Abstract
The European Green Deal aims to make Europe climate neutral by 2050. According to this ambitious plan, 50% of greenhouse gas emissions are to be saved through a wide implementation of a circular economy. With supply chains responsible for four-fifths of greenhouse gas emissions, their role in the transition from linearity to a circular economy, and thus in the successful implementation of circular systems, is critical and requires the attention of academia, policymakers, and practitioners. Maturity models are suitable for monitoring, assessing, and evaluating the transformation process and determining the status quo of a supply chain. However, as the implementation of circular supply chains is still in its infancy, circular maturity frameworks at the supply chain level are not available yet. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to conceptualize a framework for analyzing the maturity level of circular economy adoption in the supply chain context. From an extensive and systematic literature review of overall 1,372 articles on supply chains, circular economy and maturity the following findings can be drawn: (i) circular economy and circular supply chains are massively growing research streams; (ii) the link between circular economy, supply chains and maturity assessment is so far missing; (iii) three constructs (organization, products, processes) characterize and influence circular supply chain maturity; (iv) a 3-layered maturity grid covering six archetypal elements of the circular economy enables the assessment of a circular supply chain maturity. The developed circular supply chain maturity framework paves the way for circular economy adoption at supply chain level by understanding current level of circular maturity and thus supporting the circular economy implementation process at supply chain level.
Highlights
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change alerts in its Sixth Assessment Report of a significantly faster global warming than previously assumed (IPCC, 2021)
Since the environmental challenges are the most urgent, illustrated by the current status report of the IPCC, this study focuses on the environmental dimension, using the concept of circular economy
The objective of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for assessing the maturity level of circular economy adoption at supply chain level
Summary
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change alerts in its Sixth Assessment Report of a significantly faster global warming than previously assumed (IPCC, 2021). The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report draws the conclusion that global surface temperature will continue to rise until at least mid-century. Global warming of 1.5◦C will be exceeded during the twenty-first century unless drastic reductions in CO2 and other. Circular Supply Chain Maturity Framework greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved in the coming decades. CO2 emissions do occur in the last production step but affect all upstream and downstream areas of production. Chains account for around 80% of CO2 emissions, depending on the sector (World Economic Forum, 2021). It is crucial to focus not on individual companies but on the entire supply chain to counteract dramatic global warming and to achieve sustainability goals
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