Extending Resource Value-Based Circular Economy Business Model in Emerging Economies: Lessons from India

Abstract

The linear economic model fueled by misconception and ignorance towards our limited resources led us to extract, produce, consume, and dispose of materials faster than putting them back into the chain or reproducing. The circular economy (CE) business model answers these concerns, and exploring the implementation of such models in densely populated emerging nations is overdue. An open-ended interview of the executive team of Paperman Foundation, the organization in concern, was conducted, along with documentary analysis of the organization’s website, international news coverage, and government legislation to collect data for the research. The Paperman Foundation (hereinafter referred to as Paperman) has successfully implemented a circularity business model based on resource value extension in one of the largest cities in India. They have been scaling their operations for almost a decade and sustainably returned the recovered resources to the supply chain extending the resource value of post-consumer plastic waste and thus cutting down on carbon emission. This study established that such contemporary business models like the circular model can achieve lowered carbon emissions in emerging and transitional economies such as India successfully. Although, there is a high volume of research output from academia in CE in the past decade, most of them are not conducted on cases based in emerging economies. Only one representative organization is considered in this case study. Studying several organizations from similar economies could provide a better understanding.