Circular economy, blockchain, and global value chains : a meso-level examination

Abstract

<div lang="en" class="abs"><p class="abs_header">Abstract</p><p>High costs, complex supply chains, insufficient collaboration, low information exchange, quality constraints, and a lack of disassembly procedures are impeding the transition to circular economy (CE). Blockchain technology (BT) has been proposed as a solution to some of these issues, leading to increased academic attention. Nevertheless, there is little knowledge of how CE and BT may interact at the meso-level (Industrial Symbiosis, IS) in a global context. To address this issue, the present study investigates the role of the IS in the context of global value chains (GVC). After interviews with four meso-level organizations in Finland, we found that their biggest challenge is the low volume and infrequency of industrial waste to recycle/reuse, plus lacking quality, and composition information. Regulation and high costs were also identified as common difficulties. We propose potential uses of BT to support these challenges, given our findings on the diverse roles played by such organizations.</p></div>