Sustainable supply chain practices: Driving efficiency, reducing waste, and promoting circular economy models

Ezekwu, Emily (2025) Sustainable supply chain practices: Driving efficiency, reducing waste, and promoting circular economy models. International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 14 (1). pp. 1167-1181. ISSN 2582-8185

As the world increasingly focuses on sustainability, supply chain management has become a vital lever for the realization of environmental, social, and economic goals. Also, linear supply chain models that are traditional in nature (such as extract, consume, and dispose) lead to serious environmental degradation along with an enormous amount of resource depletion. On the other hand, sustainable supply chain initiatives focus on waste reduction, resource efficiency, and circular economy approaches that prioritize reuse, recycling, and recovery. Integrating sustainability into these supply chain strategies can improve operational efficiency, drive costs down, and meet stakeholder expectations for business environmental stewardship. These strategies involve implementing green procurement practices, optimizing logistics to minimize their carbon footprints, and incorporating new technological solutions (like IoT and blockchain) to improve sustainability transparency and traceability. These practices allow organizations to trace materials throughout their lifecycle, support accountability, and promote closed-loop systems supporting circularity. In addition, the collaboration between stakeholders will determine sustainable initiatives; suppliers, manufacturers, and consumers to name a few. Implementing sustainable supply chain practices is not without its challenges, including high initial costs, technological barriers, and complex regulatory landscapes. Solving for these issues takes policy incentives, investment in innovation, and stakeholder engagement. The role of the key findings and challenges of sustainable strategies for supply chain practices in the development of a circular economy model. By examining case studies as well as emerging trends, it provides key takeaways for organizations striving to navigate the delicate balance between efficiency and sustainability, with the end goal of fostering a resilient and eco-conscious future for all.