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The Circular Economy (CE) is generally understood as an opportunity to transform the current unsustainable linear economic system by redesigning the way organisations provide goods and services rethinking how society consumes and uses those resources. In this context, the public sector is mainly recognised as an actor enabling the implementation of a sustainable CE through governmental interventions and policy initiatives. However, there is a lack of studies considering the public sector at an organisational level. CE in organisations includes a wide range of different practices that are important to examine in order to analyse the CE implementation process. Consequently, this study aims to characterise the current state of implementing circular practices and supporting strategies in central public sector organisations. To fulfil this aim, a questionnaire survey was sent to the organisations pertaining to the Portuguese Central Public Administration, as surveys are valuable tools to systematically collect information on various topics. The results demonstrate a relatively low level of implementation. Circular practices such as purchasing remanufactured or used items, using sharing platforms, increasing the efficiency of buildings, adopting green human resources and collaborative initiatives for circularity, and assessing and communicating about CE activities have presented low levels of adoption. At the same time, waste collection for recycling and dematerialisation practices showed good implementation levels. There is, thus, immense potential for further implementation of circularity in central public sector organisations in Portugal. This research contributes to deepening the understanding of the extent to which circular practices are embedded in public sector organisations and identifying the main implementation strengths and weaknesses. This research has the potential to help practitioners and researchers in the transition towards circularity in identifying circular opportunities in their organisations and ...

AbstractThe circular economy (CE) is seen as a model of production and consumption where resource use is reduced and extended in closed‐loop life cycles. Organisations have been fundamental in contributing towards CE for which limited outcomes are known from public organisations. This research aims to identify the factors influencing the implementation of CE and the strategies that support such implementation in the public sector. An organisational change management perspective was taken. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with employees from the central public sector in Portugal to gather insights. Results reveal issues such as organisational culture, CE awareness for people in public sector organisations and leadership related to areas of strategy and management, human resources, and communication and assessment as key elements to consider in shifting towards circularity for this type of organisation. This study contributes to the research that has called for an expansion of the scope of CE to include human‐based issues by viewing a public organisation as a multi‐dimensional system transitioning to circularity.

AbstractTo seize the potential of Circular Economy (CE) organisations need to evaluate and communicate their progress moving away from the non‐sustainable paradigm of 'take‐make‐dispose' towards circularity. Existing CE assessments for organisations focus on companies. Although the need for CE assessment is recognised in both public and private sectors, little progress has been made towards developing an approach for public sector organisations. CE assessment in public sector organisations is particularly important due to their role model, agenda setting and economic function. Therefore, this article co‐develops a CE assessment framework for public sector organisations. Portuguese public sector organisations were involved as a participatory case study. The result is a framework that covers the following components: (i) a system definition; (ii) a definition of 35 CE assessment elements; (iii) CE assessment targets; and (iv) CE indicators. The framework contributes to the understanding of circularity from a public sector perspective considering three key aspects: resources, operations and processes as well as social and employee related activities. Implications for CE assessments in the public and private sector encompass the importance for an early involvement of stakeholders to get a sector specific perspective, the need to address user‐friendliness and the requirement for continuous testing of CE assessments.

Circular economy (CE) is a concept that is gaining attention as an approach to help accelerate the transition towards sustainability. Research has focused on the adoption of CE practices in the business sector while the adoption within public sector organisations has been relatively overlooked. Examining CE adoption in the public sector through the perceptive of employees is crucial because of their expertise in the organisation where they work. The main aim of this study is to identify what public employees perceive as suitable CE practices for their organisations and their critical role in implementation. As the adoption of CE practices is influenced by social and material configurations, this research has taken a case study approach, focused on the Portuguese Central Public Administration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with public employees working on CE and sustainability issues, and a complementary analysis was undertaken of governmental reports and legislative documents. The results show that public employees view the existence and potential of CE practices mainly in the area of public procurement but also in resource efficiency and optimisation, dematerialisation and in practices related to the R-hierarchy including reduce and reuse. Both technical-oriented practices aimed to achieve traditional resource efficiency, and human-centred practices targeted at reducing consumption and sharing resources have been identified. This research provides insights into how a specific group of stakeholders envisions CE activities for their sector. Identification of practices for central public sector has the potential to assist decision-makers in the process of defining priorities for CE planning, implementation and monitoring. This study focusing on CE practices in central public sector organisations contributes to the calls for an inclusion of human/socially-based practices centred around consumption reduction, sharing and dematerialisation activities to enhance the transformative and innovative potential ...

Circular economy (CE) is a concept that is gaining attention as an approach to help accelerate the transition towards sustainability. Research has focused on the adoption of CE practices in the business sector while the adoption within public sector organisations has been relatively overlooked. Examining CE adoption in the public sector through the perceptive of employees is crucial because of their expertise in the organisation where they work. The main aim of this study is to identify what public employees perceive as suitable CE practices for their organisations and their critical role in implementation. As the adoption of CE practices is influenced by social and material configurations, this research has taken a case study approach, focused on the Portuguese Central Public Administration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with public employees working on CE and sustainability issues, and a complementary analysis was undertaken of governmental reports and legislative documents. The results show that public employees view the existence and potential of CE practices mainly in the area of public procurement but also in resource efficiency and optimisation, dematerialisation and in practices related to the R-hierarchy including reduce and reuse. Both technical-oriented practices aimed to achieve traditional resource efficiency, and human-centred practices targeted at reducing consumption and sharing resources have been identified. This research provides insights into how a specific group of stakeholders envisions CE activities for their sector. Identification of practices for central public sector has the potential to assist decision-makers in the process of defining priorities for CE planning, implementation and monitoring. This study focusing on CE practices in central public sector organisations contributes to the calls for an inclusion of human/socially-based practices centred around consumption reduction, sharing and dematerialisation activities to enhance the transformative and innovative potential ...

