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Vladimir Obradović Editor

Sustainable
Business
Change
Project Management Toward Circular
Economy
Sustainable Business Change
Vladimir Obradović
Editor

Sustainable Business Change

Project Management Toward Circular
Economy
Editor
Vladimir Obradović
Faculty of Organizational Sciences
University of Belgrade
Belgrade, Serbia

ISBN 978-3-031-23542-9    ISBN 978-3-031-23543-6 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23543-6

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2023
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar
or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
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claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface

Thinking circular presents a systematic change, not just the nature of a business but
the change of the entire value chain for social, environmental and financial benefits.
The circular economy concept has been introduced by academics, practitioners and
policymakers and recognised international regulatory bodies worldwide as a road-
map towards sustainable development. Many research papers have addressed action
areas necessary for business transformation to deliver a sustainable and green future.
Projects present a mechanism to implement an organisational strategy, emphasis-
ing the ongoing dialogue between organisational needs in terms of sustainable busi-
ness change. Applying circular thinking in everyday business means ensuring
organisations follow new paths and introduce new solutions during and after their
project’s activities. Besides the opportunities for existing companies, the circular
economy also creates opportunities for start-up projects that can support social
development through start-up acceleration and innovations. The motivation for inte-
grating project management and circular business paradigm is not only to learn how
project management can contribute to the circular economy but also to understand
the impact of emerging business needs on project management.
This book summarises the results derived from many distinguished authors in
different fields and different countries (Serbia, UK, Brazil, Netherlands, South
Africa, Indonesia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Russia), who have devoted
their knowledge, experience and extraordinary effort to provide an understanding of
project management contribution to sustainable business change via circular econ-
omy and the effect of circular economy business solutions on project management.
The book is divided into three sections: Part I: People, Project Management
Practice and Circular Economy; Part II: CE Projects and Sustainable Business
Change; and Part III: Integrating Sustainability into Project Management
Methodology. The chapters within these sections are dedicated to very important
aspects of circular economy, project management and sustainable business change:
business models, human and financial aspects, process perspective, methodology
hybridisation, higher education role and project portfolio. Chapter especially
emphasises the importance of integrating highlighted fields and points to the devel-
opment needs.

v
vi Preface

The first chapter of this book elaborates on factors that stimulate project manag-
ers to consider sustainability based on the new roles of project managers. The next
chapter explores the role of higher education in transition to a sustainable and circu-
lar economy, emphasising a non-linear approach to solving problems and providing
solutions in reaching sustainability and the goals of a circular economy. The third
chapter reveals the impact of the circular economy business model on developing
green human resource management (GHRM) practices in an organisation. It empha-
sises the significance of human resources in incorporating circular economy in the
system to enhance sustainable development. Sustainable business change and circu-
lar economy are extremely important for industries whose activities are leading to
an enormous depletion of natural resources and the creation of large volumes of
waste, affecting environmental sustainability and often also social sustainability.
One of the industries that fit this description is the construction industry, and a spe-
cial chapter integrates sustainable project management into the construction sector
to effectively close the loop of the circular economy.
The first chapter of Part II examines the tensions between individual actions and
organisational structures in responsible project management and the impact on
overall organisational sustainability behaviours. The second chapter of this section
relates corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, business,
change and implications on project-oriented companies, stressing out companies’
environmental and social awareness and the impact on project activities. A circular
economy provides changes for existing businesses and the whole economy, provid-
ing opportunities for circular start-up projects. The circular economy is a completely
new approach in the European Union present in all aspects of society, national, local
and enterprise level. Therefore, the next chapter presents indicators of the circular
economy and the evaluation system, pointing to indicators for different purposes
and needs developed by various scientists, states, government agencies, NGOs and
companies. The following chapter aims to analyse whether start-up projects that
integrate the principles of the circular economy have a higher probability of launch-
ing a crowdfunding campaign and determine the likelihood of chosen parameters to
be the ones determining the crowdfunding campaign will have the elements of the
circular economy.
Part III is dedicated to the integration of sustainability into project management
methodology. Bearing this in mind, the authors of the first chapter put the focus on
creating a hybrid methodology for sustainable strategic management of infrastruc-
ture programs in the condition of the circular economy. The next chapter presents a
recurrent neural network model of circular economic processes based on identifying
correlations between phenomena and processes for the impact assessment of project
management on circular economic processes. The third chapter identifies and analy-
ses the impact of sustainable project management on the project’s success and the
development of values for an organisation and society. It presents a conceptual
framework for enabling benefits from linking sustainability and project manage-
ment. Chapter four analyses project portfolio since project portfolio selection is a
tool to reach the organisational strategy, intending to determine whether a specific
framework will bridge the knowledge gap between circularity conceptualisations
Preface vii

and their application in the project portfolio management field. The final chapter of
the book presents an overview of opportunity for the integration of project manage-
ment and circular economy and the benefits that could arise from this integration,
focusing on existing forms of circular economy and project management potential
to create the road ahead mapping areas as project strategy, processes, tools and
competencies, for integration of circularity.
To my beliefs, this book could be promoted among different stakeholders such as
governments, financial institutions and academic institutions with the aim to sup-
port and assist project management in driving sustainable business change. The
book aims to become an important milestone in developing this topic since each of
the chapters could be further developed, even become a book itself.
I hope the content will inspire readers from both academia and practice and pro-
vide useful insights for further developing competencies in project management,
circular economy and sustainable business.

Belgrade, Serbia Vladimir Obradović

Acknowledgements

Capabilities for delivering projects in the context of societal development (CaProSoc)

research programme initiated by the Alma Mater Europaea (Maribor, Slovenia) sup-
ported this collection. CaProSoc brings together over 70 partners from more than 50
countries working together, envisioning that all actors involved in sustainable soci-
etal development are aware of the role that projects have in society and use projects
effectively for the benefit of society. It is aspired to impact societal development,
help society develop through projects and project management in sectors beyond
the economy, make sense of projects and show ways of dealing with the increasing
number of societal challenges (e.g. climate change).

ix
Contents

Part I People, PM Practice and Circular Economy

1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition
to a Circular Economy: Journey on the “Yellow Brick Road”
to Sustainability����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    3
Nataša Petrović, Marko Ćirović, and Flavio Pinheiro Martins
2 Green Human Resource Management
in Circular Economy and Sustainability������������������������������������������������   41
Jelena Cvijović
3 Exploring the Missing Link to Circular Economy
in Construction: A Systematic Review
of Waste Management Literature����������������������������������������������������������   59
Leeboy Ndhlovu and Luca Sabini

Part II CE Projects and Sustainable Business Change

4 Responsible Project Management Tensions
in a Tier 1 UK Infrastructure Organization������������������������������������������   97
Charles Spooner and Nigel L. Williams
5 Corporate Social Responsibility, Circular Economy
and Sustainable Development: Business Changes
and Implications in Project-Oriented Companies�������������������������������� 111
Isidora Milošević, Sanela Arsić, and Anđelka Stojanović
6 Development and Review of Circular Economy Indicators:
Evidence from European Union ������������������������������������������������������������ 145
Tijana Milanović, Aleksandar Jovović, and Nataša Petrović

xi
xii Contents

7 Financing Start-Up Projects in Circular Economy:

Does Crowdfunding Fit? ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 173
Isidora Ljumović and Aida Hanić

Part III Integrating Sustainability into PM Methodology

8 Methodology Hybridization for Sustainable Strategic
Management of Circular Projects and Programs �������������������������������� 197
Sergiy Bushuyev, Natalia Bushuyeva, and Victoria Bushuieva
9 The System Dynamics Model for the Impact Assessment
of Project Management on Circular Economic Processes�������������������� 211
Ekaterina Andreevna Khalimon, Irina Stanislavovna Brikoshina,
and Mariya Nikolaevna Guseva
10 A Conceptual Framework for Enabling Benefits
from Linking Sustainability and Project Management������������������������ 243
Danijela Toljaga-Nikolić
11 The Impact of the Circular Economy Approach
on the Project Portfolio and Selection Process�������������������������������������� 269
Ivana Berić
12 
Circular Economy and Project Management: The Road Ahead�������� 301
Marija Todorović and Vladimir Obradović

Index������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 315
 Part I
People, PM Practice and Circular
Economy
Chapter 1
The Role of Higher Education
in Transition to a Circular Economy:
Journey on the “Yellow Brick Road”
to Sustainability

Nataša Petrović, Marko Ćirović, and Flavio Pinheiro Martins

Abstract In the wake of environmental challenges, it becomes questionable

whether transfer from linear to a nonlinear or circular economy can be achieved by
continuing to employ traditional linear ways of thinking about potential solutions
and designing the tools for achieving the desired outcomes that should lead to over-
all planetary sustainability. Instead, for this important issue, it is necessary to involve
a number of stakeholders in the implementation and measurement of circular econ-
omy implementation efficiency in practice. In addition to governments and industry,
the entire society must participate in this, including higher education institutions.
Higher education is necessary because it is a crucial tool for achieving sustainability
and sustainable development. The quality of education is very important in econo-
mies – in this case, circular economies. Bearing this in mind, the key aspect of this
chapter focuses on the scientific research in circular economy education among
students of the University of Belgrade, Republic of Serbia. The results obtained can
be a useful source of information to other educators, at a time when improving edu-
cation for sustainability is gaining more and more credibility and scientific ground.

Keywords Circular economy · Sustainability · Higher education · Higher

education for circular economy · Curriculum

N. Petrović (*) · M. Ćirović

Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
F. P. Martins
School of Economics, Business Administration and Accounting at Ribeirão Preto – University
of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 3

Switzerland AG 2023
V. Obradović (ed.), Sustainable Business Change,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23543-6_1
4 N. Petrović et al.

1.1 Introduction

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Follow the Yellow Brick Road. Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
Follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
Follow the Yellow Brick, Follow the Yellow Brick,
Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
We’re off to see the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
You’ll find he is a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz! there was.
If ever oh ever a Wiz! there was The Wizard of Oz is one because,
Because, because, because, because, because.
Because of the wonderful things he does.
We’re off to see the Wizard. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Harold Arlen

“The Wizard of Oz”1 (1939) one of the most famous films of all time represents
an American musical fantasy produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 2007 it was
included as a “documentary heritage submitted by the United States of America and
recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2007” of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO
(UNESCO, 2017). It is the most commercially successful adaptation of the fantasy
novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” for children, written by Lyman Frank Baum
in 1900 (Fricke, 1989). In this movie, a prominent subject throughout the story, is a
path that Dorothy Gale, a ten-year-old girl who is swept away by a tornado (a natu-
ral disaster, is it a coincidence?), takes to get to the Land of Oz to return home and
ask the Wizard of Oz for help. This particular road is comprised of yellow bricks. It
is also mentioned in a poem by Harold Arlen.
The symbolism of the yellow brick road within the scope of academic literature
varies from being interpreted as the road to success to the extent of equalising it
with happiness (Collins, 2020), or as a pilgrimage road to a Promised Land found in
one’s deepest wishes (Yourdictionary, 2020), even as the Golden Path – seen as a
transit from human egoism to enlightenment (Findanyanswer, 2020). The Oxford
English Dictionary (OED – 3rd edition, 2018) defines the American-English phrase
yellow brick road as denoting a course of action or series of events viewed as means
towards the desirable end (Word Histories, 2019).
Universities, faculties and higher education institutions should provide a “yel-
low brick road” to sustainable societies and economies in the world plagued with
different crises, in which, due to their unforeseeable consequences and threats,
those crises that are inflicted on nature stand out. On the other hand, those who
study, or the students who accept this road, and who are future decision makers,
need to learn as much as possible and apply their knowledge for necessary changes
in their business and private lives. Bearing in mind that road to change is regularly
achieved through projects (Obradović, 2010), it should be emphasized the needed

