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Oulun yliopiston väitöskirjat

FROM INDUSTRIAL SIDE STREAMS TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY BUSINESS – VALUE CHAIN, BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM AND PRODUCTISATION APPROACH, ACTA UNIVERSITATIS OULUENSIS C 829

ISBN-10:	978-952-62-3307-9
Kustantaja:	Oulun yliopisto
Painosvuosi:	2022
Sidosasu:	pehmeäkantinen
Sivumäärä:	212
Tekijät:	Leppänen, Tero

36.00 €

Economic growth based on the linear economy has long been considered the source of our wellbeing. However, owing to looming threats of climate change and resource scarcity, we are now facing the difficult task of incorporating the paths of continuous economic growth and environmental sustainability. The circular economy is one of the proposed approaches for solving this equation and, although not a new concept, has gained considerable popularity during the 21st century among scholars, practitioners and policymakers. The circular economy draws inspiration from nature where waste does not exist. As opposed to the linear economy, in the circular economy, waste is minimised and value creation is maximised using what has traditionally been considered waste as a valuable raw material. Circular economy research has been criticised for excessively focusing on the environmental benefits of the circular economy while neglecting the business and economic perspectives. Economic benefits and advantages for companies being inexplicit pose a huge risk for the transition to the circular economy. Companies tend to view the circular economy more as a constraint to their business than as an opportunity for more sustainable economic growth. Thus, this dissertation focuses on the business process perspective of the circular economy and emphasises the role of companies implementing the circular economy in practice. In the future, competitive companies will likely be the ones that can renew their business to successfully meet sustainability targets and, in the process, find new revenue streams or cost reductions through, for example, industrial side stream utilisation. This dissertation studies industrial side stream utilisation as a phenomenon from a holistic and real-world perspective. The theoretical framework is based on a thorough literature review on the circular economy, industrial side stream utilisation and related concepts particularly value chains, business ecosystems and productisation. The study extends the understanding of utilising industrial side streams as a valuable raw material in business cases and studies the role of value chains, business ecosystems and productisation in efficient industrial side stream utilisation. As the main contribution, this dissertation presents the side stream to business (SS2B) process to create viable businesses from industrial side streams and associated technologies. Keywords: business case, business ecosystem, business process, by-product, circular economy, industrial side stream, industrial symbiosis, productisation, value chain

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