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  • © 2021

An Introduction to Circular Economy

  • Addresses Circularity along product value chain and business supply chain with case studies
  • Provides Circularity guidelines including framework, examples, and case studies for policy-makers, educators, business leaders, and investors
  • Contains Comprehensive contribution with inclusivity in terms of age (1/3 below 35 years old) and gender (over 40% female) with multidisciplinary background from all five continents.
  • Comprises substantial coverage of updated policy, research & innovation, education programs, and business practices on circular economy in the Asian region
  • Includes Life Cycle Assessment and Costing methodology for circular economy practices
  • Presents interconnectivity along the circular value chain and roles of different stakeholders for a circular economy transformation
  • Highlights different driving factors for a circular economy transition including digital technologies, business opportunities & consumer service models, financing, circularity indicators & assessment, policy & regulations, and education

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Table of contents (31 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
  2. Introduction and Overview

    • Lerwen Liu, Seeram Ramakrishna
    Pages 1-16
  3. Key Concepts and Terminology

    • Mengmeng Cui
    Pages 17-34
  4. Life Cycle Thinking in a Circular Economy

    • Shabbir H. Gheewala, Thapat Silalertruksa
    Pages 35-53
  5. The Fabrics of a Circular City

    • Johannes Kisser, Maria Wirth
    Pages 55-75
  6. Industrial Symbiosis for Circular Economy: A Possible Scenario in Norway

    • Angela Daniela La Rosa, Seeram Ramakrishna
    Pages 95-106
  7. Agriculture and Food Circularity in Malaysia

    • Hung Teik Khor, Gary Kiang Hong Teoh
    Pages 107-130
  8. Material Passports and Circular Economy

    • Mohamed Sameer Hoosain, Babu Sena Paul, Syed Mehdi Raza, Seeram Ramakrishna
    Pages 131-158
  9. Plastics in Circular Economy: A Sustainable Progression

    • Anand Bellam Balaji, Xiaoling Liu
    Pages 159-178
  10. Circular Economy Enabled by Community Microgrids

    • Deva P. Seetharam, Harshad Khadilkar, Tanuja Ganu
    Pages 179-199
  11. Circular Economy in a Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus Associate to an SDGs Framework: Understanding Complexities

    • Alex Godoy-Faúndez, Diego Rivera, Douglas Aitken, Mauricio Herrera, Lahcen El Youssfi
    Pages 219-239
  12. Recycling of Waste Electric and Electronic Products in China

    • Keli Yu, Heran Zhang, Yunong Liu
    Pages 241-262
  13. Transforming e-Waste to Eco Art by Upcycling

    • Vishwanath Davangere Mallabadi
    Pages 263-285
  14. Waste Management Practices: Innovation, Waste to Energy and e-EPR

    • Stephen Peters, Keshan Samarasinghe
    Pages 287-301
  15. Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy Digitization and Applied Data Analytics

    • Parvathy K. Krishnakumari, Hari Dilip Kumar, Shruti Kulkarni, Elke M. Sauter
    Pages 349-367
  16. Innovation for Circular Economy

    • Jovan Tan, Virginia Cha
    Pages 369-395

About this book

This book is purposefully styled as an introductory textbook on circular economy (CE) for the benefit of educators and students of universities. It provides comprehensive knowledge exemplified by practices from policy, education, R&D, innovation, design, production, waste management, business and financing around the world. The book covers sectors such as agriculture/food, packaging materials, build environment, textile, energy, and mobility to inspire the growth of circular business transformation. It aims to stimulate action among different stakeholders to drive CE transformation. 
It elaborates critical driving forces of CE including digital technologies; restorative innovations; business opportunities & sustainable business model; financing instruments, regulation & assessment and experiential education programs. It connects a CE transformation for reaching the SDGs2030 and highlights youth leadership and entrepreneurship at all levels in driving the sustainability transformation.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Research, Innovation and Partnership Office, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand

    Lerwen Liu

  • Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Seeram Ramakrishna

About the editors

Dr. Lerwen Liu is a strong advocate of sustainability through innovation & entrepreneurship education and training focusing in the Asian region.  She is a senior advisor in King Mongut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Bangkok playing a leadership role in 1) streamlining strategy of education, research & innovation and social impact toward sustainable development goals, industry 4.0 and circular economy, 2) building strategic partnerships with the United Nations, Asian Development Bank, leading universities, government funding agencies and industries worldwide in developing solutions for reaching SDGs and circular economy, and 3) conducting strategic training to KMUTT students and staff preparing the change agents/leaders for the SDGs 2030 and circular economy through her STEAM program.

She pioneered education programs of innovation & entrepreneurship toward sustainability, SDGs & circular economy in National University of Singapore (NUS), Yale-NUS College and KMUTT.  She has organized various platform events in partnership with the UN, ADB , World Bank and other entrepreneurship related organizations in driving youth leadership and entrepreneurship towards SDGs and Circular Economy through the adoption of STEM knowledge, and Industry 4.0. 

Professor Seeram Ramakrishna, FREng is the Chair of Circular Economy Taskforce and top four authors at the National University of Singapore (NUS), which is ranked among the world’s top 10 engineering and technology universities.  He is a member of Enterprise Singapore (the Standards Agency of Singapore Government) NMC on ISO/TC323 on Circular Economy; and Standards Development Organization, Singapore Manufacturing Federation.  He is an advisor to the National Environmental Agency’s CESS events. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Springer NATURE Journal Materials Circular Economy. His senior academic leadership roles include NUS University Vice-President (Research Strategy); Dean of NUS Faculty of Engineering; Director of NUS Enterprise; and Founding Chairman of Solar Energy Institute of Singapore.  He is an elected Fellow of UK Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng); Singapore Academy of Engineering; Indian National Academy of Engineering; and ASEAN Academy of Engineering & Technology.  He received PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK; and the TGMP from the Harvard University, USA. He is named among the World’s Most Influential Minds by Thomson Reuters, and the Top 1% Highly Cited Researchers in Materials Science and Cross-Field by Clarivate Analytics. Microsoft Academic placed among the top 36 salient authors out of three million researchers worldwide. He teaches ME6501 Materials and Sustainability course. He also mentors ISD5102 projects on reimagining and enhancing the circularity of Industrial Estates. He is a judge for the Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for the Global Prosperity. He is an advisor to the Singapore company TRIA which specializes in zero waste packaging via biodegradable plastics.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

Softcover Book USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access