Abstract
Resource scarcity, climate change and global waste issues heightened the need for sustainable development. The concept of Circular Economy arises as one of the popular avenues to replace the conventional “take, make, use, dispose” linear economy model to minimize waste and prioritize the end-of-use capture of materials to create a positive value-driven closed loop. Life Cycle Assessment has been widely used in the past to identify and evaluate the inputs and outputs of different activities carried out in a linear economy model. With an increasing application transitioning from the linear economy model to the Circular Economy model, it is imperative for Life Cycle Assessment to demonstrate its possibility to take into consideration the circularity relationship of resources into its framework. A case study in Malaysia is also presented to demonstrate how LCA aids the selection of fertilization formulations which enhance the overall circularity of the palm oil industry. The proposed framework of utilizing LCA in precision agriculture in the palm oil industry can also serve as a guide for other industries to enhance decision-making in process or materials selection for transitioning into circular economy.
Juin Yau Lim
Ph.D, M.Eng, AMIChemE (he/him/his)
Passionate sustainable practitioner that seeks solutions with modern approaches.