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There is a renowned interest in adaptability as an important principle for achieving circularity in the built environment. Circular building adaptability (CBA) could enable long-term building utilisation and flexible use of space with limited material flows. This paper identifies and analyses design strategies facilitating CBA to propose a framework for enhancing the implementation of the concept.

Interviews were conducted with professionals experienced in circular building design to explore the questions “How do currently applied design strategies enable CBA?” and “How can CBA be implemented through a conceptual design framework?”. The interviews encircled multi-residential building examples to identify currently applied circular design strategies. The interviews were analysed through qualitative content analysis using CBA determinants as a coding framework.

The results show that all ten CBA determinants are supported by design strategies applied in current circular building design. However, some determinants are more supported than others, and design strategies are often employed without explicitly considering adaptability. The design strategies that enable adaptability offer long-term solutions requiring large-scale modifications rather than facilitating low-impact adaptation by dwelling occupants. The proposed conceptual design framework could aid architects in resolving these issues and implementing CBA in their circular building design.

This paper’s contribution to CBA is threefold. It demonstrates design strategies facilitating CBA, proposes a conceptual design framework to apply the concept and identifies the need for a more comprehensive application of available adaptability strategies.

Inventory is a crucial part of a systematic supply chain of a business. Small firms mostly neglect inventory management (IM) by accumulating excessive inventory for a time. The study aims to examine the IM practices of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh.

The study applied a qualitative case study design. Data were collected from ten SME owners in Bangladesh. The study employed a purposive sampling technique to collect data. This study used semi-structured interviews to generate data. The NVivo software was used to analyze the data.

The findings show that most SME business owners collect raw materials from the local market. Along with the local sources, they collect raw materials from international markets. Some SME entrepreneurs collect raw materials throughout the country as they dealt with recycled products. Frequently, they used digital technologies and online media to manage raw materials. SME owners could not buy many raw materials due to financial crisis, wastage, and damage, leading to a ratio of 10–15% losses.

This research contributes greatly to the government, SME Foundation, and trade associations concerning the SME IM system. The study recommends the government should reduce the tax rate on importing SME raw materials and inventories and exporting SME products.

This is the first study that focuses on the IM systems of SMEs in Bangladesh.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and quantify the impact of product complexity, including architectural complexity, on operator learning, productivity and quality performance in both assembly and disassembly operations. This topic has not been extensively investigated in previous research.

An extensive experimental campaign involving 84 operators was conducted to repeatedly assemble and disassemble six different products of varying complexity to construct productivity and quality learning curves. Data from the experiment were analysed using statistical methods.

The human learning factor of productivity increases superlinearly with the increasing architectural complexity of products, i.e. from centralised to distributed architectures, both in assembly and disassembly, regardless of the level of overall product complexity. On the other hand, the human learning factor of quality performance decreases superlinearly as the architectural complexity of products increases. The intrinsic characteristics of product architecture are the reasons for this difference in learning factor.

The results of the study suggest that considering product complexity, particularly architectural complexity, in the design and planning of manufacturing processes can optimise operator learning, productivity and quality performance, and inform decisions about improving manufacturing operations.

While previous research has focussed on the effects of complexity on process time and defect generation, this study is amongst the first to investigate and quantify the effects of product complexity, including architectural complexity, on operator learning using an extensive experimental campaign.

The reuse of timber building parts, when designing new buildings, has become a topic of increasing discussion as a proposed circular solution in support of sustainable development goals. Designers face the difficulty of identifying and applying different design strategies for reuse due to multiple definitions, which are used interchangeably. The purpose of this study is to propose a taxonomy to define the relationships between various concepts and practices that comprise the relevant strategies for reuse, notably design for disassembly (DfD) and design for adaptability (DfA).

Literature reviews were conducted based on research publications over the previous 12 years and located through the Web of Science and Scopus.

A taxonomy for the design process grounded on two strategies for reuse is presented: DfD and DfA. Based on previous work, the taxonomy aims to build a vocabulary of definitions in DfD and DfA to support other researchers and practitioners working in the field.

The research is limited to the design phase of timber-based buildings. It does not take into account the other phases of the construction process, neither other kind of construction methods.

