This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Luz Elba Torres-Guevara is an associate professor from the International School of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Universidad de La Sabana (Colombia). She holds a PhD in Economics (2015) from Jacobs University (Germany); an MSc in Education (2010) and an MSc in Rural Development (2001), likewise a BS in Business Administration (1997) from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia). Her teaching and research interests are social-ecological systems, governance of common-pool resources, circular economy, agricultural production systems and sustainability. She belongs to the research group Business, Economy and Finance, and she has led several action research projects in her topics.
Purpose: The circular economy has multiple benefits and opportunities to achieve sustainability and a better future for the next generations. The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology that guides step-by-step any industrial SMEs in the transition from the linear to a circular model. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have a crucial role in the sustainable development transition, considering that they represent most of the world's companies.Design/methodology/approach: To develop this methodology, two research techniques were used: a focus group and storyboarding.Findings: The resulting methodology, called Ecopyme, comprises five steps: 1) Firm identity, 2) Diagnosis, 3) Planning, 4) Get the ball rolling, and 5) Assessment and feedback. In addition, two key criteria that must be included in the whole process were identified: value creation in the firm through a circular economy and organization commitment from the top management to the staff.Research limitations/implications: The Ecopyme methodology has two limitations: It does not propose either implementation tools or involve consumers and actors at the meso (e.g., Eco-industrial parks) and macro (e.g., cities, provinces, countries) levels.Practical implications: This study will help policymakers understand the SMEs' perspective and remove barriers that may hinder the paradigm shift. The methodology is also a useful tool for consultants and entrepreneurs to incorporate the circular economy (CE) principles into their business.Originality/value: In the CE literature, little attention has been paid to proposing a structured methodology to implement CE in SMEs. Thus, the study provides a step-by-step methodology that guides any industrial SMEs to transition from linear to circular. Also, it provides additional evidence concerning the importance of human commitment in changing firms' paradigm because people can encourage the adoption of responsible production practices if firms commit CEOs, sustainability managers, and staff.
Vanessa Prieto-Sandoval; Luz Elba Torres-Guevara; Marta Ormazabal; Carmen Jaca. Beyond the circular economy theory: Implementation methodology for industrial SMEs. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management 2021, 14, 425 -438.
AMA StyleVanessa Prieto-Sandoval, Luz Elba Torres-Guevara, Marta Ormazabal, Carmen Jaca. Beyond the circular economy theory: Implementation methodology for industrial SMEs. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management. 2021; 14 (3):425-438.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVanessa Prieto-Sandoval; Luz Elba Torres-Guevara; Marta Ormazabal; Carmen Jaca. 2021. "Beyond the circular economy theory: Implementation methodology for industrial SMEs." Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management 14, no. 3: 425-438.
This paper contributes to the circular economy (CE) literature by investigating the drivers of success of the CE implementation in the construction sector and how those drivers can complement any implementation process in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To do so, we analyzed the case of TECMO Estructuras Metálicas, using the methodology proposed by Jaca and colleagues to implement the CE in SMEs. It is a Colombian company with more than five decades of experience in the manufacture and installation of steel and aluminum structures for small and large building and infrastructure projects. The data were collected between August 2019 and November 2020 through direct communication with the company via workshops, meetings, and company reports. This research found that five drivers are relevant for implementing CE in the construction sector: fertile ecosystem, management commitment, identification of valuable materials, green teams, and CE intermediaries. Moreover, this study also contributes to teaching the implementation of the CE in companies, since it shows that through the methodology presented, implementation projects can be developed in postgraduate classes.
Luz Torres-Guevara; Vanessa Prieto-Sandoval; Andres Mejia-Villa. Success Drivers for Implementing Circular Economy: A Case Study from the Building Sector in Colombia. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1350 .
AMA StyleLuz Torres-Guevara, Vanessa Prieto-Sandoval, Andres Mejia-Villa. Success Drivers for Implementing Circular Economy: A Case Study from the Building Sector in Colombia. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (3):1350.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuz Torres-Guevara; Vanessa Prieto-Sandoval; Andres Mejia-Villa. 2021. "Success Drivers for Implementing Circular Economy: A Case Study from the Building Sector in Colombia." Sustainability 13, no. 3: 1350.
Esta investigación tiene como objetivo probar cuantitativamente la relación positiva y significativa entre la heterogeneidad socio-económica y del compromiso de los asociados, con la estructura de deuda de la cooperativa. Con información socio-económica de los asociados y los estados financieros discriminados a 6 dígitos contables reportada a la Confederación de Cooperativas de Colombia (Confecoop) durante el periodo 2009-2013, se estimaron modelos de emparejamiento de inferencia causal. Se concluye que existe una relación positiva y significativa entre la heterogeneidad socio-económica y del compromiso de los asociados y, el nivel de deuda de corto y largo plazo de las cooperativas no financieras en Colombia. Estos resultados se explican fundamentalmente por el deseo del asociado de proteger su patrimonio, suavizar el consumo y mitigar el riesgo.
