{"title":"A methodological proposal for developing a Municipality Indicator of Circular Economy (MICE)","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107871","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The multidimensional nature of Circular Economy (CE) has been investigated by using composite indicators including variables that sometimes can be assumed only indirectly related to the concept of CE. This paper defines a new composite indicator based exclusively on environmental variables, grouped into the five areas of green enterprise, sustainable mobility, sustainable energy, biodiversity, emissions and pollution and applicable to local territories such as municipalities. Our Municipal Indicator of Circular Economy (MICE) is then tested on the 329 municipalities of Emilia- Romagna region (Italy). Based on our results, MICE detects circularity patterns at local level; moreover, we observe that small municipalities tend to be slower in adopting CE practices, while large municipalities are more proactive and perform better under the different environmental dimensions of CE. Our results confirm what has been found in previous studies, i.e. that CE is linked with industrial specialization</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":11.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344924004646","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The multidimensional nature of Circular Economy (CE) has been investigated by using composite indicators including variables that sometimes can be assumed only indirectly related to the concept of CE. This paper defines a new composite indicator based exclusively on environmental variables, grouped into the five areas of green enterprise, sustainable mobility, sustainable energy, biodiversity, emissions and pollution and applicable to local territories such as municipalities. Our Municipal Indicator of Circular Economy (MICE) is then tested on the 329 municipalities of Emilia- Romagna region (Italy). Based on our results, MICE detects circularity patterns at local level; moreover, we observe that small municipalities tend to be slower in adopting CE practices, while large municipalities are more proactive and perform better under the different environmental dimensions of CE. Our results confirm what has been found in previous studies, i.e. that CE is linked with industrial specialization
期刊介绍:
The journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling welcomes contributions from research, which consider sustainable management and conservation of resources. The journal prioritizes understanding the transformation processes crucial for transitioning toward more sustainable production and consumption systems. It highlights technological, economic, institutional, and policy aspects related to specific resource management practices such as conservation, recycling, and resource substitution, as well as broader strategies like improving resource productivity and restructuring production and consumption patterns.
Contributions may address regional, national, or international scales and can range from individual resources or technologies to entire sectors or systems. Authors are encouraged to explore scientific and methodological issues alongside practical, environmental, and economic implications. However, manuscripts focusing solely on laboratory experiments without discussing their broader implications will not be considered for publication in the journal.