Profitability and environmental friendliness of a closed-loop supply chain for PET components: A case study of the Mexican automobile market

Abstract

Each year, a high number of automobiles need to be disposed of in Mexico; leading to a high amount of automotive thermoplastic polymer waste. This situation makes Mexico an interesting country to deploy a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) for the chemical recycling of this kind of waste. Despite being an interesting case, no study has been carried out until now evaluating the potential of a CLSC under the umbrella of the Mexican automobile market. This study is the first one that evaluates the profitability and environmental friendliness (energy consumed and CO2 generated) of a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) for the chemical recycling of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) seats within the Mexican automobile market. The originality of this study also relies on being the first one that considers at the same time, the influence of Mexico’s current political, social, legal, and technological conditions on the CLSC’s profitability and environmental friendliness, as well as, on being the first that quantifies this influence in costs, CO2 footprint, and consumed energy terms. This approach allows the easy identification of the CLSC’s profitability and environmental friendliness key drivers; making possible the design of effective strategies to improve the CLSC’s performance. The study uses stakeholder mapping, as well as, Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental Analysis (PESTLE) as data analysis tools. It shows that the studied CLSC is profitable under the umbrella of Mexico’s current infrastructure, political, and legal frameworks. Regarding environmental friendliness, the studied CLSC consumes 79% less energy and generates 73% less CO2 than those associated with the production of PET using a forward supply chain. Keeping in mind this study’s results, it provides evidence about CLSCs being both profitable and environmentally friendly under the umbrella of emerging economies, such as Mexico.