1
It is the most commercially successful adaptation of the fantasy novel “The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz” for children, written by Lyman Frank Baum in 1900 (Fricke, 1989).
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 5

integration of concepts of sustainability and project management (Toljaga-Nikolić

et al., 2020).
The reasons for this lie in the fact “today, as never before, the stability of the
Earth’s ecology is undermined due to the activities carried out by the human spe-
cies” (Petrović et al., 2014, 2016), as well as in the increasing consumption of
energy and resources with consequent generation of waste and pollutants (Iannuzzi,
2011). Human impacts on the environment have reached the critical point in the
violation of the balance of nature and humankind in the twenty-first century and
sadly continue to increase (Petrović et al., 2012; Petrović, 2016). Some of the most
significant and negative environmental impacts are: decreasing living standards,
ozone layer depletion, conservation effects, solid waste increase, radioactive con-
tamination, deforestation, biodiversity loss… (Bonnett, 2007; Mert, 2006; Petrović,
2016; Petrović et al., 2017; Radaković et al., 2017; Robert et al., 1993). The magni-
tude of the human footprint on the planet currently has a global impact; hence, the
majority of the scientists and researchers state that the planet has entered a new era
known as the era dominated by humans, also known as the Anthropocene
(Franco, 2013).
At the same time, the growth of the world’s population has led to an increase in
the inefficient consumption of natural resources (Symth, 2006). Thus, it is evident
what Bonnett (2007) notes that it is hard to imagine any other set of concerns that
influence at this point the wellbeing of human species than those related to the envi-
ronment. On the other hand, the limits of the possibilities of the planet Earth that it
can provide to human civilization are in reciprocity with those that refer to the limits
of what the planet can “receive”, which primarily refers to environmental devasta-
tion and excessive waste generation.
The mentioned above disturbance of natural balance caused by human activities
are causing changes in the global ecosystem. This leads to changes that worsen the
survival conditions of many populations, including ours – human, and all under one
name – environmental crises (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization [UNESCO] – Division of Science, Technical and Environmental
Education, 1986). This should be added to other environmental problems such as
rise in pollution, global warming, climate change, as a result of growing carbon
emissions (Gupta, 2015).
For these reasons, both in theory and in practice, it has been shown that the excit-
ing development of the economy or linear economy that is traditionally based on the
“take-make-dispose” model of production and consumption is a total antithesis to
the planet’s necessary model of sustainability. This is quite understandable given
that the linear economy is based on the concept of “use and throw” which has been
present since the industrial revolution (Zamarriego, 2017) when products followed
the “linear process” of extraction–transformation–distribution–promotion–use–
obsolescence (Salguero-Puerta et al., 2019). When it comes to sustainability, it
should be emphasized that sustainability is identified globally as an idea, transi-
tional vehicle, and/or as a targeted goal that enables proper response to the rising
environmental crisis. Furthermore as a response to social and economic
6 N. Petrović et al.

repercussions of that crisis, labelled together as “global change” (Biggs et al., 2011;
Borojević et al., 2017a, b; Hugé et al., 2016). Sustainability is directly related to
Sustainable Development (SD). Both concepts are similar but also different.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization –
UNESCO (2019) – sustainability is regularly thought of as a wishful state that
humanity as a whole has to transit to, while sustainable development underlines
many ways, manners and the tools to arrive at that wishful state. The most accepted
and used sustainable development definition is the definition that has been pub-
lished in the report of the Brundtland Commission, in which, under sustainable
development is considered the development of today’s generation according to their
needs, without taking a toll on the future generations’ equal ability to do so (World
Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).
In contrast to the linear economy and its evident negative impacts on the environ-
ment and sustainable development – as the only possible development that human-
ity has on a finite planet – there is the concept of circular economy (CE). This
concept is considered as a mechanism for fulfilling local, regional, national and
planetary sustainability (Schroeder et al., 2018). Also, the CE can be said to repre-
sent an archetype that can achieve the shift of organizational practices to more sus-
tainable solutions (Sillanpää & Ncibi, 2019). Having all this in mind, the application
and transition to a CE reduces the depletion of natural resources, reduces the amount
of waste generated, reduces the amount of waste in landfills and thus the consequent
pollution of water, air and land, global warming, land destruction, as well as
improved energy efficiency and rise in the use of renewable energy sources. In this
way, the CE represents an environmental, social and economical benefit because it
provides the implementation of a management model of sustainable development.
According to Hannoura et al. (2006) this implies correlating pursued objectives
with actions that are taken in achieving those objectives, while simultaneously
keeping the effects of those actions under predefined limitations that would allow
achieving ecosystem sustainability. All this is provided by the CE, which includes
such product design called environmental design or design for environment, which
in the construction of the product affects the reduction of pollution, the application
of near-zero waste strategy, recycling, reuse, servicing products and their long-life
cycle as well as product observation – not from “cradle-to-grave” but from “cradle-­
to-­cradle”. Cradle-to-cradle approach would imply designing the products and/or
systems in a manner that should lead to returning the products at the end of their
usage and transforming them into new usage of equal/greater value (Ashkin, 2008).
Also, the importance of environmental education for sustainability, incorporat-
ing higher education, in particular, should be emphasized, in the age that Sachs
(2015) calls the age of sustainable development. Sachs states that sustainable devel-
opment is an organizational principle for all policies, economics, and ethics. The
most important condition for a successful transition to a sustainable development
model is the quality of human resources, in which the key role is played by adequate
and quality, i.e., good environmental education. Many authors agree that good envi-
ronmental education is crucial to achieving sustainable development that will pro-
vide the necessary way of life for people within the capacity of nature (e.g.,
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 7

McCormick et al., 2005; Petrović et al., 2014; UNESCO, 2012). More precisely, to
achieve the goals of ecosystem conservation, the behaviour of entire societies
towards the biosphere must be transformed so that the long-term task of environ-
mental education is to encourage and strengthen attitudes and behaviours following
environmental ethics (IUCN-UNEP-WWF, 1980). It is also necessary that the
development of quality higher environmental education for sustainability is based
on The Talloires Declaration (Association of University Leaders for Sustainable
Future, 1990) which is an official declaration of the necessary commitment of
higher education to environmental sustainability, emphasizing the need to introduce
literature on sustainability environment both in curricula and syllabi of subjects at
faculties, and in lectures, scientific research and the work and activities of faculties
and universities (Maletič et al., 2017). All this is because the role of young people,
especially the educated ones, must be one of the main approaches, but also a prin-
ciple in the environmentally sound and sustainable development of all communities
and economies. The reason for this is the fact that the participation of young people
in solving problems is important not only for their personal development, but also
for their adequate involvement in decision-making processes that imply a better
quality of functioning of society as a whole, in this case, a sustainable society
(Borojević et al., 2015, 2017a, b; Petković et al., 2019).
So, for our research we have selected students of the University of Belgrade who
declared that they have introduced circular economy issues in their students’ agenda,
believing in the hypothesis that both university teachers and students want sustain-
able economies and responsible environmental opportunities for a growing world
population.
The research was performed on the students attending the winter semester of the
2020/2021 academic year. Students took part in an online survey. The survey was
conducted at the University of Belgrade, Republic of Serbia. Seventy seven students
participated in the survey (62 females and 15 males). The students completed the
survey, and the results for each student were calculated using software for the statis-
tical analysis SPSS version 24.

1.2 Literature Review

1.2.1 Paving the Way Through Higher Education

Education plays an essential role in addressing the civilizational challenges of our

era. This mission was formally addressed for the first time in the 1972 United
Nations Conference on Human Environment, being later reinforced by the 1992 Rio
declaration on Environment and Development (Handl, 2012), by the UNESCO’s
declaration of the 2005–2014 period as the Decade for Sustainable Development
Education (Combes, 2005). More recently, the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) framework have brought a more integrated framework
8 N. Petrović et al.

that addresses education for sustainable development in a focal point of the target
4.7 on education where by 2030, all learning agents have to adopt the data and tools
necessary to promote sustainable development. This includes various knowledge
areas, such as education for sustainability, lifestyle and behavioural changes, human
rights, gender equality, peaceful and non-violent action and civil movement, global
citizenship, and understanding of cultural diversity and how all these contribute to
sustainable development (UN, 2015). The agenda inter windedness and global the-
matic are present in studies on education (Andreoni & Ruiz Vargas, 2020; Cottafava
et al., 2019; Franco et al., 2019), artificial intelligence (Vinuesa et al., 2020), energy
(Bisaga et al., 2020; Castor et al., 2020; McCollum et al., 2018; Nerini et al., 2018;
Santika et al., 2019), sanitation (Alcamo, 2019; Diep et al., 2020; Parikh et al.,
2020a), water quality security (Flörke et al., 2019), health (Hall et al., 2020) and
specific issues like COVID-19 (Parikh et al., 2020b).
Regarding education, the Agenda connects with many of the 169 targets and
indicators of the sustainable development goals: 28 occurrences of the keyword
“education” in the agenda. For example, the target 3.7 on health, target 1.2 on pov-
erty and target 8.6 on economic growth are examples of education being called to
aid the agenda fulfilment. There are explicit keywords related to education in the
“SDG 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns” indicator
12.8.1, which address national education policies, curricula, teacher and students’
education (UN, 2015) for sustainable business, not as usual models. To have leader-
ships educated for a paradigm change, the focus must be in the educational level
where they are trained and acquire their work and life-long competencies. Higher
Education is one of the main drivers for economic development and collective well-­
being through (I) science development in research, (II) knowledge transfer in educa-
tion and (III) community outreach through service-learning and extension activities
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] 2010).
In the university campuses, colleges and faculties from a variety of field areas,
new leaderships are educated and acquire competencies to enter tomorrow’s work-
force. In an ideal way, these new professionals would carry with them the technical
skills and theoretical repertoire capable of enabling them to solve local socio-­
economic problems in a contextualized manner and at the same time glimpse the
bigger picture of an ever-changing global conjuncture. Also, to accomplish this
within the recommended goals for sustainable development, respecting the limits of
the planet’s physical life support systems (Ćirović, 2019; Rockström et al., 2009).
Therefore, sustainable development paradigm change through social collaboration,
research and education has gradually become nuclear among the main university
activities: the future we want in education for sustainability is only possible through
socially, environmentally and economically oriented universities (Beynaghi
et al., 2016).
When it comes to a CE, the authors Bugallo-Rodríguez and Vega-Marcote (2020)
advocate that higher education has a dual role on it: first by knowledge transmission
through teaching and secondly by cascade effect that professionals cause in the
society. CE posits itself as one of the best answers for the bigger picture of sustain-
able development challenges of our era, and it is a fruitful and needed educational
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 9

scenario for addressing questions that are multidimensional, multi stakeholder

dependent, paradoxical, contextual and globally connected. CE is presented as the
main philosophy to rewire the business case for sustainable and responsible produc-
tion and consumption (Goyal et al., 2018; Ünal et al., 2019). The complexity of the
matter is compatible with the diversity of knowledge areas available at universities
and, specifically, with the holistic view grounded on systems thinking and interdis-
ciplinary approaches. Questions raised from the social-ecological perspective like
eco-innovation, sustainable procurement practices, and development of closed-loop
supply and value chains, are only feasible to address through non-linear models of
problem-solving (Ramísio et al., 2019). Moreover this emphasises the need for the
planet as a whole to take an environmentally risk averse position in order not to
overshoot its ecological targets by all the different separate issues and correspond-
ing criteria, starting from the traditional energy resources used (Ćirović et al., 2015),
safeguarding the environmental mediums most notably soil, air, biota and water
(Makajić-Nikolić et al., 2016), while simultaneously trying to achieve some form of
international scientific consensus that would result in creating a political will in
political actors as seen in European Union (Ćirović, 2018).

1.2.2 Circular Economy Keywords Network

The cluster analyses from VOSviewer are widely used for literature reviews biblio-
metric and thematic inquiries (Llanos-Herrera & Merigo, 2019; Shah et al., 2019;
Yu et al., 2020). In this specific topic, we found more substantial cluster density in
the thematic related to the origins of CE constructs, grounded into natural sciences
and engineering, like industrial ecology, closed-loops and resource efficiency
(United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP], 2006) (Fig. 1.1).
The most vital frequencies besides CE construct are “sustainability” in the same
cluster as CE, and “sustainable development” in the same cluster of “higher educa-
tion”, “teaching” and “education”; the way this is intertwined reinforces that CE
principles are connected with sustainability, and they can be interfaced by the sus-
tainable development education sector into higher education (Sanchez et al., 2020).
Mixed bottom-up and top-down approaches are considered nuclear for changing the
university’s organizational culture, policies covering all university areas, permanent
communication and monitoring of the goals, institutionalization and creation of net-
works (Ramísio et al., 2019).
Another point of interest in the mapping is the construct “decision making”,
“innovation” and “life cycle” that appears closely bound to environmental externali-
ties subjects, such as “carbon footprint” and “environmental impact” and other con-
structs related to industrial and operations lens of sustainability, this transition refers
to studies that address CE through the optics of management, operations and on a
broader scope, the business education-related subjects. Articles like “Circular value
creation architectures: Make, ally, buy, or laissez-faire” (Hansen & Revellio, 2020),
“Economic aspirations connected to innovations in carbon capture and utilization
10 N. Petrović et al.

