Rangoni Gargano & Alessia Cornella & Pasqualina Sacco, 2023. "Governance Model for a Territory Circularity Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Luis Diaz-Balteiro & Jacinto González-Pachón & Carlos Romero, 2020. "Sustainability as a Multi-Criteria Concept: New Developments and Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-5, September.
    5. Roxana Lavinia Pacurariu & Sorin Daniel Vatca & Elena Simina Lakatos & Laura Bacali & Mircea Vlad, 2021. "A Critical Review of EU Key Indicators for the Transition to the Circular Economy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-19, August.
    6. Ana Garcia-Bernabeu & Adolfo Hilario-Caballero, 2021. "Monitoring multidimensional phenomena with a multicriteria composite performance interval approach," Papers 2107.08393, arXiv.org.
    7. Hana Ayadi & Nadia Hamani & Lyes Kermad & Mounir Benaissa, 2021. "Novel Fuzzy Composite Indicators for Locating a Logistics Platform under Sustainability Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-37, April.
    8. Francisco Salas-Molina & David Pla-Santamaria & Fernando Mayor-Vitoria & Maria Luisa Vercher-Ferrandiz, 2021. "A Multicriteria Extension of the Efficient Market Hypothesis," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-16, March.
    9. Francisco Ruiz & José Manuel Cabello, 2021. "MRP-PCI: A Multiple Reference Point Based Partially Compensatory Composite Indicator for Sustainability Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-19, January.
    10. Eglantina Hysa & Alba Kruja & Naqeeb Ur Rehman & Rafael Laurenti, 2020. "Circular Economy Innovation and Environmental Sustainability Impact on Economic Growth: An Integrated Model for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, June.
    11. Francisco Salas-Molina & David Pla-Santamaria & Maria Luisa Vercher-Ferrándiz & Javier Reig-Mullor, 2020. "Inverse Malthusianism and Recycling Economics: The Case of the Textile Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-20, July.
    12. Zvonimira Sverko Grdic & Marinela Krstinic Nizic & Elena Rudan, 2020. "Circular Economy Concept in the Context of Economic Development in EU Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-13, April.

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