Implementation of Circular Economy Technologies: An Empirical Study of Slovak and Slovenian Manufacturing Companies

Circular Economy (CE) practices and technologies are essential for increasing sustainability performance in manufacturing. Due to the increasing number of environmental regulations and growing public awareness of environmental issues, especially in the EU, CE is increasingly seen as a valuable facto...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2021-11, Vol.13 (22), p.12518
Main Authors: Šebo, Juraj, Šebová, Miriam, Palčič, Iztok
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Circular economy
Competitiveness
Economic growth
Energy consumption
Energy efficiency
Environmental regulations
Manufacturing
Manufacturing industry
Natural resources
Polls & surveys
Public awareness
Statistical analysis
Statistical tests
Sustainability
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Summary:Circular Economy (CE) practices and technologies are essential for increasing sustainability performance in manufacturing. Due to the increasing number of environmental regulations and growing public awareness of environmental issues, especially in the EU, CE is increasingly seen as a valuable factor in improving competitiveness. Therefore, there is a need for a fuller understanding of the ways in which CE technologies can be implemented into the manufacturing industries. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the identification of the characteristics of manufacturing companies and their perceptions of the barriers to the adoption of CE technologies. This survey-based study of 241 manufacturing companies (comprising a sub-sample of Slovak and Slovenian companies from the more extensive European Manufacturing Survey) uses a series of statistical tests to examine the implementation of three CE technologies. The results show that there is significant relationship between the adoption of CE technologies in manufacturing companies and their size, location, R&D activities, company age and product batch size. Finally, the research reveals the surprising finding that there is no apparent link between the perception of CE barriers and the plans of companies to implement selected CE technologies.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su132212518