Fig. 1.1 Construct clusters related to Circular Economy. (Source: Elaborated by the authors using
VOSviewer)

value chains”, and “Activities of circular economy in Japan – towards global multi-­
value circulation” (Halada, 2020). The major obstacles for the consolidation of the
CE into higher education are similar to the ones found in sustainability (Jorge et al.,
2015). CE education can be considered both a dimension of Education for
Sustainable Development and one of its drivers for the development of competen-
cies. Sanchez et al., (2020) study points out how the CE principles can be mapped
and contextualized in different knowledge areas through the sustainability educa-
tion existing competencies like interdisciplinary learning, systems thinking, compe-
tence to deal with uncertainty, cooperative action, conflict resolution, self-motivation
and motivating others and long-term, anticipatory, foresight and future thinking.
Global business education networks like Global Compact and the management
education platforms like The International Association for Management
Development in Dynamic Societies (CEEMAN) and the United Nations Principles
for Responsible Management Education (UN-PRME) have a central role in shaping
undergraduate competencies towards the integration of sustainability since the
business-­as-usual paradigm is the primary cause for unsustainability in our world
(Von Der Heidt & Lamberton, 2011). Frameworks like the PRME Six Principles
(Purpose, Values, Method, Research, Partnership and Dialogue) can foster CE lit-
eracy among business students and build upon the already settled system thinking
approach (Hester & Adams, 2014) step forward into a circular thinking approach for
business (Mendoza et al., 2019).
The “university” construct could be expected to be bound to education theme;
nevertheless, it appears interwoven with thematic concepts like “recycling”, “waste
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 11

disposal” and “municipal waste”. This highlights that many of the university’s sus-
tainability initiatives that somehow use CE principles are likely to be related to the
university’s management aspects of its environmental footprint. Many of them are
related to emerging economies contexts like it is reflected in the research of Adeniran
et al. (2017) on waste management at the Lagos University, Nigeria, or in the case
of information technology reuse at the Disposal Center and Electronic Waste Reuse
(CEDIR) at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil (Alves & Farina, 2018). The same
is evidenced in the research done for developing a model of indicators for compost-
ing and biogas generation at the University of Lome, Togo, and the research about
waste components assessment realized by the authors Owojori et al. (2020) at the
University of Venda, South Africa (Puerta et al., 2020).
The presence of the construct “municipal”, “social-economic impacts”, and
“urban area” points out the presence of the implicit concept of universities as living
laboratories for cities, once they can emulate good practices that can be, therefore,
replicated in a more superior level at the municipalities (Leal et al., 2019; Verhoef
et al., 2020).
This approach indicates that much has been done, at a practical level and case
studies in universities, in an approach that considers the educational institutions as
organizations and social agents that produce negative social-environmental exter-
nalities while pursuing its educational and research goals. Despite education not
being the focal point, the living lab approach reinforces the educational paradigm
change for integration of sustainability culture (Kılkış, 2017) and CE principles as
well in the campuses, bringing legitimacy to the educational approaches since fac-
ulty and staff can see in their daily academic routine that their institutions walk the
talk on sustainability (Sammalisto et al., 2015), opening opportunities for service-­
learning initiatives on sustainability (Daub et al., 2020) and fostering awareness in
the stakeholders about the emulation possibilities that campuses hold on sustain-
ability innovations (Stephens et al., 2008).
The manifestation of CE at the Universities Living labs seems to be closely
bound to project management principles. Despite being transversal and broad, the
living labs are grounded in university organizational structure: they can be identified
in thematic such as recycling and waste campus management. These familiar places
where projects already champion sustainability still face shortcomings when it
comes to expanding their grasp on the educational dimension of the campuses. If we
split universities’ mission into four main areas: research, teaching/learning, com-
munity outreach and organizational management, the last one would be where proj-
ect management towards CE is more easily spotted.
In higher education’s teaching and learning dimension, there are still many chal-
lenges to address CE adequately; research on how effectively the thematic is being
incorporated in the curriculum falls short on precision and represents a yet to be
explored gap (Sanchez et al., 2020). Project management can work as an activator
to it. Sultanova et al. (2021) describe a contextual solution for bridging the thematic
of CE and project management through curricula marginal changes. Authors report
that chemistry students could grasp CE goals related to the 2030 Agenda by being
exposed to a contextual problem-based learning activity for developing new
12 N. Petrović et al.

products. The same kind of bridging constructs through active methodologies is

found in engineering courses and specifically related again to green product design
(González-Domínguez et al., 2020) and in computer science courses, with the usage
of the service-learning approach (Sánchez-Carracedo et al., 2021). The same criti-
cism that arises from rhetoric disconnected from daily practice (walk the talk) also
works in the opposite direction: some campuses excel at being sustainable, yet the
educational potential of the practices developed is yet to be fully explored, so they
“walk”, they have solar panels, water reuse, expended recycling frameworks, but
still don’t properly “talk” about it, don’t explore the full potential for training new
professionals under these competences. In this sense, the extensive use of active
methodologies can foster to shorten this gap and expand the principles of CE to the
complete picture of higher education institutions.

1.2.3 Coming of Age Construct: Circular Economy

Brick Road

The link between sustainability and CE are undeniable (Murray et al., 2017), and
CE is considered a pathway for achieving sustainable development (Geissdoerfer
et al., 2017); in the university context integration of CE principles into higher edu-
cation is considered one step towards sustainable development education (Sanchez
et al., 2020). Despite the awareness, relevance and urgency of these questions, and
the consensus that universities play an important role in it, there is still a large gap
to be bridged in higher education. While research in the subject of the CE is
addressed in many worldwide interdisciplinary centres like the Center for
Environmental and Sustainability Research (CENSE) and the European School of
Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR), the integration of CE principles into
the education dimension is still a very novel approach without a consolidated notion
of its status (Sanchez et al., 2020). There is a lack of know-how to implement a CE
into higher education, and the main reason for this is because CE in higher educa-
tion is still having its starting struggles (Mendoza et al., 2019, p. 842). Besides
strong similarities with sustainability education or education for sustainable devel-
opment, the construct “CE education” guards its specificities, since it is a narrow
scope for teaching and education in the construct that exists in opposition to the
linear economy models and that fosters not only the systems thinking for sustain-
ability but a more detailed version of what we could call circular economy – CE
thinking.
We ran a review on two combined strings of keywords. The first one on CE and
synonyms and related constructs like “recycling management”, “recycling indus-
try” and “closed-loop”. The second string had higher education and related con-
structs like “universities” and “faculties”. The keywords inside each string were
combined with the Boolean operator “OR” and the strings were combined with the
operator “AND”. Keywords were searched in articles title, abstract and keywords.
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 13

No time scope or file type was delimited. 447 documents were initially found. Data
were then loaded into the network visualization software VOSviewer tool to evalu-
ate the constructs through its keyword’s incidence and interlinkages (Fig. 1.2).
The majority of the publications are concentrated after 2015, which reinforces
the establishment of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Deal in the research community.
The Sustainable Development Goals decade has fostered higher education institu-
tions to address their environmental impacts (Owojori et al., 2020). This is men-
tioned, for instance, in the studies from Schroeder et al. (2019) referring to a CE as
a toolbox for reaching a wide array of Sustainable Development Goals. This paper
also highlights the synergies between CE and the SDG 6 (Clean Water and
Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy and SDG 12 (Responsible
Consumption and Production) that can be bounded respectively, to the scope of
subject fields “Engineering”, “Energy and Engineering” and “Business, Management
and Accounting”. Publications like the one from Schroeder et al. (2019) and Stephan
et al. (2020) are peripheral for our scope since they scope education from the man-
agement lens comprising environmental assessment and projects on campuses,
mostly related to waste management, energy and water efficiency (Benltoufa et al.,
2017; Gallo et al., 2017; Pardal et al., 2020) (Fig. 1.3).
The aims of the studies are focused on their impact as organizations that have the
peculiarity of being educational institutions. On the other hand, works like the
papers: “The sustainability matrix: A tool for integrating and assessing sustainabil-
ity in the bachelor and master theses of engineering degrees” (Sánchez-Carracedo
et al., 2020), “Conceptual and Legal Framework for Promotion of Education for
Sustainable Development: Case Study for Ukraine” (Tetiana & Malolitneva, 2020)
and “Lessons learned in the paths of developing a multidisciplinary certificate pro-
gram” (Wang & Van Bueren, 2018). Are nuclear on education, since they address
the overlap of CE and education for sustainability and use the Sustainable
Development Goals framework as background or the structural axis for the educa-
tional programs and projects. CE integration in the curriculum (Kopnina, 2018;
Mateus et al., 2020; Qu et al., 2020) and hidden curriculum (Nunes et al., 2018) also
appear as a timid yet recent trend.
The keywords-publications linkage spread along the years, clustered by the
colours of the VOSviewer analysis (Van Eck & Waltman, 2011), point movement
noticeable from constructs related to engineering and industrial sciences, and more
consolidated thematic like “Life cycle analysis” and “Ecology” to the main subject
of “Circular Economy” in the last two years and the education-related subjects
appearing even further and in a much smaller frequency which emphasizes the nov-
elty of the subject.
When we narrowed down the scope in quick prospecting with the keywords “cir-
cular economy” and its synonyms, along with “education”, on the Scopus database,
with the setup “title-abstract-keywords”, the output is only 10 articles, after remov-
ing the false-positives we have five papers: the construct barely exists (Table 1.1).
Two of these papers address specific educational knowledge fields: the electricity
sector (Rokicki et al., 2020) and the construction management sector (Sanchez
et al., 2020). Rokicki et al. (2020) found out that a number of doctoral students had
 14

Environmental Science Social Sciences Engineering Energy Business,Management and Accounting Chemical Engineering Computer Science Materials Science
Economics,Econometrics and Finance Agriculture and Biological Sciences Earth and Planetary Sciences Arts and Humanities Chemistry Mathematics Medicine
Multidisciplinary Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology Decision Sciences Physics and Astronomy Health Professions Earth and Planetary Sciences
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics

60
60
55 58

50
49
45

40 43
41
35 38

30 33

28 28
25
25
20 22

15
16 16
14
10 13 13
11 11
5 3 8 7
5 5 5 6
4 4 0 4 4
0
11 12 3 4 5 6 7 18 19 20
20 20 2 01 2 01 2 01 2 01 2 01 20 20 20

Fig. 1.2 Concentration of publications per subject area* in the years ranging from 2011 to 2020. * Publications refer to two or more subject areas; therefore,
the total sum of subject areas are higher than the articles count. (Source: Elaborated by the authors)
N. Petrović et al.
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 15

Fig. 1.3 Construct networks and cluster gradient from 2016 to 2019. (Source: Elaborated by the
authors using VOSviewer)

a stronger relation with specific CE goals of European Union countries compared to

bachelor students in the specific field of electricity. Which reinforces the assump-
tion that the competencies for CE integration are more prevalent in postgraduate
than in undergraduate education and also the role of higher education in the nation’s
sustainability policies (Al-Mansoori & Koç, 2019); a similar perspective was also
found in Revinova et al. (2020) that identified universities milieu as a potential
­platform for countries development models.
Sanchez et al. (2020) also addressed a sector related to engineering, the construc-
tion management nevertheless he looked at the five categories of sustainability com-
petencies framework of Olalla and Merino (2019): Learning to Know (LK), to Do
(LD), to Live together (LL), to Be (LB), and to Transform oneself and society (LT).
Research findings point out that in the specific course, integration of CE principles
is needed to foster sustainable development competencies demanded by companies,
in a way to future-proof the engineering curriculum, which also makes sense for
sustainability in business education (Winfield & Ndlovu, 2019) and in a broader
scope for climate change education (Fahey, 2012). Bugallo-Rodríguez and Vega-­
Marcote (2020) study is focused on the cascading effects of CE teaching and educa-
tion since it addresses competencies training in CE for preservice teachers. Results
show the perception that CE in university should foster the changing individual
behaviours: for instance, they point out that some campus campaigns are focused on
recycling rather than reducing consumption, which is related to the lack of aware-
ness about the following subjects: bio-waste generation, secondary raw materials,
collaborative consumption, and the 9 Rs (rethink, reduce, reuse, repair, refurbish,
remanufacture, repurpose, recycle, recover). Even a subject that is technical by
16 N. Petrović et al.