The application of the taxonomy can facilitate communication between different actors and provide a way for building product manufacturers to demonstrate their reuse credentials, enabling them to produce and promote compliant products and thereby support design for reuse strategies.

This paper could contribute to a closer collaboration of all stakeholders involved in the building process since the very early phases of the conceptual design.

This paper contributes a comprehensive taxonomy to support the deployment of circular reuse strategies and assist designers and other stakeholders from the earliest of phases in the building’s life cycle. The proposed definition framework provided by the taxonomy resolves the longstanding lack of a supporting vocabulary for reuse and can be used as a reference for researchers and practitioners working with the DfD and DfA.

The paper explores the potential value of urban assemblage theory as a conceptual framework for understanding the role heritage has in social sustainable urban placemaking. The authors conceptualise urban placemaking as a dynamic and complex social assemblage. Heritage is one of the many dimensions of such a complex and dynamic urban assembly. Based on the approach to urban assemblage theory, the authors aim to uncover how postindustrial city-making unfolds. When approaching the case studies, the authors ask the following: Whose city for which citizens are visible through the selected case studies? How is social sustainability achieved through heritage in urban placemaking?

The main research material is derived from theoretical literature and the testing of an assemblage methodological approach through three Norwegian urban regeneration case studies where heritage partake in urban placemaking. The three case studies are the Tukthus wall (what is left of an 19th century old prison), the Vulkan neighbourhood (an 19th century industrial working area) and Sørengkaia (an 19th century industrial harbour area) in Oslo, Norway. The three case studies are representing urban regeneration projects which are common worldwide, and not at least in a European context.

The paper reveals the dynamic factors and processes at play in urban placemaking, which has its own distinct character by the uses of heritage in each of the case study areas. Placemaking could produce “closed” systems which are stable in accordance with its original functions, or they could be “open” systems affected by the various drivers of change. The paper shows how these forces are depending on two sets of binary forces at play in urban placemaking: forces of “assemblages” co-creating a place versus destabilising forces of “disassembly” which is redefining the place as a process affected by reassembled placemaking.

For research, the authors focus on the implications this paper has for the field of urban heritage studies as it provides a useful framework to capture the dynamic complexity of urban heritage areas.

For practice, the authors state that the paper can provide a useful platform for dialogue and critical thinking on strategies being planned.

For society, the paper promotes the significance in terms of fostering an inclusive way of thinking and planning for urban heritage futures.

The paper outlines dynamics of urban regeneration through heritage which are significant for understanding urban transformation as value for offering practical solutions to social problems in urban planning. The assemblage methodological approach (1) makes awareness of the dynamic processes at play in urban placemaking and makes the ground for mapping issue at stake in urban placemaking; (2) becomes a source for modelling urban regeneration through heritage by defining a conceptual framework of dynamic interactions in urban placemaking; and (3) defines a critically reflexive tool for evaluating good versus bad (heritage-led) urban development projects.

This paper presents Quick Changeover Design (QCD), which is a structured methodological approach for Original Equipment Manufacturers to drive and support the design of machines in terms of rapid changeover capability.

To improve the performance in terms of set up time, QCD addresses machine design from a single-minute digit exchange of die (SMED). Although conceived to aid the design of completely new machines, QCD can be adapted to support for simple design upgrades on pre-existing machines. The QCD is structured in three consecutive steps, each supported by specific tools and analysis forms to facilitate and better structure the designers' activities.

QCD helps equipment manufacturers to understand the current and future needs of the manufacturers' customers to: (1) anticipate the requirements for new and different set-up process; (2) prioritize the possible technical solutions; (3) build machines and equipment that are easy and fast to set-up under variable contexts. When applied to a production system consisting of machines subject to frequent or time-consuming set-up processes, QCD enhances both responsiveness to external market demands and internal control of factory operations.

The QCD approach is a support system for the development of completely new machines and is also particularly effective in upgrading existing ones. QCD's practical application is demonstrated using a case study concerning a vertical spindle machine.

The purpose of the article is to analyze the chain of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its waste (WEEE), within the product chain of Recicladora Urbana (Reurbi), and its interaction with the circular economy.

