Sustainable circularity performance indicators to optimize waste management at company level

The circular economy is one of the new challenges for companies that want to achieve sustainability objectives. Although many recommendations in the scientific debate confirm the importance of sustainable circularity performance evaluation and underline the difficulty within companies to simultaneou...

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Main Authors: Elena Battiston, Jingzheng Ren, Anna Mazzi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-12-01
Series:Sustainable Futures
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188825004629
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author Elena Battiston
Jingzheng Ren
Anna Mazzi
author_facet Elena Battiston
Jingzheng Ren
Anna Mazzi
author_sort Elena Battiston
collection DOAJ
description The circular economy is one of the new challenges for companies that want to achieve sustainability objectives. Although many recommendations in the scientific debate confirm the importance of sustainable circularity performance evaluation and underline the difficulty within companies to simultaneously evaluate social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability. To solve this gap, experimental research has been conducted in an Italian company, in which new performance quantification model has been design and tested with the aim of supporting companies in optimizing waste management and maximizing sustainable circularity of internal processes through multicriteria assessment tool. The study attempts to create a set of indicators named the Sustainable Circularity Performance (SCP) model to concretely measure sustainability of operations. The SCP model, which was tested in an Italian manufacturing company, shows how reducing industrial waste can lead to process improvement through cost savings, reduction of hazards to health and safety, and mitigation of environmental effects. In the experimental case study, the overall vision obtained by the SCP model allowed the company to understand the sustainability results of its operational choices. From the research results, integrated assessment of environmental, economic and social aspects is more important than ever to guide practitioners and managers to choose sustainability. In the manufacturing sector, the path of reducing waste and optimizing processes is very advantageous both to improve environmental performance and the economic and social ones.
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spelling doaj-art-e66455b109f94dbfb263a6746b78452a2025-08-20T03:24:16ZengElsevierSustainable Futures2666-18882025-12-011010089710.1016/j.sftr.2025.100897Sustainable circularity performance indicators to optimize waste management at company levelElena Battiston0Jingzheng Ren1Anna Mazzi2Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo n.9, 35131, Padova, ItalyDepartment of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, ChinaDepartment of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo n.9, 35131, Padova, Italy; Corresponding author.The circular economy is one of the new challenges for companies that want to achieve sustainability objectives. Although many recommendations in the scientific debate confirm the importance of sustainable circularity performance evaluation and underline the difficulty within companies to simultaneously evaluate social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability. To solve this gap, experimental research has been conducted in an Italian company, in which new performance quantification model has been design and tested with the aim of supporting companies in optimizing waste management and maximizing sustainable circularity of internal processes through multicriteria assessment tool. The study attempts to create a set of indicators named the Sustainable Circularity Performance (SCP) model to concretely measure sustainability of operations. The SCP model, which was tested in an Italian manufacturing company, shows how reducing industrial waste can lead to process improvement through cost savings, reduction of hazards to health and safety, and mitigation of environmental effects. In the experimental case study, the overall vision obtained by the SCP model allowed the company to understand the sustainability results of its operational choices. From the research results, integrated assessment of environmental, economic and social aspects is more important than ever to guide practitioners and managers to choose sustainability. In the manufacturing sector, the path of reducing waste and optimizing processes is very advantageous both to improve environmental performance and the economic and social ones.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188825004629Industrial waste reductionProcess optimizationEnvironmental performanceHealth and safety risksCost saving
spellingShingle Elena Battiston
Jingzheng Ren
Anna Mazzi
Sustainable circularity performance indicators to optimize waste management at company level
Sustainable Futures
Industrial waste reduction
Process optimization
Environmental performance
Health and safety risks
Cost saving
title Sustainable circularity performance indicators to optimize waste management at company level
title_full Sustainable circularity performance indicators to optimize waste management at company level
title_fullStr Sustainable circularity performance indicators to optimize waste management at company level
title_full_unstemmed Sustainable circularity performance indicators to optimize waste management at company level
title_short Sustainable circularity performance indicators to optimize waste management at company level
title_sort sustainable circularity performance indicators to optimize waste management at company level
topic Industrial waste reduction
Process optimization
Environmental performance
Health and safety risks
Cost saving
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188825004629
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AT jingzhengren sustainablecircularityperformanceindicatorstooptimizewastemanagementatcompanylevel
AT annamazzi sustainablecircularityperformanceindicatorstooptimizewastemanagementatcompanylevel