Table 1.1 Main papers addressing circular economy education

Title Authors Year Source
The importance of higher education Rokicki, T., Perkowska, 2020 Energies, 13(17),
in the EU countries in achieving the A., Klepacki, B., 4407.
objectives of the circular economy Szczepaniuk, H., ISSN:1996–1073
in the energy sector Szczepaniuk, E. K.,
Bereziński, S., &
Ziółkowska, P.
Integration of circular economy Sanchez, B., Ballinas-­ 2020 2020 IEEE global
principles for developing sustainable Gonzalez, R., Rodriguez-­ engineering education
development competences in higher Paz, M. X., & conference (EDUCON)
education: An analysis of bachelor Nolazco-Flores, J. A. (pp. 988–996). IEEE
construction management courses
Circular economy, sustainability and Bugallo-Rodríguez, A., & 2020 International Journal
teacher training in a higher Vega-Marcote, P. of Sustainability in
education institution higher education
A methodological framework for the Mendoza, J. M. F., 2019 Journal of Cleaner
implementation of circular economy Gallego-Schmid, A., & Production, 226,
thinking in higher education Azapagic, A. 831–844
institutions: Towards sustainable
campus management
Building a business case for Mendoza, J. M. F., 2019 Journal of Cleaner
implementation of a circular Gallego-Schmid, A., & Production, 220,
economy in higher education Azapagic, A. 553–567
institutions
Source: Elaborated by the authors

definition, like eco-design, is approached through the lens of education and aware-
ness: students said that innovation could help with devices to control water and
energy consumption, for instance, but this results in using/buying another product
(the controlling device). At the same time, the reduction could be achieved through
education. The summary of the concerns and points to improve pointed by the stu-
dents is about understanding the whole material flow process, the recycling aware-
ness stops at the bin, and there is a call for a broader comprehension of the circularity
of materials, like the number of recycling times possible and the knowledge about
non-­renewable resources. This research dialogue with global trends on CE is exem-
plified by the SDG target 12.8, recommending that “By 2030, ensure that people
everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable develop-
ment and lifestyles in harmony with nature” one of the indicators of the target is the
mainstreaming of education for sustainable development in teacher education (indi-
cator 12.8.1.c) (UN, 2015).
From the summary of the analysis made, it is possible to figure out a roadmap
built with the constructs related (Fig. 1.4).
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 17

Fig. 1.4 The brick road of circular economy. (Source: Elaborated by authors)

1.3 Research Background and Methodology

During the winter semester of an academic year 2020/2021, at the University of

Belgrade, Republic of Serbia, a survey was conducted with an aim to check, survey
participants’ attitudes towards, CE goals, principles and practices. Additionally, an
online survey was organized in order to examine participants’ general knowledge
about points of convergence and divergence of traditional linear economy and CE
with the goals of environmental protection and sustainability. For the purpose of our
research, we created a questionnaire for students of the University of Belgrade who,
within their studies, had subjects which curricula included topics related to the
CE. The online questionnaire was distributed through social networks, and espe-
cially through the Facebook public group related to the Circular Economy (https://
www.facebook.com/groups/991919851234757). The participants in the survey par-
ticipated in it freely and willingly. They were assured of anonymity. It has to be
noted that this scientific research is the initial stage of a future larger project to
innovate, and to improve CE education in higher education.
Survey covered a range of questions, 66 in total, which can be divided in three
subject areas. First area covered by the survey consisted of the questions about basic
demographics and students’ socioeconomic backgrounds. This part of the survey
consisted of seven questions. The second area covered by the survey consisted of
the questions that should reflect the students’ familiarity and knowledge about the
general definitions, goals and principles on which CE is based on. Moreover, this
part of the survey was used to assess the general environmental practices that par-
ticipants employ in their daily routines, as a way to examine consistencies between
the knowledge students have about the particular topic at hand and their behaviour.
More concretely, the idea was to check whether certain discrepancies exist between
the knowledge students have and their environmental practices, and if so, to check
18 N. Petrović et al.

why such discrepancies come about to exist. This part of the survey consisted of 45
questions. Third area covered by the survey consisted of the questions that were
designed to check what can motivate students to conduct some of the environmen-
tally friendly daily practices which are aligned with CE goals with which they are
familiar with. Additionally, this series of questions was set with an aim to find out
what are the reasons, for some of their inactions towards some practices and their
suggestions on what could motivate them more towards the environmentally friendly
actions in general. This part of the survey consisted of the 14 questions.
Survey was conducted using Likert scale, which was organised through 58 Likert
items. Standard Likert items were used represented through five consecutive inte-
gers ranging from 1 to 5 representing respondents’ levels of agreement and dis-
agreement with the statements, with equivalent polar verbal opposites (verbal value
for the integer 1 being “absolutely disagree”, verbal value for the integer 5 being
“absolutely agree”), symmetrically centred over a neutral middle represented by the
integer value 3.

1.4 Research Results

Regarding the results of the research, firstly descriptive statistic will be used to sum-
marise the responses gained, and then the results of the observed statistically signifi-
cant correlations gained through cross tabulation will be presented.

1.4.1 On Demographics

After analysing questions that regarded the demographic part of the survey several
points have to be made and clarified. Firstly, in regard to gender of the respondents,
80.5% of the respondents declared themselves as female, while 19.5% declared
themselves as male. None of the respondents refused to declare their gender. This
might seem at a first glance as a disparity in gender representation, but actually
regarding that previous research is reflective on this same point, that participants
declaring as female are more often to take part in similar surveys than the one’s
declaring as male (Borojević et al., 2017a, b; Curtin et al., 2000; Moore & Tarnai,
2002; Singer et al., 2000; Smith, 2008), this female/male ratio of respondents was
expected.
When the age of the survey participants is at matter, respondents have a very
homogenised structure in terms of age so more than 93% of participants are born in
1996 or after.
Regarding the participants’ place of residence, the survey included participants
coming from 30 cities from Republic of Serbia. Nonetheless majority of them reside
in Belgrade, 43 or 55.85% to be exact.
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 19

According to Statistical office of Republic of Serbia (2020), reports for first half
of the year 2020 note that the average monthly salaries and wages after taxes calcu-
lated for 2020 amounted to 485 euros (57 376 RSD). Meaning that the household
with two working adults on average accumulates 970 euros. In order to reflect that
in the survey conducted, participants were asked to give rough estimation on their
household income. Idea behind this was to check whether specific environmental
actions, that serve for the purposes of CE, depend or not, on the person’s financial
wellbeing. In that regard 40.58% of respondents declared household income above
the average, and 59.42% declared the household income that is below the average.

1.4.2 On Familiarity and Knowledge of Circular Economy

Within the next part of the survey, questions that were there to examine pre-existing
knowledge students had about CE, its goals, principles and practices, were pre-
sented next.
First of such questions was about the term itself. When asked whether they were
familiar with the term “Circular economy”, and whether they know what does the
term represent, 93.51% of participants responded positively, while only 6.49%
declared that they are not familiar with the term.
At this point of the survey participants that responded positively to the question
whether they know what the CE is, were asked to give some form of a definition
made in their own words of the term, or precisely to explain what CE represents to
them. Among the other answers the word used most in students’ definition of the
required term, ranked first by the usage were combination of the words “economy”
and “waste” with 50 noted usages out of 72 provided definitions, or 69.44% of the
times. While the term “resources” was used 20 times to describe what the CE repre-
sents, or 27.78% of the times, ranking it as a second most used term at this question.
Ranking third the term “environment” was used in the definition students provided,
with 13 mentions or 18.06% of times. All other terms are marginally used in com-
parison to these three such as the “life cycle” with five mentions, or “innovation”
with two mentions.
This data, although roughly, gives an insight into what do students think when
CE is in question and to which other issues, they connect it to. Primarily, it can be
noted that participants of the study relate this subject to better waste management in
production and service processes. Which is pretty much in line with the findings of
Kirchherr et al. (2017) and their review of definitions of CE in scientific literature,
where they examine 114 different definitions used, as well as with the findings of
Ghisellini et al. (2016) that provided the review of 155 articles dealing with the
subject of CE. Lieder and Rashid (2016) provides a space for a similar conclusion,
as well as Blomsma and Brennan (2017), which deal with the issue of CE concept
emergence. It can be concluded that students’ perceptions about the CE concept
does not differ that much from the stated in presented in the observed scientific
20 N. Petrović et al.

literature, when the keywords mentioned in existing operative definitions are at

question.
When the Likert items that are used in this part of the survey are analysed, sev-
eral notes can be made.
First two Likert items were there to check whether students recognise the differ-
ence between linear and circular economic concepts, and whether they distinguish
their environmental impact, harms and benefits. And whether they in general associ-
ate economic activities as something that goes in line or against environment.
The statements that were presented to survey participants to express their level of
agreement or disagreement for this particular matter, were firstly “Linear economy
is in direct conflict with the environmental protection goals”, and “Circular econ-
omy is in direct conflict with the environmental protection goals”. As all other fol-
lowing statements participants were asked to state their level of disagreement or
agreement with a statement on a Likert scale from 1 to 5 (1 being strongly disagree,
5 being strongly agree) (Table 1.2).
So, it can be noted regarding the mean of M = 3.81 and SD = 1.06 for the first
statement and comparable mean of M = 1.99 and SD = 1.2 for the second statement,
where overall knowledge and familiarity with the concept of CE is in question, stu-
dents recognise the difference between the environmental impacts, these two differ-
ent economical approaches and concepts have. Hence students associated and
declared a much higher level of agreement with a statement referring to linear eco-
nomical approach in comparison to the circular approach, expressing their belief
that the first has higher negative environmental impacts than the other.
Additionally, the aim of the survey, mentioned previously, was to check firstly
the declared students’ knowledge about the concept of CE and their factual knowl-
edge about CE. Therefore, the idea was to examine whether there is statistically
significant correlation between the expressed level of the agreement with these two
statements, and the statements made by the students at the previous questions “Are
you familiar with the concepts of circular economy?”
For the first of the two statements, there is no such correlation. And regarding the
overall mean of M = 3.81, it can be noted that students are very well informed about
the environmental harms of traditional linear economy and its contrasting goals to
the goals of environmental protection. This is not coming as a surprise, regarding
that these harms nowadays are being accepted and thought at almost all levels of
education in the Republic of Serbia.

Table 1.2 Comparison of attitudes toward the environmental effects of linear and circular
economy approaches
Mean Standard deviation
Statement (M) (SD)
Linear economy is in direct conflict with the environmental 3.81 1.06
protection goals
Circular economy is in direct conflict with the environmental 1.99 1.2
protection goals
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 21

On the other hand, the aim was to examine whether the students that responded
positively to the question “Are you familiar with the concepts of circular economy?”
relate more to the environmental benefits of CE approach. On that note, they do.
There was statistically significant correlation observed when the T test has been
performed. Students that stated that they are familiar with the concept of the CE
gave answers with a mean result of M = 1.9 and SD = 1.18, for the second statement,
while the students that declared that they are not familiar with the CE, had a mean
result of M = 3.2 and SD = 0.84, that suggested T test to be done once again, and
statistically significant correlation with a p value of p < 0.05 was observed.
The following set of questions within this part of the survey was concentrated in
determining the practices student employ, in regard of their behaviour towards
waste separation and disposal; usage of resources, and other elements that are part
of the CE practices when companies are under consideration, in order to check
whether these practices can be reflected in the daily behaviour of the survey partici-
pants, regarding majority of them stated the familiarity with the issues of CE.
First subset of Likert items in this part of the survey, included six statements that
were dealing with properties of the goods and services, which participants consider
when they engage in acquiring specific products and services. Idea was to check
what determining factors are, for the participants, when they engage in making such
choices. Furthermore, the main intention was to determine whether knowing that
certain purchasing choices give more incentive for manufacturers to employ envi-
ronmentally friendly solutions with introducing circular way of thinking and CE
practices, is incentive for participants to choses products and services which would
encourage manufacturers to go towards that direction. Moreover, knowing the ben-
efits of choosing such products, the idea was to examine to what lengths are students
ready to go, in order to get the products, they want, and that fulfil their needs. At the
most extreme, the idea was to examine whether considering the knowledge, stu-
dents have about different production approaches and about environmental harms of
traditional linear way of production, can swing their purchasing habits to other pur-
chasing options that are more environmentally friendly.
These six statements mentioned are presented in the Table 1.3 with correspond-
ing mean and standard deviation.
What can be noted, while studying the mean results of the six statements is that
the quality of the product or the service, with a mean result of M = 4.65 ranked at
the top of the list as a main determining factor for making a final choice while decid-
ing between different goods and services. Second dominating factor for making
these decisions, considering participants within the survey, is a price with a mean
value of M = 4.12. What is encouraging is that participants stated as their third most
important factor when choosing between the products and services is an environ-
mental impact that the product or service is having, with a mean value of M = 3.55,
ranking before the brand of the manufacturer, which ranked last with the mean of
M = 3.09, and before environmental reputation of the brand which ranked fifth, with
the mean of M = 3.35. Regarding that the fourth ranked statement was “When pur-
chasing food/wardrobe/electronics/other goods/services, purchasing convenience is
one of the determining factors”, with a mean result of M = 3.44, it can be noted that,
22 N. Petrović et al.

