Circular Economy: Challenges for the Supply Chain

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enhance the difficulties the supply chain will face to implement Circular Economy (CE), as opposed to linear economy, since all interested parties have different thoughts about it, and are not convinced of its cost-benefit.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the attendance of a relevant congress in Amsterdam on the subject, combined with literature review and participation in discussions about the creation of the CE Nucleus at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
Findings – Main finding refers to the lack of awareness of stakeholders on the importance of CE for sustainability: enterprises, suppliers, governments and society do not assign priority for the concept and its tools.
Research limitations/implications – since CE is a new strategy, its practice is limited to a few developed countries, where society is aware of its relevance. This means that experience is limited, hence available literature is relatively scarce, especially regarding challenges.
Practical implications – the success of the implementation of CE depends upon the mind set of people in general, thus requiring a strong communication effort to convince all parties of its importance. Examples of good practices and reference literature are provided as motivation.
Social implications – CE has a direct connection with sustainability, hence its direct social implications regarding optimization of the utilization of Earth resources.
Originality/value – Due to the limited worldwide experience on CE, especially in developing countries, the paper will provide guidance for its application for all stakeholders.

See paper

See paper

circular economy, supply chain, challenges