Circular Economy and Supply Chain Change: The Case of Industries in A French Port

Abstract

Faced with depleting natural resources, the circular economy offers a solution to achieving sustainable economic development by bringing material, energy, by-products, and waste back into the loop. This article aims to highlight changes in supply chains brought about by circular economy practices. To this end, we followed six companies from various sectors located in a port area that have adopted circular economy practices. Using qualitative case study methodology, we show that transitioning from a linear to a circular economy requires significant transformations and changes at different supply chain levels to achieve a circular supply chain such as changing partners, sourcing locations, increasing the number of suppliers, and upstream waste management.