Comparing linear and circular supply chains: A case study from the construction industry

Mohammed Haneef Abdul Nasir, Andrea Genovese, Adolf A. Acquaye, S. C.L. Koh, Fred Yamoah

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

355 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the last decades, green and sustainable supply chain management practices have been developed in efforts to try and reduce the negative consequences of production and consumption processes on the environment. In parallel to this, the circular economy discourse has been propagated in the industrial ecology and production economics literature and, lately, in business and practice. The ideals of circular economy principles suggests that the frontiers of environmental sustainability can be pushed by emphasising the idea of transforming products in such a way that there are workable relationships between ecological systems and economic growth. By arguing for these ideals to be integrated into green supply chain management theory and practice, the paper uses a case study from the construction industry to demonstrate the environmental gains in terms of carbon emissions that can be achieved through some circular economy principles as against traditional linear production systems. The paper therefore asserts that an integration of circular economy principles within sustainable supply chain management can provide clear advantages from an environmental point view despite some external supply chain influences and scenarios. Further to this, emerging supply chain management challenges and market dynamics are also highlighted and discussed.

Original languageBritish English
Pages (from-to)443-457
Number of pages15
JournalInternational Journal of Production Economics
Volume183
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2017

Keywords

  • Carbon emissions
  • Circular economy
  • Construction
  • Linear supply chain

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