It is now understood that the pursuit of economic growth has a direct impact on ecological and environmental systems. This pressure necessitates a concern for the sustainability of business operations and approaches, through technological innovation which not only intends to make products and services more effective and efficient but also seeks to improve the design, implementation, and evaluation of environmental policies. In such a scenario, a major challenge confronting business is being able to reconcile economic imperatives with environmental sustainability and the maintenance of so-called “biosphere” assets. In the recent past, environmental concerns have proliferated around the globe, and various concepts, ideas, and the management of the wider context of environmental, ecological, and man-made systems – including fundamental concepts based upon systems thinking, industrial ecology, complex systems, biomimicry, and resource flows - have led to the establishment of the Circular Economy (CE) concept. As such, a transition to a CE is still viewed as a major paradigm shift in the way that the economic system, businesses, and markets recirculate and maximize value inherent in the design, production, delivery, consumption, and reuse of products and services. The implementation of a CE approach, therefore, aims to conserve and retain the value of scarce and finite resources natural as well as man-made resources, ensuring that food, water, energy, material and associated “loops”, can be facilitated to encourage sustainable use at various levels of both the biosphere and the man-made “techno-sphere” (i.e. industrialized world).

To achieve positive economic, environmental, and social benefits, many incumbent firms have been attempting to apply CE principles to their business practices. However, it is observed that such firms often struggle to change their existing “linear” business models to circular models, which retain and circulate value, because the steps required for successful transformation are still either poorly understood or are not supported or indeed where the case is not articulated well enough. The attainment of circularity hence requires a cyclical and regenerative set of innovations at all levels across the business value chain. Considering also concerns related to resource degradation, depletion, and business sustainability, it is critical to engage stakeholders on a global platform to discuss emerging issues in adopting responsible business practices to implement CE principles at micro and macro levels. This international conference aims at bringing global industry leaders and academia together to discuss these key issues and hence to promote the concept of a circular economy in achieving the goal of responsible business practices that drives sustainability.

Indian Institute of Management Jammu, India
Visit : http://www.iimj.ac.in/

University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
Visit :https://www.bradford.ac.uk/management/