China's circular economy

A circular economy is an alternative way countries manage their resources, in which usage of products in the traditional linear make, use, and dispose method is not implemented. Instead, resources are used for their maximum utility throughout their life cycle and regenerated in a cyclical pattern minimizing waste.[1] They strive to create economic development through environmental and resource protection. The ideas of a circular economy were officially adopted by China in 2002, when the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party legislated it as a national endeavor though the various sustainability initiatives which were implemented in the previous decades starting in 1973.[1] China adopted the circular economy due to the environmental damage and resource depletion that was occurring from going through its industrialization process.[2] China is currently a world leader in the production of resources, where it produces 46% of the world's aluminum, 50% of steel and 60% of cement, while it has consumed more raw materials than all the countries a part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) combined.[3] In 2014, China created 3.2 billion tonnes of industrial solid waste, where 2 billion tonnes were recovered using recycling, incineration, reusing and composting.[3] By 2025, China is anticipated to produce up to one quarter of the world's municipal solid waste.[3]

China is constantly introducing new legislation to improve the effectiveness of their circular economy and sustainability initiatives. Every five years the Chinese Government introduces a new five-year plan, with different sustainability goals and economic growth targets the country would like to achieve.[4] China is currently on its 13th Five-Year Plan, which was legislated on March 15, 2016.[4] Other legislation that have been implemented in the last decade, which have been important in the development of China's circular economy, are The Law for the Promotion of the Circular Economy, Circular Economy Development Strategies and Action Plan, and the 12th Five-Year Plan.[1][5][6] China is also active in developing policies aimed at establishing more sustainability practices and economic growth in future decades, with targets for the year 2020 and beyond.[7]

Circular economies can be implemented on a corporate (micro), inter-firm (meso) and societal level (macro).[2] Corporate level implementation refers to initiatives related to the Eco-design of manufacturing plants, such as cleaner production and Environmental Management Systems (EMS) that are meant to reduce the production of harmful by-products.[2] Inter-firm initiatives at the meso level are the implementation of Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs), where industrial plants are constructed in close proximity and capitalize on the trading of industrial by-products, ultimately reducing waste.[2] Societal level initiatives refer to the development of Eco-cities and Eco-provinces, which aims to address the social concerns with both production and consumption of products that pollute.[2]

China has various means of measuring the performance of their circular economy initiatives in regional and industrial park areas, including material flow analysis (MFA), life cycle analysis (LCA), CO2 emissions and economic returns.[8] These performance indicators are helpful in measuring the effectiveness of the government's initiatives, though they are not the most efficient.[8] The idea of introducing an Emergy indicator system has been debated, where it is capable of measuring the performance of resource generation and product dimensions using accounting indices and ratios.[8]

  1. ^ a b c Skene, K; Murray, A (2015). "Sustainable Economics: Context, Challenges and Opportunities for the 21st-century Practitioner". Greenleaf Publishing. 39: 240–278.
  2. ^ a b c d e Geng, Yong; Doberstein, Brent (2008). "Developing the circular economy in China: Challenges and opportunities for achieving 'leapfrog development'". International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology. 15 (3): 231–239. Bibcode:2008IJSDW..15..231G. doi:10.3843/SusDev.15.3:6. S2CID 55406827. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  3. ^ a b c Mathews, J.A; Tan, H (2015). China's renewable energy revolution. Springer.
  4. ^ a b Kennedy, S; Johnson, C.K (2015). Perfecting China, Inc.: China's 13th Five-Year Plan. Rowman & Littlefield.
  5. ^ Mathews, J.A; Tan, H (2011). "Progress Toward a Circular Economy in China". Journal of Industrial Ecology. 15 (3): 435–457. Bibcode:2011JInEc..15..435M. doi:10.1111/j.1530-9290.2011.00332.x. S2CID 56458868.
  6. ^ "China's Economy: Linear to Circular | China Water Risk". chinawaterrisk.org. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  7. ^ "China's 13th Five-Year Plan for Ecological & Environmental Protection (2016-2020) | China Water Risk". chinawaterrisk.org. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  8. ^ a b c Geng, Y; Sarkis, J; Ulgiati, S; Zhang, P (2013). "Measuring China's Circular Economy". Science. 339 (6127): 1525–1527. Bibcode:2013Sci...339.1526G. doi:10.1126/science.1227059. PMID 23539584. S2CID 134405165.