Circular entrepreneurship: challenges and opportunities, Dr Arshad Mahmood, Dr Muhammad Shabbir, Dr Maqsood Mahmud

Dr Arshad Mahmood
European Sustainable Research Outreach, Germany
FOM University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Management
Germany

Dr Muhammad Salman Shabbir
York St John University
London
UK

Dr Maqsood Mahmud
School of Computing, Ulster University
Belfast, Northern Ireland
UK

Abstract

The shift towards a circular economy (CE), seen as a holistic solution for achieving sustainable development goals, where entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are seen as crucial players in the transition to CE. Currently, Entrepreneurs are sticking with linear business models to identify new business opportunities, resulting in limited adoption of circular practices in entrepreneurship. The adaptation of CE entrepreneurs encounters numerous opportunities and challenges.  On the opportunity side, it offers a variety of sustainable and eco-friendly products with recyclable materials, shared economy model for cost savings, innovative solutions and services for optimize resource use. Additionally, it also impacts on country economic and social benefits like return on investment (RoI), foreign direct investment (FDI), employment opportunities, urbanization, and contribute to national income. Conversely, on the challenges side, entrepreneurship poses sustainability threats through the depletion of natural resources due to limited availability of sustainable raw materials. Competing with traditional, linear business models that might have lower costs is a significant issue. There is also a lack of knowledge for efficiently managing and recycling resources to minimize waste, and high initial costs for implementing circular processes. Balancing profitability with sustainability goals, changing consumer behavior towards accepting recycled and reused products, and dealing with inconsistent regulations and lack of supportive policies for circular practices are additional hurdles. These challenges have highlighted the need for circular entrepreneurship among academic and industry practitioners. This paper aims to fill this gap by exploring how entrepreneurs can identify opportunities and Challenges following the 5R (Reduce, Reuse, Refurbish, Repair, and Recycle) framework for application of circular business practices.

Keyword: Circular Entrepreneurship; Circular Economy; Sustainability; SGDs.