Table 1.3 Determining factors influencing purchasing choices

Mean Standard
Statement (M) deviation (SD)
When purchasing food/wardrobe/electronics/other goods/services, 4.12 0.71
price is one of the determining factors
When purchasing food/wardrobe/electronics/other goods/services, 4.65 0.51
quality is one of the determining factors
When purchasing food/wardrobe/electronics/other goods/services, 3.55 1.02
environmental impact is one of the determining factors
When purchasing food/wardrobe/electronics/other goods/services, 3.44 1.09
purchasing convenience is one of the determining factors
When purchasing food/wardrobe/electronics/other goods/services, 3.35 1.1
environmental reputation of the brand is one of the determining
factors
When purchasing food/wardrobe/electronics/other goods/services, 3.09 1.23
the brand is one of the determining factors

participants of the survey are ready to forego that convenience in order to get prod-
ucts and services that are more environmentally friendly, but in a same time that
they are less interested in manufacturers brand environmental reputation.
Above mentioned statements were also compared by the answers classified by
the gender, and statistically significant correlation was found in how different gen-
ders answered the statement “When purchasing food/wardrobe/electronics/other
goods/services, environmental impact is one of the determining factors”, where par-
ticipants that declared themselves as of male gender had a mean result of M = 2.87
and SD = 1.06, while participants that declared themselves as of female gender had
a mean result of M = 3.71 and SD = 0.95 with a p value of p < 0.001. This leads to
the conclusion that for participants of the female gender, environmental impact of
their purchasing choices is of much higher importance and stronger determining
factor than it is for the participants of the male gender. Same applies for the impor-
tance of environmental reputation of the brand where the mean result for the respon-
dents of the female gender was M = 3.52 and SD = 1.02, while the mean result for
the participants of the male gender was M = 2.6 and SD = 1.12, statistically signifi-
cant correlation was found with a p value of p < 0.001. This is in line with the idea
Ruether (1975), Griffin (1978) and Merchant (1981) lay the foundation for, in terms
of different social roles gender take in different cultural settings, and specific rela-
tion between female gender and ecology, environment and nature, as well as argu-
mentation given by the authors Plumwood (2002) and Mellor (2007).
It is interesting to note that household income did not have a statistically signifi-
cant role in how students graded these statements.
With the following three statements, idea was to examine the importance of man-
ufacturers’ practices and how do these practices if at all do, influence purchasing
choices of the survey participants (Table 1.4).
It can be noted, by examining the mean result, in answering these three state-
ments that these issues are still not of highest interest for the survey participants,
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 23

Table 1.4 Companies’ practices and their influence on choices we make

Mean Standard
Statement (M) deviation (SD)
Sustainability factors influence my purchasing decisions 3.34 1.06
If I find out that the company is environmentally irresponsible, I stop 3.16 1.2
buying its products
It’s important for me to know, whether the company, whose product I 2.94 1.11
use, is basing their production on circular economy principles

when making purchasing choices. Sustainability factors, ranks highest among above
mentioned three determining factors with a mean of M = 3.34 and SD = 1.06.
Nevertheless, statistically significant correlation was observed, when the answers
of participants who strongly agree with the statement “When purchasing food/ward-
robe/electronics/other goods/services, environmental impact is one of the determin-
ing factors” were compared with the rest of the participants, when expressing their
level of agreement with the second statement “It’s important for me to know,
whether the company, whose products I use, is basing their production on circular
economy principles”. The participants that strongly agree with the statement “When
purchasing food/wardrobe/electronics/other goods/services, environmental impact
is one of the determining factors”, had a mean result of M = 4 and SD = 1.08, when
expressing their views for the statement “It’s important for me to know, whether the
company, which products I use, is basing their production on circular economy
principles”, while the rest of the participants had a mean result of M = 2.73 and
SD = 1. Statistically significant correlation was noted when T test was performed
and gave back the results with a p value of p < 0.001.
On this note, it can be concluded that the participants who care the most about
the environmental impacts that are occurring as a result of the manufacturer prac-
tices, care the most whether companies, which products they use, employ CE prin-
ciples or not. This might be due to the fact that, respondents for which determining
factor when making purchasing choices are environmental impacts of their choices,
understand environmental benefits of CE the most. On the other hand, although
sustainability factor has a higher mean value, there is no such correlation found in
the answers, probably because sustainability concepts are something that all the
participants are very well familiar with.
In the following subset of statements, the idea was to examine the current daily
practices and habits that would reflect participants’ behaviour that students employ
in regard to how they approach the energy resources, waste generation and disposal.
The statements are presented in Table 1.5, not in order of appearance, but by the
rank of the obtained answers’ mean value. Starting from the statements that had
strongest level of agreement by the participants, and finishing with the statements
that participants had strongest level of disagreement. Interpretation of the results is
provided next.
Comparing the gained results, it can be noted that ten statements had a mean
result higher than 4, meaning that, participants express a strong agreement, with
these practices. Moreover 21 of the statements had a mean result higher than 3.5
24 N. Petrović et al.

Table 1.5 Environmental practices that reflect CE principles employed by the survey participants
Mean Standard
Statement (M) deviation (SD)
I check whether the lights are turned off when I am leaving the 4.75 0.65
room
If the distance is short, I avoid using my car and rather choose to 4.66 0.75
walk or use the bicycle instead
When my electronic utilities stop working, firstly I try to fix them 4.62 0.73
before buying new ones
When I print my documents, I use two-sided printing option 4.56 0.73
I turn on the washing machine, only when it is full 4.55 0.82
I turn on the dish washer, only when it is full 4.55 0.78
I use energy saving light sources 4.51 0.79
I use reusable food and liquid containers, when I am having my 4.42 0.8
meal outdoors
I would try to decrease my ecological footprint, if I would have 4.38 0.83
more knowledge on how to do it
I try to donate old wardrobe, before I decide to dispose it 4.19 1.19
My water heater is set up to economical temperature maintainer 3.77 1.35
I don’t take flyers that are being distributed on the streets, because 3.74 1.39
that way I encourage their additional printing
I try to reuse or fix my old wardrobe, before I decide to buy a new 3.73 1.24
one
My refrigerator is set up to economical temperature maintainer 3.71 1.33
I pay the utility bills electronically over the internet 3.71 1.44
I don’t buy bottled water, because I rather use my reusable bottle 3.65 1.4
I try to use my car as less that I can 3.64 1.36
During the winter, I turn off the heating in the rooms that I am not 3.62 1.53
using at the moment
I try to use public transportation as much as I can 3.61 1.51
I would be ready to pay the higher price for the product that has 3.57 1.09
environmentally friendly properties
I try to donate old electronic utilities, before I decide to dispose 3.56 1.32
them
I regularly separate household waste coming from food products, 3.34 1.27
preparing it for recycling
I regularly separate household waste by categories for recycling 3.31 1.38
I regularly separate old wardrobe, preparing it for recycling 3.26 1.37
I use recycled paper 3.18 1.36
I regularly separate household waste coming from e-products, 2.97 1.37
preparing it for recycling
When my electronic utilities stop working, firstly I try to sell them 2.87 1.52
before buying new ones
I use recycled printer tonner 2.53 1.42
I try to find suitable sharing passenger transport services, before I 2.13 1.45
use my car, for greater distances
(continued)
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 25

Table 1.5 (continued)

Mean Standard
Statement (M) deviation (SD)
I try to sell my old wardrobe, before I decide to buy a new one 2.05 1.36
I tried to use some of the sharing services that rent kitchen 1.45 0.94
appliances

which can be considered that on average students expressed agreement and strong
agreement with these statements. If statements that had mean value less than 3 are
analysed it can be noted that there are just six such statements. Two out of the six
such statements, are in regard to some form of sharing services. This is not such a
big surprise, regarding that market for such services is not still really developed in
the Republic of Serbia, and that service providers such as FlixBus are just entering
the local market. Same applies for the two statements that regard the selling of old
products such as an old electronic ones and old wardrobe. There are new different
options that are becoming popular for both of these, like programs that companies
offer when electronic devices are in question like exchange services “old for new”,
or programs that typically fashion companies offer and market as environmentally
friendly “bring your old wardrobe for recycling and get a discount for the next pur-
chase” (Weber et al., 2017).
More importantly, while analysing the results through cross tabulation and per-
forming the T test, the statistically significant correlation was found, when compar-
ing the answers of participants that expressed a strong agreement with the statement
that the determining factor when buying a product for them is an environmental
impact that product has, and their willingness to pay more for the product that has
better environmental properties. Participants that strongly agree with the first state-
ment had a mean result of M = 4.46 with SD = 0.88 and that showed statistically
significant correlation with a p value of p < 001, while the group that didn’t express
strong agreement with the first statement had a mean result for the second statement
of M = 3.39 and SD = 1.09. This leads to the conclusion that those who take into
consideration the environmental effects of the goods they are buying, are ready to
put additional effort if needed when acquiring such goods and services.
Again here, it is interesting to note, as in previous example, that this is being true
regardless of the household income that participants stated, regarding the statisti-
cally significant correlation was not found when comparing these two answers.
When analysing the results of this part of the survey another statement comes to
an attention, and can be used as useful segway into the third part of the survey, as an
introduction to the matter. That statement being “I would try to decrease my eco-
logical footprint, if I would have more knowledge on how to do it” regarding the
results of a mean M = 4.38 and SD = 0.83, it can be noted that this emphasises the
need for additional educational content dealing in this matter. That’s the additional
reason, why the next part of the survey examines the needs for education for CE in
tertiary level of education.
26 N. Petrović et al.

1.4.3 On a Future Behavioural Change and Education

for Circular Economy

In the third part of the survey, the idea was to examine, why some of the practices
mentioned, participants of the survey don’t employ, and what could motivate them,
to go an extra step, and start conducting them. Most importantly this is where it was
tried to examine whether there is a link between the education, and CE principles.
Moreover, the idea was to establish whether education for sustainable development
and better education in general about CE can improve daily routines, activities and
general conduct in accordance to CE principles.
The statements are presented in Table 1.6, as in previous case, not in order of
appearance, but by the rank of the obtained answers mean value. Starting from the
statements that had strongest level of agreement by the participants, and finishing
with the statements that participants had strongest level of disagreement. Discussion
of the results will follow.
At this point of the survey, results will be interpreted starting from the statements
that had the lowest mean result, in order to start examining the results from the fac-
tors that are considered the least influential when the daily practices of the respon-
dents are in question. It can be noted that last four statements in Table 1.6 had a
mean resulted M < 3, meaning that respondents disagreed with them at least to some
extent if not fully.
Several issues can be noted by examining these statements, firstly that the envi-
ronmental behaviour of their peers is not something that is influencing the deci-
sions, choices and practices of respondents M = 2.61.
Secondly, same can be said for their wider surroundings, regarding that the state-
ment “Some of the things mentioned in the second part of the survey, I don’t do,
because “nobody does it” had a mean result of M = 2.32.
Thirdly, it can be noted that the respondents are aware of the positive environ-
mental impact that practices that were stated in the second part of the survey have,
regarding that the mean result of the obtained answers for the statement “Some of
the things mentioned in the second part of the survey I don’t do, because I don’t
believe that it has a positive environmental impact” was M = 2.27. This leads to the
conclusion that participants of the survey are aware of the positive impact these
practices have, and do not have to be additionally persuaded in order to start or
continue conducting them.
The statement with the lowest mean value of M = 2.1, tries to examine whether
brother cultural context, and surroundings support for the specific practices has an
influence or not when making these decisions, and regarding such a low mean score,
it can be noted that it doesn’t.
Regarding that all four of these statements deal with the issue of the social sur-
rounding of the participants, it can be concluded collectively out of the results for
these four statements, that the peer pressure, close and broader surrounding doesn’t
have an effect on respondents’ environmental behaviour, once they believe that
these practices do really have a positive environmental impact, which is the case
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 27