Giovanni Andrés Hernández Salazar; Ana María Olaya Pardo; Luz Elba Torres Guevara. Heterogeneidad de los asociados y estructura de capital de las cooperativas no financieras en Colombia. REVESCO. Revista de Estudios Cooperativos 2020, 135, 1 .
AMA StyleGiovanni Andrés Hernández Salazar, Ana María Olaya Pardo, Luz Elba Torres Guevara. Heterogeneidad de los asociados y estructura de capital de las cooperativas no financieras en Colombia. REVESCO. Revista de Estudios Cooperativos. 2020; 135 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiovanni Andrés Hernández Salazar; Ana María Olaya Pardo; Luz Elba Torres Guevara. 2020. "Heterogeneidad de los asociados y estructura de capital de las cooperativas no financieras en Colombia." REVESCO. Revista de Estudios Cooperativos 135, no. : 1.
The coast is the interface between the land and the sea. It is characterized by a huge diversity of social-ecological systems (SES) and the interdependent interactions and outcomes between social and ecological subsystems (Ostrom, 2009). Many resources at the land-sea interface and property rights of those resources have characteristics of a commons, in the sense of being shared among many actors, ranging from a handful of fishers to the global community. A difference in the governance systems regulating the land and the sea is that the former have much more nuanced and diversified governance, where many aspects are institutionalized. Many more resources are becoming regulated by private property regimes on the continuum between open access and private property (Bromley, 1991; Schlager and Ostrom, 1992) or even anti-commons property (Schlüter, 2008), despite the fact that many ecosystem services produced by those resources are common, due to their characteristic of excludability (Woelfle-Erskine, 2017). This means that a lot of vested interests, particularly in relation to financial gains and livelihoods, are well established. Due to difficulties in accessibility, still relatively low scarcity, technological abilities and other factors, the number of institutions regulating the marine space have been lower in comparison to terrestrial commons so far. However, all of these factors are changing at an impressive speed.
Achim Schlüter; Stefan Partelow; Luz Elba Torres-Guevara; Tim C. Jennerjahn. Coastal commons as social-ecological systems. Routledge Handbook of the Study of the Commons 2019, 170 -187.
AMA StyleAchim Schlüter, Stefan Partelow, Luz Elba Torres-Guevara, Tim C. Jennerjahn. Coastal commons as social-ecological systems. Routledge Handbook of the Study of the Commons. 2019; ():170-187.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAchim Schlüter; Stefan Partelow; Luz Elba Torres-Guevara; Tim C. Jennerjahn. 2019. "Coastal commons as social-ecological systems." Routledge Handbook of the Study of the Commons , no. : 170-187.
This paper contributes to the experimental analysis of sustainable behavior in artisanal fisheries and the external validity of economic experiments. We run a standard one-shot public goods experiment and two time preferences experiments with fishermen from Tasajera. It is a small fishing community located in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, which depends mainly on the fishery resources of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta for its livelihood. To investigate the external validity of the experiments, we related the fishermen's individual decisions in the experiments to some indices measuring the ecological impact of fishing activities among the same group of fishermen. We found that fishermen's contributions to the public good and their levels of impatience are not robustly correlated to their real fishing behavior. We argue that the link between fishermen's behavior in the field experiments and real life could be associated to various factors, such as the specific context in which fishermen live, and the way in which cooperation in real life is measured.
Luz Elba Torres-Guevara; Achim Schlüter. External validity of artefactual field experiments: A study on cooperation, impatience and sustainability in an artisanal fishery in Colombia. Ecological Economics 2016, 128, 187 -201.
AMA StyleLuz Elba Torres-Guevara, Achim Schlüter. External validity of artefactual field experiments: A study on cooperation, impatience and sustainability in an artisanal fishery in Colombia. Ecological Economics. 2016; 128 ():187-201.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuz Elba Torres-Guevara; Achim Schlüter. 2016. "External validity of artefactual field experiments: A study on cooperation, impatience and sustainability in an artisanal fishery in Colombia." Ecological Economics 128, no. : 187-201.
