Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: circular economy
- Creators: Dooley, Kevin
Description
This proposal lays out the business case for Isagenix International to adopt circular packaging that is compatible with the circular economy. I first give a brief background on plastic packaging and the environmental risks that go along with it. After explaining how a linear economy is unsustainable, I introduce the concept of a circular economy. I then explain the competitive advantages that Isagenix can gain over its competitors from pursuing circular or sustainable packaging, and provide a benchmarking analysis of other companies’ sustainable packaging goals. After establishing the reasons that Isagenix should pursue this initiative, I go into an explanation of how Isagenix should design packaging for circularity and educate consumers on how to recycle their packaging products. Lastly, I propose my three recommendations for action that Isagenix should start with to begin transitioning all of their packaging to be circular.
ContributorsPatel, Tanvi (Author) / Dooley, Kevin (Thesis director) / Cloutier, Scott (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Design for sustainability and design to change habits are two areas that have been explored separately. Design for sustainable behavior has started to be researched for different purposes. This research focuses on how we interact with objects to reinforce sustainable actions, focused on low-waste drinking water consumption using Water Bottle Filling Stations. Things do not work the same in different contexts, even if they are targeted at a similar group of people in two different countries. In consequence, the habits around particular objects change as well. This research is part of a bi-cultural study on the relationship between users and Water Bottle Filling Stations in universities, sites where these devices have been installed to promote healthy habits and encourage sustainable practices in their population. This is to evaluate the use of current nudges attached to the design attributes on the artifact.Using mixed methods, this research explored the possibility of using Water Bottle Filling Stations to create and reinforce habits in the user’s routine and the consequences with the aid of nudges. To understand these behaviors, populations from a college in Mexico and a college in the United States were subjects of study to understand the implications of using Water Bottle Filling Stations as a device that, by design, promotes reusability as a circular economy strategy. The following research did not aim to redesign the entire system but evaluate the impact of current nudges and design attributes on the artifact, how habits have affected culture, and supply a list of findings and recommendations.
ContributorsBecerra-Galicia, Susana Angelina (Author) / Takamura, John (Thesis advisor) / Fehler, Michelle (Thesis advisor) / Dooley, Kevin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
By matching a CEO's place of residence in his or her formative years with U.S. Census survey data, I obtain an estimate of the CEO's family wealth and study the link between the CEO's endowed social status and firm performance. I find that, on average, CEOs born into poor families outperform those born into wealthy families, as measured by a variety of proxies for firm performance. There is no evidence of higher risk-taking by the CEOs from low social status backgrounds. Further, CEOs from less privileged families perform better in firms with high R&D spending but they underperform CEOs from wealthy families when firms operate in a more uncertain environment. Taken together, my results show that endowed family wealth of a CEO is useful in identifying his or her managerial ability.
ContributorsDu, Fangfang (Author) / Babenko, Ilona (Thesis advisor) / Bates, Thomas (Thesis advisor) / Tserlukevich, Yuri (Committee member) / Wang, Jessie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The circular economy is viewed as a solution to many of the environmental and social ills that the linear economy has exacerbated. Whether it is through refill solutions or redesigning a cardboard shipping container, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands are rethinking the way their products are delivered to consumers through business model innovations that promote circularity. The consumer plays the important, often overlooked, role of enabler within circular business models. This study aims to increase broader understanding of what motivates circular consumption of fast-moving consumer goods while analyzing the relationship between motivators and the behaviors required to participate. Semi-structured interviews provide insights from consumers who are currently purchasing household cleansers from brands that operate with a circular business model. Results from this study highlight a group of consumers that are distinguished by their common desire to reduce their personal consumption of plastics. There is clear indication that these consumers are in fact seeking out ways to consume more sustainably. A significant subset of this group expresses concern regarding ingredients used in the products. Health concerns for themselves, their family, or a pet are driving a desire to understand product ingredients. There is evidence to indicate that the concern for personal consumption of plastics is being driven by information distributed via social media and supported by targeted advertisements for brands that address this concern.
ContributorsBrown, Jennifer B (Author) / Dooley, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Fischer, Daniel (Committee member) / Buch, Rajesh (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
ABSTRACT
Historically, Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) guided companies to make better decisions to improve the environmental impacts of their products. However, as new Circular Economy (CE) tools emerge, the usefulness of LCA in assessing linear products grow more and more obsolete. Research Question: How do LCA-based tools account for reuse/multiple life cycles of products verses CE-based tools?
The Kaiteki Innovation Framework (KIF) was used to address the question of circularity of two packaging materials using an Environmental LCA to populate its 12 CE dimensions. Any gaps were evaluated with 2 LCA- based and 2 CE-based tools to see which could address the leftover CE dimensions.
