Supply Topic 7 (Circular Economy)

Question 1

circular economy

Answer 1

• provides multiple value creation mechanisms
• decoupled from consumption of finite resources
• seeks to rebuild capital (financial, manufactured, human, social or natural
• ensures enhanced flows of goods and services

Question 2

current economy

Answer 2

• more linear = take materials and use to make products and services
• then throw them away (disposal)
• want to move towards circularity as the way of production and consumption (reuse and change to another)

Question 3

principles of circular economy

Answer 3

1. balance resource flows to preserve and enhance natural capital (renewable resources)
2. increase utility of product, components and materials to increase or optimise resource yields (closed loop supply chains)
3. enable system effectiveness (reducing and eliminating detrimental effects to env and society)

Question 4

options within circular economy

Answer 4

Question 5

Butterfly diagram

Answer 5

• visualising the circular economy
• illustrates continuous flow of materials
• right = technical
• left = biological

Question 6

Technical cycle

Answer 6

• materials not consumed during the use
• not biodegradable, cant repair/manufacture
• different ways to technically circulate these
• keep in use as long as possible

Question 7

biological cycle

Answer 7

• materials that can biodegrade or safely return to nature again (biological materials)
• renewable themselves
• consumed
• regenerative, feedback into system and build something better

Question 8

open loop supply chain

Answer 8

• waste of 1 economic actor is channelled to other kinds of supply chains
• not necessarily in the same supply chain (to other products)

Question 9

closed loop supply chain

Answer 9

• waste is re-inserted into the same/similar supply chains
• forms loop when recycle, reuse, remanufacture feed back into supply chain

Question 10

supply chain barriers to achieving circular economy

Answer 10

1. established supply chains = characterised by lack of collaboration or tensions between partners = create lack of willingness to collaborate on new endeavours
2. chains (especially reverse) involve network set ups with complex contractual arrangements, governing these = difficult
3. required relationships may be missing (new stakeholders involved, networks not built, missing relationships)
4. many product changes have supply chain effects = require addressing by external partners

Question 11

reverse supply chains

Answer 11

• backward movement of goods (defective products) from vendors back up the supply chain
• opposite of typical supply chain

Question 12

barriers to achieving circular in current economy

Answer 12

• economy is still linear
• thinking of how to evolve circularity into that