The Role of Circular Supply Chains in Achieving Sustainability Goals: A 2023 Perspective on Recycling, Reuse, and Resource Optimization

Abstract

With sustainability hitting the top of the agenda in businesses worldwide, supply chain management is taking a closer look at mechanisms by which to alleviate environmental impacts. One of the techniques often proposed is the implementation of circular supply chains. The process involves the use of recycling, reuse, and reverse logistics in product recovery. In this essay, the above-mentioned mechanisms have been extensively discussed, assumptions have been made on their level of implementation in 2023, and a futuristic scenario of 2030 has been drawn, where new, modern, and futuristic technologies have led to the realization of a resource-free or resource-optimized supply chain. The most important aspect discussed in this essay is the assumption that all three practices studied will not only be socially and environmentally good in 2023 but, more importantly, a profitable business decision. The essay also underscores the fact that these practices would not just be seen as a part of supply chain strategy but also as a part of company strategy.

Three potential strategies have the potential to make supply chain management more sustainable in 2023. These strategies are recycling, reuse, and resource optimization. It is believed that these strategies may not only be socially and environmentally favorable, encompassing a review that suggests waste as an opportunity instead of a problem, another review implying why organizations should opt for circular supply chains, and a paper that discusses the difficulty and the benefits of reverse logistics. Circularity in supply chains will not only provide social and environmental benefits but may also lead to making more profit. This change, hence, calls for the integration of circular practices into supply chain management strategies. The integration in strategy is only feasible if the approaches resorted to are cost-effective and, in some instances, provide more value addition. As a result, this essay discusses recycled products as products providing more value while also discussing challenges and opportunities in integrating circular supply chains into traditional supply chain management