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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain.
Sec. Circular Economy
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frsus.2024.1455335
This article is part of the Research Topic Assessing Circular Economy Transitions: Quantitative Approaches and Policy Implications View all 3 articles

IMPLICATIONS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRACTICES FOR FIRMS IN THE INTEGRATED WASTE SECTOR

Provisionally accepted
Daniel Agyapong Daniel Agyapong 1,2*Gloria K.Q. Agyapong Gloria K.Q. Agyapong 1Daniel Ofori Daniel Ofori 1Osman Light Osman Light 1Stephanie Efua Frimpong Stephanie Efua Frimpong 1
  • 1 University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
  • 2 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study examined the effects of circular economy practices on the integrated waste management industry, drawing on the stakeholder theory. This study examined how the performance of Ghanaian waste management companies is affected by circular economy strategies, particularly upcycling and was recovery. About 7,190 firms registered with the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) formed the population of the study, out of which the sample yielded 524 valid responses, which was analysed using PLS-SEM and Partial Correlation Analysis. PLS was adopted because it integrates factor and route analyses into significantly more rigorous statistical processes. In addition, the Partial Correlation network structure was adopted to explain how the nodes or variables are related to one another, and the results demonstrate that upcycling has a favourable and considerable impact on the economic performance (β = 0.475, t=4.495, p=0.000), social performance (β = 0.403, t=3.132, p=0.002), and corporate governance performance (β = 0.455, t=3.670, p=0.000) of the firms. Furthermore, waste recovery improved the performance of waste management companies in terms of performance, specifically economic performance (β = 0.333, t=3.183, p=0.001), environmental performance (β = 0.583, t=4.641, p=0.000), social performance (β = 0.402, t= 3.157, p=0.000), and corporate governance performance (β = 0.250, t=2. 024, p=0.048) indices. Finally, circular economy practices have a substantial impact on firms' financial stability and investment readiness. It was concluded that waste management companies that excel in undertaking circular economy activities such as remanufacturing, trash recycling, and refurbishing are more likely to draw clients who want green activities in addition to their current needs. Additionally, these actions increase efficiency, which lowers operational expenses and improves governance-related concerns, including management training on these procedures and implementation of policies in compliance with the law.A graphical abstract was provided for the study.

    Keywords: Circular economy, Waste Management, upcycling, Recovery, sustainable performance

    Received: 26 Jun 2024; Accepted: 02 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Agyapong, Agyapong, Ofori, Light and Frimpong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Daniel Agyapong, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

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