Exploratory research with a qualitative approach, based on the study case method, was conducted. The following stages were carried out: definition of the study object; bibliographic survey; documentary survey; technical visit to Reurbi; contacts with experts; creation of research instruments and research execution.

The main recipients of remanufactured EEE are third sector organizations that run social programs and schools with few financial resources. Recycling firms receive parts and components from the WEEE handled by Reurbi.

The authors only addressed the WEEE reverse remanufacturing chain of Reurbi; therefore, the authors cannot extend the results to an industrial sector.

One practical contribution is disclosing the remanufacturing processes of EEE and the recycling processes of its waste, fostered by the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS), under a circular economy policy.

There is a large market potential for reverse logistics of WEEE and end-of-life EEE as a source of raw material, which is yet to be explored in Brazil, for creating new jobs and revenue.

The publication of articles with the main reflections from the results can provide new discussions and provide opportunities for new studies regarding the Brazilian Solid Waste Policy.

This chapter highlights how implementing circular economy principles can help companies working with sustainability to move from a reductionist and waste management approach to marketing competitive circular value propositions that intentionally design out waste (e.g. emissions and pollution) by rethinking, reinventing and redesigning the value chain. Schijvens, a Dutch family-owned corporate fashion textile company, acts as a case for exemplifying successful implementation of circular economy principles as a marketing strategy in a sector that struggles with finding solutions to the ethical challenges of producing and marketing textile fashion. The textile industry has, for many years, been accused of production that is based on environmentally harmful processes and conditions that are not socially fair. Circular economy principles provide a range of suggestions to address the ethical challenges occurring from covering the human needs of having clothes to wear. Yet, implementing circular economy principles is not a panacea. It is not only a question of delivering a technological quick fix but also a question of managing the new processes and human mindset guiding the actions in the value chain. This chapter, therefore, outlines reasons for a different perspective on the traditional linear value chain and related implications managers face when undertaking a journey from sustainability based on a reductionist approach to a closed-loop approach. It is argued that implementing circular economy principles by pro-actively managing the value chain processes based on eco-centric dynamic capabilities can provide even more radical changes than the incremental reductionist approach often associated with being a green sustainable company.

The feasibility and desirability of reverse logistics in market-motivated contexts are examined in China. Interactions between the major barriers, that hinder or prevent the application of reverse logistics in China are analyzed. Management’s key task is to diagnose barriers to the application of reverse logistics that could be crucial to the organization’s future survival. Simultaneity, a value delivery system exists to create value for customers and environments by supplying needed products and services. Value delivery systems are at the heart of every firm and, more than anything else, determine that, whether the firm survives in the marketplace or disappears into bankruptcy or takeover. The processes and model of market-motivated reverse logistics value delivery system are discussed, and the processes content and model are presented. Simultaneity, based on the advantage of the Third Party Reverse Logistics Providers (3PRLs) and Outsourced Service Providers, an integrated evaluation model is built to select 3PRLs by using the integrated decision-making methods. Reflecting the comprehensive information requirement, the Analytic Hierarchy Process and entropy approaches are applied to calculate the objective weights. A new kind of relative similarity degree is established by combining the Euclidean distance with the grey correlation degree. An example demonstrates the model’s efficiency.

Nowadays, climate change and environmental pollution have become major international concerns, in which logistics and manufacturing activities are playing the major role. In the past decade, more attention has been directed toward environmental issues than ever before. The Paris agreement is one of the most recent milestones in this regard. Due to local and international legislation, managers are highly encouraged to seek out sustainable innovations and strategies to reduce the negative impacts of their business activities. An array of academic and practical activities has been formed around the greening of the supply chain (SC). This paper attempts to review and classify green supply chain management (GSCM) disciplines and best practices from a practical point of view. The authors also investigate the different areas of application and review the GSCM practices in some well-known companies. On this basis, the paper disclose the superiority of Apple company over the other studied cases in applying green practices, particularly in the manufacturing and design areas, while the parcel delivery company has been quite active in the green transportation and green marketing. It is also shown that all of the reviewed cases have been successful in implementing green logistics initiatives thus far.