Economía Circular en universidades del Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires. Barreras y oportunidades para su implementación
Circular Economy in universities from Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area. Barriers and opportunities for its implementation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47069/estudios-ambientales.v12i2.2780Palabras clave:
economía circular, instituciones de educación superior, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, diagnóstico, circular economy, higher education institutions, Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, diagnosisResumen
Las Instituciones de Educación Superior tienen un gran potencial para promover cambios significativos en la comunidad hacia la sustentabilidad a través de sus prácticas de investigación, formación, extensión, y operación de sus instalaciones. Este trabajo presenta un diagnóstico sobre cómo las universidades nacionales del Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires están adaptando sus estructuras institucionales y prácticas hacia la sustentabilidad, para identificar barreras y oportunidades para la implementación de prácticas de economía circular (EC). La muestra estuvo compuesta por 8 campus universitarios que representan el 50% de las universidades nacionales ubicadas en la zona de estudio. Para la evaluación se realizaron entrevistas a actores clave, y se analizaron documentación interna y publicada de las instituciones de educación superior (IES), fotografías y videos. En conjunto, las IES alcanzaron una puntuación de 2,03 puntos sobre un máximo de 6 puntos con respecto a la adopción de prácticas de EC. Las prácticas más implementadas son la virtualización y cierre de ciclos. La virtualización está relacionada con los cambios administrativos aplicados desde la pandemia de COVID-19. El cierre de ciclos se relaciona con la gestión de residuos y la reparación de muebles y dispositivos electrónicos. Si bien el puntaje general estimado fue bajo, se verificó que existen oportunidades relevantes para implementar la EC en las IES porque la mayoría de las y los entrevistados están familiarizados con el concepto de EC y desean implementar sus prácticas. Se identificaron barreras relacionadas con la formación, la resistencia a cambios en comportamiento de las y los usuarios y la falta de apoyo económico.
Abstract
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have enormous potential to promote sustainability through their research, training, outreach, and facility operations. This study assesses how national universities in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area are adapting their practices to promote sustainability, with a focus on identifying barriers and opportunities for implementing circular economy (CE) principles. Data were collected through interviews with key stakeholders, analysis of internal and public documents, and review of photographs and videos from the institutions. On a scale of 0 to 6, the universities scored an average of 2.03 in adopting CE practices. The most commonly implemented practices were "Virtualize," which refers to administrative changes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and "Loop," which involves waste management and the repair of furniture and electronic devices. Although the overall adoption score was low, most interviewees were familiar with the concept of CE and expressed a strong willingness to implement its practices, suggesting substantial opportunities for further adoption. Identified barriers to CE implementation include insufficient training, resistance to behavioral change, and a lack of financial support.
Citas
Amaral, A. R., Rodrigues, E., Gaspar, A. R., & Gomes, Á. (2020). A review of empirical data of sustainability initiatives in university campus operations. Journal of Cleaner Production, 250, 119558. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2019.119558
De Castro, R., & Jabbour, C. J. C. (2013). Evaluating sustainability of an Indian university. Journal of Cleaner Production, 61, 54–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2013.02.033
EMF-Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2013). Towards the Circular Economy. https://tinyurl.com/2oprp5yb
EMF-Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2015). Growth within a Circular Economy vision for a competitive Europe. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/growth-within-a-circular-economy-vision-for-a-competitive-europe
EMF-Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2019). Towards the Circular Economy.
Faitani, N., Galvan, L., & Bielsa, R. (2022). The contribution of the circular economy to the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda in Higher Education Institutions. In Handbook of Sustainability Science in the Future.
Galván, S. L., Faitani, N. G., Sosa, L. V., Lopez de Munain, D. N., & Bielsa, R. O. (2020). Comparative Analysis of the Environmental Performance of Latin American University Campuses: Methodological Approaches. In W. Leal Filho (Ed.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development. World Sustainability Series (pp. 717–732). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_43
INDEC-Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos. (2023). Censo nacional de población, hogares y viviendas 2022.