Table 1.6 Beyond environmental practices – reasons and motivational factors that can
influence change
Standard
Mean deviation
Statement (M) (SD)
Implementing principles of circular economy improves the state of the 4.84 0.43
environmental wellbeing
For better implementation of circular economy principles, change of 4.79 0.5
perception coming from the general public must be achieved, through
education
Implementing principles of circular economy contributes to general 4.79 0.5
societal and economic development
I believe that environmental education and education for sustainable 4.67 0.57
development must include education for circular economy
I believe that education for circular economy has to have more space 4.58 0.64
devoted to it within the curriculum of tertiary education
I believe that education for circular economy encourages 4.45 0.82
implementation of circular economy principles
Some of the things mentioned in the second part of the survey I don’t 3.96 1.22
do, because there is no suitable infrastructure that would allow me to
contribute in that manner to environmental protection
Implementing principles of circular economy increases the profit for 3.92 0.96
companies
Some of the things mentioned in the second part of the survey I don’t 3.75 1.29
do regularly, because I didn’t know, they have negative environmental
impact
Some of the things mentioned in the second part of the survey I don’t 2.61 1.58
do regularly, because it’s not common among my peers
Some of the things mentioned in the second part of the survey I don’t 2.32 1.5
do, because “nobody does it”
Some of the things mentioned in the second part of the survey I don’t 2.27 1.31
do, because I don’t believe that it has a positive environmental impact
Some of the things mentioned in the second part of the survey I don’t 2.1 1.44
do regularly, because other people around me don’t do, and I wouldn’t
have a support for such conduct

when CE practices are in question judging by the rest of obtained responses. This
can be noted by analysing the results of the first nine statements that all had the
mean result higher than 3.75, which testifies that issues that the statements deal
with, have some or strong influence towards the respondents’ behaviour.
First of such statements being “Some of the things mentioned in the second part
of the survey I don’t do regularly, because I didn’t know, they have negative envi-
ronmental impact” with a mean value of M = 3.75 suggests that the reasons for not
engaging in some of the practices, is simply a lack of knowledge about their envi-
ronmental benefits and it ties with CE. This emphasizes the need for two things,
firstly the need for associating such practices to CE, and secondly the need for dis-
seminating the knowledge about their environmental benefits and waste
28 N. Petrović et al.

management benefits. Hence emphasizing the need for better education on some of
the issues. Along the same lines the following statement “Some of the things men-
tioned in the second part of the survey I don’t do, because there is no suitable infra-
structure that would allow me to contribute in that manner to the environmental
protection” with a mean result of M = 3.92 emphasizes the need for better infra-
structure that would support the easier implementation of the CE practices and
enabling all the groups of society to contribute to CE causes.
Following up this statement was the statement dealing with the issue of profits
companies make that employ CE approaches in their production lines. There was an
idea to check whether respondents are aware, that companies that engage in CE
practices make higher profits in comparison to their competitors that don’t imple-
ment the CE approach as noted by Lacy and Rutqvist (2016). And it can safely be
concluded that respondents are aware of that fact, regarding the mean result of
M = 3.96. Meaning that information about that is out there, and that educational
process is good in communicating that message across to students. Which is encour-
aging fact, and could lead potentially to generations that are motivated, once start-
ing their entrepreneur endeavours, to incorporate CE approaches.
The previous was confirmed even more firmly by the following statement
“Implementing principles of circular economy increases the profit for companies”,
that had mean result of M = 4.45. Such a high result of the mean, emphasizes the
need for the increased number of classes that deal with the CE, regarding the respon-
dents’ answers, removing any dilemmas on the issue, if any were left. Concluding
in essence that if change towards circular thinking and to CE as a whole is some-
thing that society in general wants to achieve, such a change must be back pinned
by the educational system as a whole, and especially by higher education. And it can
be added to that, that respondents feel the same thing not just in binary sense,
whether CE education has to be represented or not within the higher education cur-
riculum. They made clear, almost unified answer to that question. It is rather the
question of, after achieving the introduction of CE concepts in education, how to
enable CE to be covered to the higher extent than now, in terms of space and time
reserved for CE within the curriculum, in terms of quantity of courses and classes
dealing with the issues and devoted to CE. It is clear that it has to be to the larger
extent than in status quo regarding the mean result M = 4.58.
Mean result of M = 4.67, with the SD = 0.57 for the statement “I believe that
environmental education and education for sustainable development must include
education for circular economy”, allows noticing that the participants of the survey
not only understand the connection between environmental education and education
for sustainable development and education for CE, but also find it inseparable. This
again emphasis the need for CE education in this instance as well.
The second highest ranked mean result of M = 4.79 was found when analysing
results for two of the statements. One being “For better implementation of circular
economy principles, change of perception coming from the general public must be
achieved, through education” and the other being “Implementing principles of cir-
cular economy contributes to general societal and economic development”, such a
high mean result can be contributed to participants’ understanding of the influence
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 29

education has, regarding that themselves are undergoing the process of acquiring
higher education degree, meaning that they know what kind of influence education
left on them, and to what personal attitude changes have they undergone because of
it. Reflecting on that it seems that participants believe that same influence and expo-
sure to that kind of education wouldn’t leave general public immune to same such
changes, relaying, off course on the assumption, that general public is susceptible to
same attitude changes as someone who is undergoing the educational process in
higher education, once the right information are presented to them.
The other statement with a same mean result of M = 4.79, “Implementing prin-
ciples of circular economy contributes to general societal and economic develop-
ment” allows noticing that the students link better education to social and economic
progress. This might be because of their general belief that education leads to such
progress, or/and that the social and economic benefits coming out of implementing
CE practices lead to the same result.
The highest-ranking statement with the mean value of M = 4.84 was
“Implementing principles of circular economy improves the state of the environ-
mental wellbeing”. Several notions have to be underlined at this point.
Firstly, this is the only statement with such high mean result, where all the par-
ticipants of the survey, almost unanimously expressed the strong agreement with a
statement.
Secondly this means that during their participation within the survey, even the
students that stated that they are not familiar with the concept of CE, during the
course of the survey, they got familiar with the concept of CE, and got certain level
of understatement of its principles, goals and practices. Meaning even the survey
had educational component to it, and by itself provided one more evidence of the
importance of the education.
Still, even with such a high mean, there was a statistically significant correlation
noted in how these two groups answered to this statement. The group that stated at
the beginning of the survey that they didn’t know what CE was, expressed their
agreement with the mentioned statement with a mean result of M = 4 and SD = 0.89,
while the group that stated at the beginning of the survey that they know what CE is
expressed their agreement with the statement with a mean result of 4.90 and
SD = 0.3 and with a statistically significant correlation of p value, p < 0.001.
Finally, this also provides one more conclusion, the one being, that the students
that participated in the survey understand the positive environmental effects of CE
and better resource management and the increase in their usage efficiency in pro-
duction process, as well as the benefits of better waste management.

1.5 Discussion and Conclusion

For the purposes of the discussion all the statistically significant correlations and
their values found during the research will be listed firstly. During the research fol-
lowing correlations were noted:
30 N. Petrović et al.

• Students that are familiar with the concept of the CE recognise that CE is less
harmful towards the environment than linear economy (p < 0.05)
• Participants of the female gender, environmental impact of their purchasing
choices is of much higher importance and stronger determining factor than it is
for the participants of the male gender (p < 0.001)
• Participants of the female gender, environmental reputation of the brand of their
purchasing choices is of much higher importance and stronger determining fac-
tor than it is for the participants of the male gender (p < 0.001)
• Participants who strongly agree that environmental impact is one of the deter-
mining factors for them when making choices between the different options care
more whether the manufacturer of the goods is basing its production on CE prin-
ciples (p < 0.001).
• Participants who strongly agree that environmental impact is one of the deter-
mining factors for them when making choices between the different options are
ready to pay more for a product with such properties (p < 0.001)
• Students that were familiar with the concept of the CE believe more in the
improvements of environmental state and wellbeing by implementing CE prin-
ciples in business (p < 0.001).
In regard of the first correlation noted, it can be concluded that knowledge is a
quintessential factor in creating desired awareness levels that are needed in chang-
ing the overall firstly attitudes and as a result of that consequentially behaviour. Put
more simply, people have to know in order to create a change of attitude and in order
to that change of the attitude results in behaving differently.
Additionally, this correlation testifies of both, the efficacy of the higher educa-
tion for CE and education for sustainable development, and their importance in
transitioning from linear to CE and in transitioning from linear to circular thinking.
In regard to second and third statistical correlation observed, discussion on gen-
der roles and their views when environment is at stake can be opened once again,
though this was not the main idea of this chapter, it has to be noted that these find-
ings of our research confirmed previous research “that females generally stressed
that the protection of nature and the environment is an important aspect of human
existence” (Borojević et al., 2017a, b; Eisler et al., 2003). So, it remains for the
future research to determine how to bring male gender to the same level of interest
in the subject of relation of: our actions – environmental effects, level at which
female gender already is.
In regard to fourth statistical correlation observed, it can be noted that partici-
pants that make decisions based on the environmental effects of their choices, know
the environmental benefits of introducing CE principles in production process,
hence care more whether such principles are incorporated into choices they make.
Meaning that from knowledge, and consequently education for CE can improve
environmental choices people make. Simultaneously, this is beneficial for the manu-
facturers as well, regarding that this can prove that does who care recognize the
extra efforts put by companies to bring more quality and less environmentally harm-
ful products to the consumer. In the same manner this means that this fact should be
1 The Role of Higher Education in Transition to a Circular Economy: Journey… 31

a motivational factor, for companies to introduce CE principles into their conducts

regarding it will be recognized and rewarded by consumers.
Overall, this means that education for CE and sustainability is overarching factor
from which the whole three: environment, population and companies benefit.
Fifth correlation can simply be interpreted as additional evidence for what was
noted in the fourth one. Regarding those participants that make decisions based on
the environmental effects their choices have are ready to pay more for such products
and services, means that there is an additional reward waiting for those who recog-
nize the needs of environmentally aware consumers, and again that from the educa-
tion for CE and sustainability, all stakeholders have benefits.
Finally, the sixth and in a same time last statistical correlation noted testifies the
most about the importance of education for CE and education for sustainability.
Firstly, as explained in the previous section of the paper, the statement “Implementing
principles of CE improves the state of the environmental wellbeing” was the highest-­
ranking statement with the mean value of M = 4.84. Meaning that educating people
about specific benefits CE has, leads them to appreciate its benefits more in com-
parison to people who do not possess such knowledge. This once again flags the
education as a quintessential factor for the change that the planet needs.
In conclusion state of the environment that planet is facing now, is a direct result
of human activity. It was never so evident that we live in Anthropocene as now.
Human dominated era, has resulted in a massive environmental degradation and a
decrease in quality of life for all the species inhabiting planet earth. Most of the
human environmental impact is a result of economic progress achieved through
firstly agricultural development and secondly through industrial development. That
progress and development was driven on the back of the linear ways of production
that safeguard little if at all the environment. Meaning that it must be concluded that
old ways of linear economic development must be abolished. At the same time, the
way of thinking that led the humans to this state has to be abolished as well, and
changed with more environmentally friendly options. Hence in that transition, this
paper proposes taking “a yellow brick road” that should transfer planet’s progress to
sustainable practices such as CE offers, as well as adopting the circular way of mind.
The survey presented in the paper shows that the education and more specifically
higher education has a means to provide necessary circumstances for the planet to
undergo such change, by changing the traditional curriculum evolving around linear
practices, to the one that shifts the emphasis to the CE and circular practices.
The obtained preliminary results from our research, encouraged us and other
researchers to continue exploring this area of wider implementation of CE in higher
education as necessary part of transformation of linear economy to CE. Also, as a
result of our study one that must be stressed above others is that education for CE
and education for the sustainability are not only effective ways to achieve such a
transition, but also, they might be the drivers of such transition, because if we view
the road to a sustainable society as a necessary project of civilization then we could
conclude as authors Cvijović et al. (2021) had proven in their research that if to the
contrary neglecting all of the stakeholder’s interests, could lead to a complete
32 N. Petrović et al.

project downfall and as so, it should never be considered as a possibility when con-
sidering successful project management.

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Chapter 2
Green Human Resource Management
in Circular Economy and Sustainability

Jelena Cvijović

Abstract It is already widely known that the world is facing a serious and difficult
struggle against climate change and environmental degradation. As a result of con-
tinuous efforts of scientists and researchers to find a solution to these problems, two
fields developed in the last couple of years: circular economy and green human
resource management. Although these two concepts received substantial amount of
attention lately, it is clear that circular economy and green human resource manage-
ment evolved in opposite directions. Referring to the gap existing in literature, the
aim of this chapter is to explore the human aspect of circular economy, specifically
green human resource management. With the intention of contributing to better
understand the human aspect of circular economy, this chapter aims to establish the
relationship between circular economy, green human resource management and
sustainability.