We investigate the ecological impact caused by fishing grounds and the fishing gear/methods used by fishers in Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM), an estuarine lagoon located on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. To do so, we build individual and composite ecological sustainable indicators based on the opinions of a group of experienced fishers and a group of scientists. Additionally, we use those indicators to examine the influence of socioeconomic and perceptional factors on fishers’ fishing behaviors and how those behaviors may be affecting CGSM fishery resources. Our results suggest that fishers and scientists differ in their opinions about the impact of fishing on CGSM. Additionally, we found that having a higher level of education, sharing household expenses with other family members and spending more hours fishing lead to ecologically-sustainable fishing behavior, while the perception that the government is responsible for CGSM conservation leads to ecologically unsustainable fishing behavior.
Luz Elba Torres-Guevara; Maria Claudia Lopez; Achim Schlüter. Understanding Artisanal Fishers’ Behaviors: The Case of Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia. Sustainability 2016, 8, 549 .
AMA StyleLuz Elba Torres-Guevara, Maria Claudia Lopez, Achim Schlüter. Understanding Artisanal Fishers’ Behaviors: The Case of Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia. Sustainability. 2016; 8 (6):549.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuz Elba Torres-Guevara; Maria Claudia Lopez; Achim Schlüter. 2016. "Understanding Artisanal Fishers’ Behaviors: The Case of Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia." Sustainability 8, no. 6: 549.
Luz Elba Torres Guevara; Achim Schlüter; Maria Claudia Lopez. Collective action in a tropical estuarine lagoon: adapting Ostrom’s SES framework to Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia. International Journal of the Commons 2016, 10, 334 -362.
AMA StyleLuz Elba Torres Guevara, Achim Schlüter, Maria Claudia Lopez. Collective action in a tropical estuarine lagoon: adapting Ostrom’s SES framework to Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia. International Journal of the Commons. 2016; 10 (1):334-362.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuz Elba Torres Guevara; Achim Schlüter; Maria Claudia Lopez. 2016. "Collective action in a tropical estuarine lagoon: adapting Ostrom’s SES framework to Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia." International Journal of the Commons 10, no. 1: 334-362.
Résumés Français Español English En Colombie, la part très significative de l’économie paysanne dans la production agricole est en augmentation constante, tout en conservant ses caractéristiques traditionnelles. Les paysans maintiennent diverses stratégies leur assurant un très important niveau d’autoconsommation, tout particulièrement en matière d’aliments protéiniques, même si la majeure partie de leurs revenus provient de la vente de leurs récoltes. Cette double nature monétaire et domestique confère une très grande plasticité aux systèmes de production paysans, ce qui leur permet de s’adapter à toutes sortes de circonstances, particulièrement en temps de crise. Ces systèmes se révèlent très souples et beaucoup plus efficaces que les entreprises capitalistes agricoles, qui sont souvent en difficulté et dont le poids relatif diminue dans la production nationale. En Colombia, la parte – muy significativa – de la economía campesina en la producción agrícola está aumentando constantemente, sin perder sus características tradicionales. Mantienen los campesinos diversas estrategias que les aseguran un alto nivel de autoconsumo, especialmente en proteínas, aunque la mayor parte de sus ingresos procede de la venta de sus cosechas. Esta doble naturalieza monetaria y doméstica confiere una gran flexibilidad a los sistemas campesinos de producción, lo que les permite adaptarse a todo tipo de circunstancias, particularmente en tiempo de crisis. Tales sistemas resultan muchos más ágiles y eficientes que las empresas agrícolas capitalistas, de las que muchas conocen dificultades y cuyo peso relativo va disminuyendo en la producción nacional. In Columbia, the very significant part of the peasant economy involved in agricultural production is in constant increase, all the while conserving its traditional characteristics. The peasants maintain diverse strategies which assure them an important level of auto-consummation, particularly with regards to protein produce, even if the majority of their revenue comes from the sale of their harvests. This double nature, monetary and domestic, confers a great plasticity on the peasant’s systems of production, something which permits them to adapt to all sorts of circumstances, particularly in times of crisis. These systems reveal themselves as very flexible and much more efficient than the capitalist agricultural enterprises, which are often in difficulty and whose relative importance within the national production is diminishing. Haut de page
Jaime Forero-Alvarez; Luz Elba Torres-Guevara. La part des producteurs familiaux dans le système alimentaire colombien. Cahiers des Amériques latines 2002, 33 -48.
AMA StyleJaime Forero-Alvarez, Luz Elba Torres-Guevara. La part des producteurs familiaux dans le système alimentaire colombien. Cahiers des Amériques latines. 2002; (40):33-48.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJaime Forero-Alvarez; Luz Elba Torres-Guevara. 2002. "La part des producteurs familiaux dans le système alimentaire colombien." Cahiers des Amériques latines , no. 40: 33-48.