Integrating product design and supply chain management for a circular economy

Haydn Burke,Abraham Zhang,Jason X Wang

doi:10.1080/09537287.2021.1983063

Abstract

Circular economy (CE) provides an alternative development model to the dominant take-make-dispose linear approach, and thus a new vision for solving sustainability challenges. Firms need to operationalise CE in their supply chain operations, starting from circular product design as the foundational step. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to integrate product design and supply chain management (SCM) decisions for a CE transition. A thematic analysis was conducted on data collected from 15 semi-structured interviews in New Zealand. Four propositions were established based on the identified themes, namely, end-of-life thinking in product design, circular SCM, business model innovation, and sustainable organisational values. The study results provide a novel insight into the integration of product design and SCM for a CE transition. The operational framework developed provides guidance to product designers, managers, and researchers to advance the CE cause at the supply chain level.

Highlights

Over the past 50 years, there has never been a period of stabilisation or decline in the demand for resources (Oberle et al 2019)
To the best of our knowledge, their integration has not been investigated in the context of Circular economy (CE). To narrow this knowledge gap, this study addresses the following research question: How should product design and supply chain management be integrated for a transition to CE?
To answer this research question, this study developed an operational framework that incorporates circular product design and supply chain management (SCM) based on data from 15 semi-structured interviews in New Zealand

Summary

Introduction

Over the past 50 years, there has never been a period of stabilisation or decline in the demand for resources (Oberle et al 2019). A major cause of these sustainability problems is the dominant linear economic model (MacArthur 2013), in which resources and products move in a unidirectional flow as take-make-dispose. Circular economy (CE) is an alternative to the traditional linear model and is regarded as the best option to combat the sustainability problems facing society in the modern era (Geisendorf and Pietrulla 2018; Gregson et al 2015). CE is regenerative and restorative by design (MacArthur 2013) and is characterised by circular resource flows in the economy (Su et al 2013). Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, CE builds economic, natural, and social capital based on three principles: design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2017)

Objectives

Methods

Results