A Simulation Methodology for Circular Economy Implementation

Abstract

In recent years, circular economy principles have arisen in response to natural resource depletion as rules for eliminating the take–use–dispose process. The consequences of shifting from a linear to a circular supply chain are impossible to visualize in the long term. For this reason, stakeholders are afraid of investing in sustainable policies, and it is not easy to convince them. Our contribution is a methodology to design a simulator that allows stakeholders to understand and find explanations about transforming their linear supply process to a circular value chain before implementing it in the real world. The methodology proposed is based on four perspectives: (i) service-dominant logic, (ii) ecosystem services, (iii) system dynamics, and (iv) agent-based modeling. These approaches allow us to model a three-dimensional system (social, physical, and ecological) for circular economy practices and to visualize consequences in the future. Additionally to the methodology proposal, as a result, we present its implementation in a real case: a food bank located in Jalisco, Mexico, where it generates food waste, and there is a need to transform the value chain in to activate food donations from agricultural producers. Finally, we conclude with the findings and future work.