Advantages, enablers and barriers to implementing circular economic principles in South African financial services organisations

Abstract

There has been a growing call from academics and society asking companies, especially manufacturing firms, to adopt more sustainable business practices and one potential solution could be the circular economy. New technology based companies are disrupting traditional businesses, the world is becoming more populous, placing a large burden on the earth's already stretched non-renewable resources and in addition, the world economy is volatile at present. It is proposed that the implementation of circular economic principles could lead to greater re-use, reducing the need for virgin materials, lowering the burden on the world's natural resources while at the same time increasing employment opportunities in the remanufacturing space and providing companies with more operational flexibility. This research aims to establish whether adopting circular economic principles in the financial services industry could provide these companies with a mechanism to be more sustainable and sufficiently agile in order to remain competitive in the current economic climate.