Circular Economy (CE) is seen as a key strategy in achieving sustainable development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To seize the potential of CE, public and private organisations need to evaluate and communicate their progress moving away from the non-sustainable paradigm of "take-make-dispose" towards circularity. The literature and practitioners demonstrate a growing interest in CE assessment as a driver for this transition. Nevertheless, the majority of CE assessments are implemented in private companies and implementation in public sector organisations is low. This article presents the challenges that currently prevent public sector organisations from implementing CE assessment and derives strategies to overcome them. A total of 21 CE and assessment experts from the Portuguese public sector were interviewed, and the results were triangulated with an extensive policy document review. The findings show that cultural barriers, particularly a lack of public and political pressure as well as a resistance towards change, are considered the main challenges for CE assessment implementation. Cultural challenges drive structural ones such as a lack of leadership commitment, the voluntary nature, and a missing clear governance for CE assessment. Technical and financial challenges, contrary to previous findings of the literature, are not prioritised and are seen as a result of the cultural and structural challenges. Overall, the research suggests that CE assessment is often a discussion among academics and highly specialised practitioners. In order to drive its implementation, the debate has to involve stakeholders beyond expert circles to trigger awareness for its necessity and to facilitate usage for a broader audience. ; publishersversion ; published

Circular Economy (CE) is seen as a key strategy in achieving sustainable development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To seize the potential of CE, public and private organisations need to evaluate and communicate their progress moving away from the non-sustainable paradigm of "take–make–dispose" towards circularity. The literature and practitioners demonstrate a growing interest in CE assessment as a driver for this transition. Nevertheless, the majority of CE assessments are implemented in private companies and implementation in public sector organisations is low. This article presents the challenges that currently prevent public sector organisations from implementing CE assessment and derives strategies to overcome them. A total of 21 CE and assessment experts from the Portuguese public sector were interviewed, and the results were triangulated with an extensive policy document review. The findings show that cultural barriers, particularly a lack of public and political pressure as well as a resistance towards change, are considered the main challenges for CE assessment implementation. Cultural challenges drive structural ones such as a lack of leadership commitment, the voluntary nature, and a missing clear governance for CE assessment. Technical and financial challenges, contrary to previous findings of the literature, are not prioritised and are seen as a result of the cultural and structural challenges. Overall, the research suggests that CE assessment is often a discussion among academics and highly specialised practitioners. In order to drive its implementation, the debate has to involve stakeholders beyond expert circles to trigger awareness for its necessity and to facilitate usage for a broader audience.

Small islands provide an opportunity to influence the debate on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) towards sustainability, due to their specific natural and human features. The research goal was to understand how sustainability might be advanced through SEA in small islands, supported by the development of a conceptual framework and recommendations for its implementation. The framework developed provides for the identification of clusters of concepts linking SEA with sustainability in small islands, identified as being key actors, island cooperation and information exchange networks, and small islands SEA-specific issues. These clusters of concepts are interlinked through the actors in a continuous loop of learning and improvement process. The implementation of the framework is recommended based on different key factors, which derived from the conceptual framework: awareness for decision-makers; empowerment and ownership of practitioners and intermediate decision-makers; small islands cooperation and exchange networks; SEA specific issues for small islands; and, small islands specific stakeholders' engagement (local knowledge). The application of the framework developed was conceptualized for the Azores and Orkney archipelagos due to their well-established SEA systems, with similar legal background – the European Union SEA Directive (Directive 2001/42/EC). In the Azores, the SEA system may promote an easier transition towards new models of thinking, but more challenges are expected for Orkney practitioners and decision supporters which may need to use creative solutions to overcome them. Overall, this research concludes that a mind-set changing capacity is needed, enhancing future practice and influencing different stakeholders for the need of specific small islands approaches. The proposed framework should be adopted as a dynamic tool and adjusted iteratively with practice.

Business Strategy and the Environment nº 15, p. 71–86 ; At an international level, the implementation of environmental management practices in military facilities is now a growing reality, particularly with the implementation of environmental management programmes and/or systems. The main goal of this research was to assess the Portuguese military sector's environmental performance through an index – the MEPE index – in a simplified and useful manner. A second goal was to measure the units' self-assessment against the environmental profile of the military sector as evaluated through the index, to determine how far they match. The index was deeloped on the basis of the data obtained in a national questionnaire, which was carried out to evaluate environmental practices adopted by military units. Results show that the Portuguese military's overall environmental performance is poor, reflecting that this is quite a new issue in military organizations. Among the military branches the Air Force reveals the best environmental results.

Journal of Cleaner Production, nº 16, p. 639-645 ; Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) education has been a reality for years in many graduate and undergraduate programs worldwide. As EIA has grown as a widely accepted environmental policy tool, several professions have tried to incorporate these skills into their academic training. The main aim of this research was to assess the Portuguese profile of EIA education, measuring the degree of EIA integration in graduate and undergraduate programs. This paper intends to contribute to an understanding of the key factors related to EIA education. A national survey was conducted to obtain data on EIA education programs. More recently, many other programs, both graduate and undergraduate, have established EIA courses. New knowledge, practices, legislation and public policies are fundamental drivers of the application of EIA, which will probably continue to expand to more undergraduate and graduate programs. The association of EIA with other environmental management tools, such as environmental management systems or environmental performance evaluation, and sustainable development initiatives will be a priority challenge for all who are engaged in this domain.