Keywords Green human resource management · Circular economy ·

Sustainability

2.1 Introduction

Climate change and environment degradation are burning issues of our modern
world. Scientists agree that without a doubt, the main contributors of these problems
are human activities (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014). In order
to overcome these challenges, European Commission (2019) adopted The European
Green Deal – A new growth strategy with the aim of making European Union’s
economy sustainable, by transforming it “into a modern, resource-efficient and

J. Cvijović (*)
Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia
e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 41

Switzerland AG 2023
V. Obradović (ed.), Sustainable Business Change,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23543-6_2
42 J. Cvijović

competitive economy”. In 2020, European Commission adopted a new Circular

Economy Action Plan which is the main block of the above-mentioned strategy.
Successful transition to green economy will require qualified workforce, and in that
sense, people will need to acquire special skills, which will allow them to find jobs
in the new economy (European Commission, 2020). Although this Action Plan
highlights the importance of human resources in this transition, it falls short in
defining the actual human resource practices related to transition towards circular
economy. The concept of circular economy has become a popular topic in recent
years among scientists as well as politicians, governments, policymakers, corpora-
tions, etc. For instance, back in 1996, Germany was the first country to legislate
“Closed substance cycle and waste management Act” (Matten, 1996), after which
Japan also incorporated circular concept into “Basic law for establishing a recycling-­
based society” in 2000 (Hongo, 2016). The circular economy concept in China is
defined by “Circular economy promotion Law on the People’s Republic of China”
in 2009 (Lieder & Rashid, 2016).
With linear model of economy characterized by over-exploitation of natural
resources, vast accumulation of waste and driven only by economic benefits, the
world faces serious problems threating to cause irreversible damage to our eco-­
system. The concept of circular economy is invented as alternative to current take-­
make-­waste linear model with the aim to minimize the accumulation of waste
through design of products and materials that will stay in use longer (The Ellen
MacArthur Foundation, 2015). These goals can be interpreted as three main actions
in circular economy, better known as 3Rs – reduction, reuse and recycle (Ghisellini
et al., 2016). Although the concept of circular economy is in many cases associated
closely with recycling, according to Stahel (2014) this action ought to be the last
solution, since recycling begins at the end of product life, while the circular philoso-
phy refers to the very beginning of product life. 4R could be found in European
Union Waste Framework Directive, with additional R that stands for recover
(European Commission, 2008). Some authors extended this 4R framework, adding
one or more activities. For example, Sihvonen and Ritola (2015) proposed 6Rs,
while Potting et al. (2017) have gone even further with 9R framework. This ambi-
tious idea of transforming world’s economy into circular one is supported by num-
bers. Estimated by Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2015), shifting towards growth
within model could decrease European resource spending by 32% or €600 billion,
and generate €1.8 trillion in other economic benefits by 2030.
As mentioned earlier, reviewing the available literature in this particular field, it
is clear that the aspect of human resource management in circular economy has
been largely neglected (Jabbour et al., 2019b). So far, researches have mainly
focused their interest in topic such as: production sector (Koh et al., 2017; Winkler,
2011) including eco-design (Mendoza et al., 2017), green public procurement (Liu
et al., 2019a, b; Witjes & Lozano, 2016; Zhu et al., 2013), waste management
(Luttenberger, 2020; Salmenperä et al., 2021; Tsai et al., 2020), circular economy
indicators (Howard et al., 2018; Yadav et al., 2020), limitations of circular economy
concept (Korhonen et al., 2018), eco-industrial parks (Martín Gómez et al., 2018;
Wang et al., 2020; Wenbo, 2011) and business incubators (Millette et al., 2020).
Other documents randomly have
different content
hand, a faulty scratch or scrape cannot be rectified, hence the greater need
for care.
The manner of handling the knife (an ordinary penknife, or a specially
constructed blade, may be used) differs a good deal in individual workers,
but the safer manner is perhaps to keep the knife well up and nearly vertical.
Avoid outlines, allowing the different degrees of tint to separate one object
from another, as one would do in a wash drawing, and proceed somewhat in
the manner illustrated by the accompanying figures.

A MISTY MOONRISE.
(Original 4 x 2½.)
 (Original 4 x 2½.)
One of the difficulties to be guarded against is the too great evidence of
scraping, the knife marks often revealing themselves much more plainly in
the reproduction than in the original, also the too sudden contrast between
the full tint and the scratched half-tint. Notice in the two accompanying
sketches on diagonal grain boards, by Mr. C.J. Vine, how the full tint, when it
meets the half-tint, is broken up by slight irregular scratches; especially is
this seen in the sky of "A Misty Moonrise." In this sketch, sky, sea, and the
sails of the two more distant boats, are almost entirely made up by the
diagonal tint and the scraped half-tint. Only in the hulls of the boats and the
sails of the nearest boat is pen-work introduced, the lines being drawn
diagonally from right to left, at right angles to the grain of the full tint.[6]
 PEN AND INK ON BLACK LINE SCRAPE BOARD. FIRST STAGE.
(Original 5¾ x 3.)

PEN AND INK ON BLACK LINE SCRAPE BOARD WITH WHITE

SCRAPED OUT.
(Original 5½ x 3¼.)
A more rapid way of obtaining an effect can hardly be imagined than by
these "scraped" boards, and in good hands, or with practice, the effects
obtainable are often very charming. The drawings should, as a rule, be not
greatly larger than the reproduction intended—a reduction of one-third or
one-half being about the best. All the different kinds of black grain boards
are treated in the same manner as above described.
 PENCIL ON VERTICAL GRAIN WHITE SCRAPE BOARD.
By C.J. Vine. (Original 4 x 3.)
Now the use of white grained boards is less a scraping method than pure line
drawing, much of the "line" being almost mechanically produced by drawing
upon the "ribbed" surface with pencil. We know if we place a piece of paper
upon a rough, cloth-covered book and rub a blacklead pencil over it we get a
mottled effect, the blacks and whites of which are reproductions of the
projections and depressions on the book cover; so if we draw on a ribbed
surface clay-board with pen and ink, the ink follows elevation and depression
in one continuous pen stroke. If, however, we draw with a black pencil,
without undue pressure, the pencil passes from one elevation to another, or
from one "rib" to another, and thus forms a broken or dotted line, which,
although in actual colour as black as an ink line, yet being broken and not
solid, will reproduce lighter or greyer. A number of adjacent pencil lines
would therefore produce a flat tint of dots, very similar to the tint of a "half-
tone" block or a "shading medium," in addition to which, and upon which, ink
lines may be made to produce deeper blacks. On the accompanying
illustration are pencil marks and ink strokes drawn on a piece of grained
white board, the grain or "ribs" being vertical. To the left, a single detached
pencil stroke forming dotted lines; next are adjacent pencil lines constituting
a grained tint, something very like the full tone of the black-grained blocks
before considered, and coarser or finer in proportion as the pencil is pressed
more or less heavily; next we have some pen and ink lines, the difference of
which will at once be seen; and finally, a mixture of pencil and pen, on which
the knife has subsequently been used to scratch some small lights. This
exhausts the practical possibilities of white grained scrape boards.

The accompanying sketches will show somewhat the kind of things

obtainable.
 PENCIL AND PEN ON VERTICAL LINE WHITE SCRAPE BOARD.
By C.J. Vine. (Original 4 x 3.)
Reduction causes a very marked improvement, and the drawings should be
looked at from time to time whilst in progress with a "diminishing" glass. An
indelible ink should be used, or one that does not penetrate but rests on the
surface: such as ivory-black, lamp-black, or Indian ink. Instead of pencil, a
stick of lithographic chalk will be of advantage. In the first place, the
greyness of pencil is deceptive, and reproduces blacker than we expect,
moreover pencil rubs and smears; not so lithographic chalk, which does not
rub, and is black. The scratching or scraping must be the final stage of a
drawing, as only solid pen marks can be put on the white board after the
grained clay surface has been removed.

Drawings in Pencil or Chalk on Rough

Papers.
By the foregoing description of pencil or chalk drawing on ribbed surfaces,
we see how a pencil drawing may be translated by an ordinary line zinco
block, instead of the more expensive half-tone process described in the
earlier chapters. The pencil or crayon point, in passing over a rough or
broken surface, forms a series of dots instead of a continuous line. The same
thing occurs when pencil is used on a rough surface drawing paper. Such
pencillings, being examined, are found to be lead marks, interspersed with
minute interstices of white paper, the whole giving a sort of grey tint of
greater or less intensity.
For broad sketchy effects such a drawing method is exceedingly valuable;
some very delightful things may be done without the least appearance of the
mechanical.

SEWARDSTONE MARSHES.
Drawing on Conté crayon on rough paper. (Original 6 x 4.)
As may be readily understood from the accompanying examples, such
drawings are best adapted for purely artistic impressions, and not for the
portrayal of detail.
Practically any paper may be used which is white, and whose surface is
sufficiently rough; some particular kinds, about to be mentioned, have
proved especially successful under experiment. Any material may be used to
draw with, preference being given to a black substance which will not smear
or rub on being touched.
A good "B" blacklead pencil has the advantage of being pleasant to handle,
and capable of being used with a sufficiently fine point to render some
details; it has, however, the decided disadvantage of "rubbing" with a very
little touching, and the strokes, although fairly intense, are not so black as
crayon; hence, in reproduction, many portions which were expected to come
out soft and delicate, reproduce much too black. We have, then, for our
selection, Hardmuth's or Conté's crayons, made in several degrees, and also
made into cedar-wood pencils—a cleaner and more handy form. Neither of
these is, unfortunately, free from the disadvantage of blurring when rubbed,
and will hence require to be fixed before being sent away; the photo-
engraver, in the press of his business, rarely failing to subject drawings to a
severe test.
Fixing may be best effected by treating the drawing with a solution of one
part pure gum mastic dissolved in seven parts methylated spirit.
In Lemercier's lithographic crayons we have a drawing medium which gives
as satisfactory results as the Conté or Hardmuth, and does not blur; it
therefore saves the trouble of fixing. Being greasy, they should be used in a
porte-crayon. They are made in three degrees as to hardness, the No. 1
being the hardest and best suited for drawing the limited amount of detail
which is possible with crayons.
So long as the drawing is not too heavily worked upon, a surprising
improvement is secured by reducing. A reduction of one-half is not too much.
As to the papers to be used, the following may be mentioned as only some
which I have tested, and which others have spoken well of, but there must
be a great many other rough surface materials well worth a trial.
Of the well-known Whatman papers, both the "Hot-pressed" and "Not," the
latter being, perhaps, preferable.
A French paper, Allongé, has a very pleasing surface grain, and may be used
on the right or wrong side with different results; the right side being the
rougher, and perhaps the better.
 CRAYON DRAWING ON ALLONGÉ PAPER.
Small whites in Chinese white. (Original 9 x 6.)
Next, we have Lalanne and Michallet or Ingres papers, and some examples
of crayon drawing on these are here given.
 CRAYON ON PYRAMID PAPER NO. 2.
Small whites in Chinese white. (Original 7 x 6.)
The most noticeable feature in these will be the lines, or grain, formed by the
texture of the paper; this grain is apparently more perceptible when vertical,
but if the paper is turned round so that the lines come into a horizontal
position, they are much less discernible in the finished sketch.
In many respects the effect of these papers is a good deal similar to that
gained by using the white lined clay-boards; the grain being, however, less
mechanical. In like manner the crayon sketch may be effectively helped by
the addition of pen and ink, or fine brush work. Scraping out, however, is not
within its capabilities; though Chinese white, if applied fairly solidly, may
successfully stop-out small lights or efface errors.
 CRAYON ON PYRAMID NO. 1.
(Original 9 x 6.)
Other papers which may be attempted are Arnold's drawing papers, rough
surface cartridge, various crayon papers, &c. Such houses as Penrose & Co.,
Amwell Street, E.C., London, or F.W. Devoe & C.T. Raynolds Co., of New York,
would probably supply patterns and information in this respect.
A paper known as Pyramid Grained paper has a granulated surface, breaking
the crayon marks into a succession of dots rather than broken lines, and
often yields very pleasing results; it is made in two varying degrees, No. 1
having a grain of 15,000 "pyramids" to the square inch, and No. 2, 9,000.
For a further variation in effect, a drawing may be executed in crayon or
pencil on a fairly smooth paper previously pressed into close contact with any
rough surface, such as sandpaper or canvas. The unsized side of a canvas for
oil painting, or the cover of a book, will answer the purpose; openness of
work, and the amount of ultimate reduction desirable, being depended upon
and controlled accordingly.
The following sketches, by Mr. C.J. Vine, on Michallet and Lallane papers (pp.
111, 113, 115, 117), are pure untouched crayon work, reproduced by zinc
line etching, so that these drawings may be safely entrusted to this cheapest
and least sympathetic process; though there can be little doubt that the
swelled gelatine would render fuller justice to work of this class.
 CHAPTER XII.
MECHANICAL AIDS TO DRAUGHTSMANSHIP—DRAWING AND
SKETCHING FROM NATURE.

