Conference Agenda

. Increasing vehicle emissions are major causes of global warming which is the most serious threat to human life. To alleviate this process, the Net-zero regulations enforce car manufacturers and encourage the population to shift from gasoline- to Electric vehicles. Although EV usage is unprecedently amplified, existing uncertainty in the supply chain of batteries of electric vehicles (BEVs) endangers EV's future market. For example, the scarcity of battery minerals, and the vagueness of supply chain parameters like costs. Re-verse logistics in the BEVs supply chain can cope with the shortage of raw materials, and fuzzy theory is a promising approach to handle the vagueness. This study aims to put forward a fully fuzzy multi-Objective mathematical model by considering the uncertainty to optimize the BEVs closed-loop sup-ply chain according to sustainable development principles in Canada. To do so, three objective functions are developed. Two objective functions maximize the profits of all supply chain players and service levels. The last one minimizes environmental impacts. Eventually, the model obtains the optimal amount of material flow, as decision variables, between all components of the supply chain.

The growing concern for sustainability and the development of new technol-ogies have made the electric vehicle one of the solutions and alternatives for global mobility. However, the increase in sales of these vehicles also impacts the amount of lithium-ion batteries produced, which encompass rare mineral extraction processes. Therefore, the concept of circular economy has been explored and applied by organizations, aiming to close the product life cycle, reduce the demand for resources and improve the supply chain. Through a single case study, the objective of this paper is to identify the drivers and barriers in the implementation of the circular economy for lithium-ion bat-teries used in electric cars. To this end, semi-structured interviews were con-ducted with three employees of a car manufacturer located in Brazil. From the content analysis, thirteen drivers and sixteen empirical barriers were identified. The unavailability of national technology and qualified suppliers for the implementation of the second and third use of batteries were identi-fied as the main barriers. Regarding the drivers, objectives and strategies of the organization and regulations (governmental and environmental) were highlighted as the main boosters. We believe such results can help those or-ganizations that intend to apply the circularity model to electric vehicle bat-teries to anticipate drivers and barriers and hence explore the opportunities presented in this study.

The European plastics industry is in transition to meet its 2050 net zero and circularity targets. In 2020, the overall European recycling rate for post-consumer plastics packaging reached 46%. The European Union set a target for recycling 50% of plastic packaging by 2025 and 55% by 2030. These targets can only be achieved by increasing the use of recycled materials in packaging. Therefore, it is required to design new plastic packaging products with a focus on easy recyclability and reduced environmental footprint. Further, current production and recycling processes must be optimized. This publication points out the possible benefits, opportunities and challenges of using the well-known Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology in the design process of new plastic packaging products as well as for the optimization of plastic production and recycling processes. First steps for the development of reduced LCA-based models which can be used to support the development of plastic packaging products are presented. One example is a generic recycling process model, which can be used for different packaging materials and provides the basis for further investigations. Another example is the development of an assessment template for current plastic recycling processes. The publication concludes with the identification of open research questions.