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Drivers and Barriers to Circular Economy Strategies in the Telecommunication Industry

Stewart, Daniel LU (2017) In IIIEE Masters Thesis IMEN41 20172
The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Abstract
The telecommunication industry contributes to environmental impacts through energy usage and material resource use. The incorporation of Circular Economy strategies has the potential to restructure and re-engineer systems like those in the telecommunication industry to capture more value for the business while decreasing environmental impacts of business. The objective of the research in this paper is to map the drivers and barriers for the telecommunication sector in adopting Circular Economy strategies. A literature review, industry expert interviews and a focus group were used to gather insight on trends in the uptake of Circular Economy strategies by vendors and operators in the telecommunication industry.

The results of the paper... (More)
The telecommunication industry contributes to environmental impacts through energy usage and material resource use. The incorporation of Circular Economy strategies has the potential to restructure and re-engineer systems like those in the telecommunication industry to capture more value for the business while decreasing environmental impacts of business. The objective of the research in this paper is to map the drivers and barriers for the telecommunication sector in adopting Circular Economy strategies. A literature review, industry expert interviews and a focus group were used to gather insight on trends in the uptake of Circular Economy strategies by vendors and operators in the telecommunication industry.

The results of the paper point at the concept of Circular Economy being still in its infancy in many telecommunication companies but that there is growing interest due to more widespread recognition of the concept. Drivers of the adoption of Circular Economy strategies are the increasingly harsh competition and disruption in the telecommunication market, value leakage from current business model, growing data consumption and energy use, and the potential for new business opportunities. Barriers to adoption included misaligned policy, issues with product return, risks of business model change, brand risk, company culture, and complexity of change. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Stewart, Daniel LU
supervisor
organization
course
IMEN41 20172
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Circular Economy, telecommunication industry, ICT, drivers, barriers
publication/series
IIIEE Masters Thesis
report number
2017:31
ISSN
1401-9191
language
English
id
8927557
date added to LUP
2017-11-08 16:21:17
date last changed
2017-11-08 16:21:17
@misc{8927557,
  abstract     = {{The telecommunication industry contributes to environmental impacts through energy usage and material resource use. The incorporation of Circular Economy strategies has the potential to restructure and re-engineer systems like those in the telecommunication industry to capture more value for the business while decreasing environmental impacts of business. The objective of the research in this paper is to map the drivers and barriers for the telecommunication sector in adopting Circular Economy strategies. A literature review, industry expert interviews and a focus group were used to gather insight on trends in the uptake of Circular Economy strategies by vendors and operators in the telecommunication industry.

The results of the paper point at the concept of Circular Economy being still in its infancy in many telecommunication companies but that there is growing interest due to more widespread recognition of the concept. Drivers of the adoption of Circular Economy strategies are the increasingly harsh competition and disruption in the telecommunication market, value leakage from current business model, growing data consumption and energy use, and the potential for new business opportunities. Barriers to adoption included misaligned policy, issues with product return, risks of business model change, brand risk, company culture, and complexity of change.}},
  author       = {{Stewart, Daniel}},
  issn         = {{1401-9191}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{IIIEE Masters Thesis}},
  title        = {{Drivers and Barriers to Circular Economy Strategies in the Telecommunication Industry}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}