T he various methods whereby illustrations may be made for reproduction

have now been reviewed, if not exhaustively, at least with sufficient
completeness to enable the reader to start making those actual experiments
in practice without which the most exact description is useless.
But thus far, with the exception of such cases in which it is possible to use a
photogram and reproduce it by "half-tone" process, some ability to draw,
some certain amount of native artistry on the part of the student, has been
taken for granted.
Now, while in wash drawings, crayon, or pencil sketches, "scrape" boards,
and the like, there must be some amount of instinctive artistic ability, not
only to guide the hand in execution but to govern taste, idea, and selection;
yet in simple line drawing with the pen, without any art knowledge or
technical ability, it may be possible to produce a perfectly reproducible
drawing, fulfilling in every way the essential duty of an illustration. And if this
be so, there is no reason why very many more writers should not illustrate
what they have to say, making matters more intelligible and producing a
more lasting impression.
For the purpose we shall require a photogram to commence with, and here is
a use and an application of photography not always fully realised or
appreciated. A man may be possessed of considerable taste and judgment in
the selecting of a view, or particular aspect of a building, and yet be utterly
lacking in ability to put down on paper correctly what he sees; that is, he is
not a good draughtsman. No particular taste in selecting a position may be
needed, or possessed, and yet it may be desirable to portray an object, or
scene, and it is to such men that the camera becomes so important as an
indirect means to illustration. Indirect because, as already pointed out, the
reproduction of a photogram by half-tone process (the only way of
reproducing a photogram for type machine printing) is attended with
difficulties, and cannot always be resorted to. The half-tone block is not
suitable for the most rapid printing in newspapers, &c.; its results are not all
that could be wished; it is more expensive and takes longer to make, apart
from such other drawbacks pointed out in an earlier chapter. Therefore it is
desirable to see how we can utilise a photogram so as to produce the
simpler, and often more acceptable, line block from it, and do this by a more
mechanical method than re-drawing, or copying from it.
Probably the first easy method that will suggest itself will be to make a
tracing from it on tracing paper, and then with carbon paper transfer it to the
desired card, &c.
There is no objection to such a course, except that it is not always attended
with equal satisfaction. To begin with, a photogram is often so dark in parts
as to prevent our seeing many details through the tracing paper; also,
however careful, if we are tracing a face, the slight deviation in tracing over
the outlines and features, which is almost unavoidable, and further variations
when afterwards transferring, will often seriously interfere with the likeness—
presuming a likeness to be required.
 STUDY OF TREES.
Crayon drawing on Lalanne paper;
vertical grain. (Original 8 x 4½.)
An avoidance of error and saving of time may be effected by making a fairly
pale print and, having "fixed" it, cover the back with the scribble of a blue
pencil or chalk.
We can now place this down upon the card board or paper to be drawn
upon, and carefully go over everything that is to be drawn with a sharp hard
point, which will leave a blue outline sketch which can then be inked in, and
the blue need not be rubbed out afterwards as it will not appear in
reproduction.
In the same way the original photogram can be used with a piece of blue
carbon paper instead of chalking the back of the print. No attempt should be
made to draw in all the details of a photogram, but only such salient points
as may be required for illustration.
Another method is as follows:—Make the photogram in the ordinary way, but
on "plain salted paper," or "Matt silver sensitised paper," which has been
previously prepared by immersion for a short while in a solution of
ammonium chlorate, 100 grains; gelatine, 10 grains; water, 10 ounces.
The photogram is to be fixed and washed, toning being unnecessary; when
dry it can be drawn upon with a "fixed" or indelible black ink, carefully
putting in just what parts are needed and disregarding the rest of the
picture. As soon as the ink is dry, the print is immersed in a bath of mercury
bichlorate and alcohol, when the photogram will gradually disappear, leaving
the black ink lines on plain white paper. Nothing more is required beyond
mounting on card to fit it for reproduction. Of course corrections can be
made and stains, &c., be removed with Chinese white. Should it be desired to
restore the bleached photogram, it can be done by immersing in a weak
solution of soda hyposulphite.
The foregoing method is one given by Mr. C.G. Harper in his book "Drawing
for Reproduction"; it appears, however, needlessly elaborate, and I presume
mercury bichloride is intended and not bichlorate. Even with care the
photographic image is sometimes slow to get rid of, and will often refuse
altogether to leave the clear white blank we require.
 ADVANCING TWILIGHT.
Crayon drawing on Lalanne paper; horizontal grain. (Original 10½ x
6.)
A photographic print, however, on either albumenised or "Matt" paper will
certainly disappear utterly if subjected to the following bath, for which
formula I am indebted to Mr. E.J. Wall:—

Iodine 1 grain
Iodide of Potassium 10 grains
Cyanide of Potassium 20 "
Water 102 "

This is a similar solution as is used to remove ink-stains from linen, &c.

The print may also be bleached by sponging over with the following
preparation, recommended by W. Ethelbert Henry:—

Saturated Solution Iodine in Alcohol 1 part

" " Cyanide of Potassium in Water 2 parts
Water 2 "

After which the print is to be washed well for a few minutes.

Of course the reason for using a "fixed" ink in such processes is obvious.
Yet another method on similar lines, but even simpler in operation. A certain
photographic printing paper called "Ferro-prussiate" paper gives, on exposure
to light, a blue image, and only requires washing in water to "fix" or make it
permanent. This blue print can now be used for drawing upon, as in the
previous instance, only that the photographic image, being blue, does not
need to be bleached, and will not interfere with the reproduction of the black
lines drawn upon it.
If for any reason it be desired to get rid of the blue print, this can be
bleached by immersion in water containing a little common washing soda.

BEACHY HEAD.
Crayon drawing on Michallet paper, right side. (Original 8½ x 5½.)
Thus from a photogram of even the most elaborate subject an absolutely
correct drawing may be made fit for reproduction without the illustrator
having any knowledge or skill as a draughtsman.
By placing the unskilled in such a position, photography appears to have
removed the last obstacle to the more frequent use of appropriate
illustration; and the ease with which both pleasing and accurate outlines can
be made should render inexcusable the shamefully untruthful "sketches"
which every day appear in newspaper and magazine.
The method of drawing on thin transfer paper with transfer ink, and then
placing the drawing direct on to a zinc block, hardly needs to be referred to
here. Such a simple means of placing the image on the zinc and then etching
is necessarily of limited application, neither reduction nor enlargement is
possible, and photography is not employed; it is merely a mechanical etching
of the zinc in all parts not protected by the ink image, as transferred from the
drawing in transfer ink, and is used for very rapid and imperfect portraits,
&c., in the commoner class of newspaper work.
And now, whatever be the special characteristics and advantages of the
camera, it is by no means my intention to advocate its use where even only a
moderate amount of native artistic ability exists; and, in all probability, the
possessor of such ability will more frequently prefer to use his sketch-book
than his camera—and this is as it should be. There is always something of
freshness about a first original sketch, be it in whatsoever medium, a quality
which the most careful copy fails to repeat.
This brings us to consider whether it would not be well to make our first
impressions or sketches in such a manner that they could be handed to the
process worker right away; and we shall then have to consider what medium
and what materials are suitable for "drawing from life." Certainly the ordinary
pencil sketch, as taken from the pocket sketch-book, would not do. In the
first place such sketches would rarely be vigorous enough, and whatever
vigour they possessed would be sadly diminished by rubbing and the
pressure of the opposite page.

A SUSSEX LANE.
 Crayon drawing on Michallet paper, wrong side of paper used.
(Original 9 x 4½.)
Very few have successfully drawn from life in pen and ink. Some few well-
known caricaturists and figure draughtsmen do so, and attain success purely
through their splendid dash and spirit, but such things are forbidden the
average man with whom the pen drawing is a matter of delicate care. But
there seems no reason why the lithographic crayon on rough paper should
not be thus utilised, and slight "touchings-up" added afterwards. In this way
we might often have ready for immediate reproduction a sketch containing
some of that spontaneous feeling which is so noticeable when glancing
through the pages of an artist's sketch-book.
I have noticed in some a very false idea existing with regard to draughting in
a picture with pencil before using the pen and ink. Now I do not hesitate to
say that the careful sketching in of the subject in pencil is essential to all
except the genius, and I am not writing for the genius, who knows more
than I can tell him and can dispense with what he does not know. There is
nothing to be ashamed of in drawing first in pencil; one might perhaps be
able to draw in quite as correctly with the pen, but the advantage of a pencil
outline as a guide is that it gives more time and leisure thought for carefully
considering the pen work before putting it in. By this course there is less
danger of confused hesitating lines. From the first let the ink lines be clear,
distinct, and black; no "messing about," to quote Mr. Blackburn's expressive
phrase; be decided as to the sort of shading you are going to put in a certain
place and put it there, once for all, and don't touch it again. Avoid, by
constant self-restraint, over-elaboration or too much laboured detail; let each
part of the drawing be finished from the first, and do not return to it and
work on it over and over again. And the first step to ensuring this precision
will be by carefully pencilling everything, indicating only where shading is to
come. When the pen and ink drawing is completed, carefully erase the pencil
marks with bread crumbs; do not use indiarubber, which will be sure to
abrade the surface, and probably break the continuity of the ink lines.
As we become more conversant with the possibilities of the zinco process, an
intimacy which can only be brought by an experience built up of experiments
and failures, we shall find it possible to sometimes leave in certain of the
pencilling (allowing, of course, for their coming up as black as ink), but for
the beginner such a practice is not recommended, as it is nearly sure to end
in disappointment.
There are many interesting modifications of recognised means which are
possible to the experienced—especially the production of what may be
termed "mixed drawings," either for reproduction in half-tone or line,
drawings in which in order to produce less ordinary effects, wash, pen, and
pencil are employed combinedly; but, by the time my gentle reader has
reached a stage when he may advisedly attempt such excursions from the
orthodox path, he will have passed beyond the sphere of this book and will
be entitled to that liberty which art permits to its practitioners.
In the meantime let me ask the student to repress for a time his more lofty
aspirations, and content himself with patiently learning to produce—not a
charming sketch, a delightful drawing, but—a drawing in which there is as
much of artistic or pictorial merit as is compatible with the requirements of
the process of reproduction. If you are drawing professedly for reproduction,
no blame can attach to you if you "bear in mind during the production of
your drawing the necessity of its making a good block, with as little sacrifice
of artistic quality as may be."
An exalted position as an art is not necessarily claimed for drawing or
painting for reproduction; but how much of that difficult-to-be-defined quality
which we call "artistic" exists in it, depends not so much upon the method,
the means, or the application, as it does on those who work at it and their
motive. Apart from this, viewed from the lowest aspect, its utility is beyond
question, and at the present time it is an application of fine art showing the
most vitality of any.
The books devoted to the subject which have already been written, have
perhaps given too much attention to the actual processes of reproduction—
they have not appealed to the illustrator; or else, while professing to be
books of instruction in practice, have dealt rather with the theory of
illustration and the comparison of styles. It seemed to me there was need for
a simple description of methods for the enlightening of a beginner: an
elementary guide; a first step; in short, a Handbook of illustration.
They are used and endorsed by the leading
Illustrators, Schools, Colleges and Institutes. Three-
fourths of the professional draughtsmen of this
country use no other drawing ink.
The manufacturers have never solicited a single
testimonial, yet the merits of the inks have called
forth endorsement from the most famous and
experienced users of drawing inks in various
professions, real masters of their arts. The following
are a few commendations:
Jo. Pennell, the celebrated pen artist of London, Eng.
—"There is no ink equal to it for half a dozen reasons.
From the time you open the bottle until you have put
all its contents on paper, you have no reason to find
fault with it."
A.B. Frost, the famous American illustrator, Convent,
N.J., U.S.A.—"I use a great deal of it, and it is
certainly the best."
E.W. Senior, C.E., Sydney, Australia.—"I cannot refrain
from letting you know how I appreciate your
'American Drawing Ink.' It is an article long been
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brand in the office—so pleased am I with it."
T.B. Norgate, Patent Attorney, Victoria, B.C.—"I have
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The Inks are as follows: Blacks—Two kinds.
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Prices—Small bottles, 25 cents each; half pints, $2
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Users are cautioned to refuse untried and
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Drawing Inks were first introduced in 1880, and
have hence stood the test of time unfailingly. Every
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G. GENNERT,
24 and 26 East 13th St. NEW YORK
PHOTOGRAPHY applied to the decoration of
China, Porcelain, Placques, Art Pottery and
Ceramic and Metallic Surfaces in general.

POST PAID, FIVE CENTS EXTRA

G. GENNERT, PUBLISHER
24 & 26 East 13th St. NEW YORK
 BY GEORGE FRITZ
VICE-DIRECTOR OF THE COURT AND IMPERIAL
STATE
PRINTING WORKS AT VIENNA

TRANSLATED BY E.J. WALL

FELLOW OF THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY

CONTAINING SIX FULL PAGE PLATES BY THE

IMPERIAL STATE PRINTING WORKS AT
VIENNA

T HIS book treats of the preparation of

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G. GENNERT, PUBLISHER
24 & 26 East 13th St. NEW YORK

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