Circular Economy: principles, legal framework and applications in China.

Abstract

Since the Seventies the global community realized that the Earth’s resources are finite, and the research on the sustainability issue gained momentum. Nowadays resource depletion is a fundamental variable to be taken in consideration, not only in relation to the environmental consequences that it produces, but also by liking it with the economic reality. Circular Economy (CE) is one of the solutions proposed for a sustainable development, aimed at harmonizing the use of resources and protecting the environment. The hereby presented thesis does not only depict CE development and contents, but it particularly focuses the analysis on CE implementation in the Chinese reality. China, in fact, is one of the three largest economies in the world and despite being the first greenhouse gases (GHG) emitter on absolute basis, it is considered one of the leader countries in CE promotion and commitment to the cause. The thesis contextualizes Chinese CE implementation in the broader context of environmental protection, with particular attention on the top-down dynamic and the implementation tools used by Chinese administration. An analysis of the Chinese legal framework surrounding CE implementation is carried out, presenting five key documents. Finally, the thesis focuses on the implementation of CE at the micro level of companies, presenting the Chinese reality, with a particular focus on the Guangdong region, additionally providing the results of a research project in which the author took part