The Role of Green Technologies in the Transition Towards a Circular Economy

Introduction

According to Genovese et al. (2017), the circular economy represents a theoretical concept with the primary aim of creating an industrial system that is restorative by intention. The circular economy has attracted increasing attention in recent years as a solution to the issues of the present production and consumption paradigm predicated on persistent growth and rising resource throughput (Ghisellini et al, 2015). Circular economy practice can mitigate the long-term drawbacks of linear production and improve sustainability in the process (Gupta et al., 2019). Earlier, it has been established that the environment and economic systems are inextricably linked, with modern ecological economic theory highlighting the growing negative impacts of human activities on the ecosystem. This has led to the growing emphasis on the sustainability concept integrated into most disciplines. The integration of sustainability can be observed in supply chain management and operations practices as organizations are now being held more accountable for environmental and social performance amid their pursuit of strong economic progress.

Lowe (1993) and Ehrenfeld (1995) pointed out that the concepts of green and sustainable supply chain management have been developed in parallel to the circular economy discourse. Supply chains have been identified as a significant unit of action in the transition to a circular economy, a collaboration between consumers, suppliers, and other stakeholders can keep used products, components, and materials in circulation (MacArthur, 2014). The growing scholarly interest in sustainable supply chain management and circular economy has shed light on the critical need to further expand the understanding of the concept development. One such study includes Allen et al. (2021) which had recently developed a dynamic sustainable supply chain-circular economy management framework. In analyzing the sustainable supply chain management and circular economy nexus, they posited that the movement from a traditional supply chain to sustainable chain management and from a linear economy to a circular economy has provided ample opportunities for boundaries expansion on the existing management theories with the inclusion of social and environmental conceptual dimensions.

Meanwhile, it is noteworthy to point out the recent proliferation of studies on the adoption of digital technologies in a circular economy (CE). Digital technology has been proven to be a catalyst for the speedy evolution of circular economy practices. The systematic review conducted by Khan et al. (2022b) firmly established the positive association found between technological innovation and circular economy (CE) practices, which leads to the improvement of both economic and environmental performance. The robust finding suggested that the circular economy (CE) practice should be integrated with digital technology solutions to attain long-term financial and environmental goals. However, there is a dearth of research on the adoption of green technologies in the transition toward the circular economy (CE) practice. According to Khan et al. (2022b), the usage of digital technologies and new trends in the circular economy (CE) requires a review of the literature. The concept was still in nascence, with recommendations from scholars (Nobre and Tavares, 2017; Ghoreishi and Happonen, 2020) future studies to be directed on a micro, meso, and macro-level review In other words, the literature gap on the role of green technologies adoption in circular economy development remain.