Jaber, J. O., Elkarmi, F., Alasis, E., & Kostas, A. (2015). Employment of renewable energy in Jordan: Current status, SWOT and problem analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 49, 490–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSER.2015.04.050
Kamran, M., Fazal, M. R., & Mudassar, M. (2020). Towards empowerment of the renewable energy sector in Pakistan for sustainable energy evolution: SWOT analysis. Renewable Energy, 146, 543–558. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RENENE.2019.06.165
Kumdokrub, T., Carson, S., & You, F. (2023). Cornell university campus metabolism and circular economy using a living laboratory approach to study major resource and material flows. Journal of Cleaner Production, 421, 138469. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2023.138469
Leal Filho, W., Amaro, N., Avila, L. V., Brandli, L., Damke, L. I., Vasconcelos, C. R. P., Hernandez-Diaz, P. M., Frankenberger, F., Fritzen, B., Velazquez, L., & Salvia, A. (2021). Mapping sustainability initiatives in higher education institutions in Latin America. Journal of Cleaner Production, 315, 128093. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2021.128093
Leal Filho, W. (2020). Living Labs for Sustainable Development: The Role of the European School of Sustainability Sciences and Research (pp. 3–9). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_1
Lozano, R., Ceulemans, K., Alonso-Almeida, M., Huisingh, D., Lozano, F. J., Waas, T., Lambrechts, W., Lukman, R., & Hugé, J. (2015). A review of commitment and implementation of sustainable development in higher education: results from a worldwide survey. Journal of Cleaner Production, 108, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2014.09.048
Mendoza, J. M. F., Gallego-Schmid, A., & Azapagic, A. (2019). A methodological framework for the implementation of circular economy thinking in higher education institutions: Towards sustainable campus management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 226, 831–844. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2019.04.060
Resolución CE N°1054/15 [Consejo Interuniversitario Nacional]. Plan Estratégico de Gestión Ambiental y Prevención de Riesgos. Mayo 20, 2015. https://www.cin.edu.ar/archivo.php
Resolución CE N°768/12 [Consejo Interuniversitario Nacional]. Programa Nacional de Universidades Sostenibles. Mayo 11, 2012. https://www.cin.edu.ar/archivo.php Rokicki, T., Perkowska, A., Klepacki, B., Szczepaniuk, H., Szczepaniuk, E. K., Bereziński, S., & Ziółkowska, P. (2020). The importance of higher education in the EU countries in achieving the objectives of the circular economy in the energy sector. Energies, 13(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174407
Schröder, P., & Albaladejo, M. (2020). The Circular Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean Opportunities for Building Resilience. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.13883.13603
SSPU-Subsecretaría de Políticas Universitarias. (2023). 2022 Anuario estadísticas Universitarias Argentinas. https://www.argentina.gob.ar/educacion/universidades/informacion/publicaciones/anuarios
Stephan, A., Muñoz, S., Healey, G., & Alcorn, J. (2020). Analysing material and embodied environmental flows of an Australian university — Towards a more circular economy. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 155, 104632. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RESCONREC.2019.104632
Tedesco, M., Simioni, F. J., Sehnem, S., Soares, J. F., & Coelho Junior, L. M. (2022). Assessment of the circular economy in the Brazilian planted tree sector using the ReSOLVE framework. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 31, 397–406. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SPC.2022.03.005
United Nations (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. https://bit.ly/3y1rbj0
UNDESA-United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2023). Sustainable transport. https://sdgs.un.org/topics/sustainable-transport
Valls-Val, K., Ibáñez-Forés, V., & Bovea, M. D. (2023). Tools for assessing qualitatively the level of circularity of organisations: Applicability to different sectors. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 36, 513–525. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SPC.2023.01.023
Yañez, P., Sinha, A., & Vásquez, M. (2020). Carbon footprint estimation in a university campus: Evaluation and insights. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/SU12010181
Yin, R. K. (2005). Case study research. Design and methods (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Zen, I. S., Subramaniam, D., Sulaiman, H., Saleh, A. L., Omar, W., & Salim, M. R. (2016). Institutionalize waste minimization governance towards campus sustainability: A case study of Green Office initiatives in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Journal of Cleaner Production, 135, 1407–1422. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2016.07.053
