Browsing by Subject "circular economy"
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(2021)Electronic waste is the fastest growing type of waste stream in the world, and this development results from the rapidly accelerating digitalization. Electronic devices become obsolete on an accelerating speed, as there are constantly more powerful devices coming to the market. The most significant environmental impacts of this development are greenhouse gas emissions and natural resource consumption. Circular economy has been proposed as a solution to these environmental challenges, and the goal of this approach is to preserve the value of the materials in the circulation as efficiently as possible. One way of implementing the principles of circular economy is the product-as-a-service-based business model. This research examines the differences between the product-as-a-service-based model and ownership-based model in terms of the environmental impacts that are related to the laptop and tablet procurements. The results of this thesis will be utilized in implementing the actions of the City of Helsinki’s Roadmap for Circular and Sharing Economy. This research was conducted as streamlined life cycle assessment, in which the systematic literature review was used for tracking the environmental impacts of the products’ life cycle stages and components. In addition, expert interviews were carried out in order to collect information about the reuse and recycling practices of the supplier companies that follow these previously mentioned business models. Finally, based on the results of the systematic literature review and the interviews, the company specific differences were assessed in terms of the greenhouse gas emissions and material waste that result from the procurements. The City of Helsinki’s annual procurement volumes were used in this assessment. Based on the results of this research, production and use are the most significant life cycle stages in terms of the devices’ greenhouse gas emissions. Printed circuit boards/printed wiring boards, integrated circuits, displays, and casings are the components with the most significant impact. The results suggest that increasing the lifespan of the devices provides opportunities for significantly lowering impacts in both impact categories, if the devices are efficiently recycled after this.
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(2024)The circular economy has gained popularity as an alternative to the linear consumption and production practices that have accelerated various urgent environmental issues. Repair businesses are vital for an efficient transition to the circular economy, due to their capacity to keep materials and energy embedded in products in circulation for longer periods. The decreasing number of repair businesses can hinder consumer access to repair services, especially in a sparsely populated country like Finland. Moreover, repair plays a significant role in the circular economy strategies of Finland and the EU. However, there is little knowledge available about the barriers and enablers facing Finnish repair businesses. With this thesis, I aim to contribute to filling this knowledge gap and outline supportive measures for promoting Finnish repair businesses. To achieve this goal, I conducted interviews with eight repair businesses, four unions of repair businesses, one insurance company, and one spare part recycling centre. In addition, I conducted a literature review to understand the state-of-the-art knowledge about various factors affecting repair and repair businesses. The results from the interviews were largely in line with the current literature in terms of many barriers, enabling factors, and policy recommendations. However, the interviews revealed variation between different product categories, as well as in the prevalence and importance of barriers. Furthermore, the interviews highlighted several barriers for repair businesses in Finland that were not apparent in the literature review. To address these barriers, various supportive measures based on the literature and interviews were proposed. Further research should be conducted to assess the viability and effectiveness of these supportive measures.
Now showing items 1-2 of 2