On the integration of Impact Assessment and Circular Economy: a literature review

• Autor(a) principal: Pereira, Marina Morhy
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Texto Completo: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/18/18139/tde-25012024-103830/
• topic: análise bibliométrica; Avaliação de Impacto; bibliometric analysis; Circular Economy; Economia Circular; Impact Assessment; sustainability; sustentabilidade

Achieving sustainability requires overcoming a series of challenges, among which are rapid population growth, increased climate temperature, and environmental degradation. One of the ways to deal with these challenges is the transition from the linear economy, based on \"extract, produce and discard\", to a Circular Economy (CE), a scenario in which the flow of materials and energy is as closed as possible of an image of a circle. However, not all Circular Economy strategies achieve a sustainable result. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the impact of these circularity strategies to ensure that they achieve the expected results. In this context, the Impact Assessment (IA), is a process used as a tool to influence the decision-making process towards decisions that promote Sustainability, to help in the transition to a more circular mode of production. Thus, the objective of this work is to understand the perspectives of the integration of Impact Assessment and the Circular Economy from the perspective of a critical review of the literature. To this end, a Bibliometric Analysis was initially carried out to map the areas of integration between the two disciplines. A critical Content Analysis of the results proved the need for further investigation. Thus, based on the patterns that emerged from the Bibliometric Analysis, keywords were chosen to start a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The SLR aims to point out how the themes of Circular Economy and IA interact and interconnect, analyzing the aspects and possibilities of this integration indicated by the relevant literature. In this way, it will be possible to identify how Circular Economy principles relate to Impact Assessment through the identification, in the literature, of the different types of relationship that may exist between Impact Assessment and Circular Economy (for example: Impact Assessment is seen as a tool/process that assesses the impact of circular strategies/actions or as a tool/process that incorporates circular strategies?). The results of this work should contribute to the Impact Assessment area by filling gaps such as the assessment of alternatives, cumulative impacts, analysis of biodiversity, climate change, and several other IA challenges that can find a theoretical and practical solution in the Circular Economy. In addition, we intend to demonstrate, through the literature, that the ability to promote a Circular Economy is one of the many potentialities of Impact Assessment, being crucial for the implementation of circular actions and strategies to guarantee that they reach a truly sustainable result.