Results showed that to complete the KIF template, LCA data required one of the LCA-based tools: Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) and both CE-based tools: Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) and Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) to supplement gaps in the KIF. The LCA addressed 5 of the KIF dimensions: Innovation Category Name, Description, GHG Impact, Other Environmental Impacts, and Value Chain Position. 3 analytical tools addressed 5 more:: Effect on Circularity, Social Impacts, Enabling Technologies, Tier 2 and 3 Requirements, and Value Chain Synergies. None of the tools could address the KIF Dimensions: State of Development or Scale Requirements. All in all, the KIF required both LCA-based and CE-based tools to cover social and socio-economic impacts from a cradle-to-cradle perspective with multiple circular loops in mind. These results can help in the research and development of innovative, circular products that can lead to a more environmentally preferred future.
Historically, Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) guided companies to make better decisions to improve the environmental impacts of their products. However, as new Circular Economy (CE) tools emerge, the usefulness of LCA in assessing linear products grow more and more obsolete. Research Question: How do LCA-based tools account for reuse/multiple life cycles of products verses CE-based tools?
The Kaiteki Innovation Framework (KIF) was used to address the question of circularity of two packaging materials using an Environmental LCA to populate its 12 CE dimensions. Any gaps were evaluated with 2 LCA- based and 2 CE-based tools to see which could address the leftover CE dimensions.
Results showed that to complete the KIF template, LCA data required one of the LCA-based tools: Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) and both CE-based tools: Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) and Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) to supplement gaps in the KIF. The LCA addressed 5 of the KIF dimensions: Innovation Category Name, Description, GHG Impact, Other Environmental Impacts, and Value Chain Position. 3 analytical tools addressed 5 more:: Effect on Circularity, Social Impacts, Enabling Technologies, Tier 2 and 3 Requirements, and Value Chain Synergies. None of the tools could address the KIF Dimensions: State of Development or Scale Requirements. All in all, the KIF required both LCA-based and CE-based tools to cover social and socio-economic impacts from a cradle-to-cradle perspective with multiple circular loops in mind. These results can help in the research and development of innovative, circular products that can lead to a more environmentally preferred future.
ContributorsDe Los Santos, Andrew John (Author) / Seager, Thomas (Thesis advisor) / Dooley, Kevin (Committee member) / Buch, Rajesh (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Firms have increasingly taken on the commitment to sustainability due to environmental and social concerns. Environmental and social sustainability can create firm value and social welfare through cost reduction and revenue growth. While indicating a desire to do more, firms face challenges while engaging with stakeholders in their supply chains – suppliers and consumers. Suppliers are key partners to achieve cost reduction while customers can be the driver for revenue growth. If firms do not overcome the challenges properly, such a win-win situation of both firms and their supply chain stakeholders may not exist. This dissertation aims to understand and suggest ways to overcome the challenges which firms and their supply chain stakeholders face while collaboratively pursuing sustainability.
In the first essay, I investigate the financial impact of a buyer-initiated supplier-focused sustainability improvement program on suppliers’ profitability. The results indicate that a supplier sustainability program may lead to short-term financial loss but long-term financial gain for suppliers, and this effect is contingent on supplier slack resources. The second essay of this dissertation focuses on the consumers and investigates their reactions to two types of firm environmental sustainability claims – sustainable production versus sustainable consumption. The results indicate that firm sustainable consumption claims increase consumers’ purchase, thus leads to larger firm sales, whereas firm sustainable production claims decrease consumers’ buying intention, then result in smaller firm sales. Therefore, I show that, contrary to extant belief, firm environmental sustainability can decrease consumers’ intention to buy. Finally, a firm may be impacted when some of its upstream or downstream stakeholders, or its own operations, are impacted by a natural disaster, which are becoming more frequent due to climate change. In the third essay I study the joint effect of market attention and donation timing on firm stock returns based on the experiences of firms who donated to the 2017 Hurricane Harvey. I conclude that neither the first donors nor the followers can mitigate the negative stock returns due to disasters. However, firms who match their donation timing with market attention experience less negative stock market returns compared to other counterparts.
In the first essay, I investigate the financial impact of a buyer-initiated supplier-focused sustainability improvement program on suppliers’ profitability. The results indicate that a supplier sustainability program may lead to short-term financial loss but long-term financial gain for suppliers, and this effect is contingent on supplier slack resources. The second essay of this dissertation focuses on the consumers and investigates their reactions to two types of firm environmental sustainability claims – sustainable production versus sustainable consumption. The results indicate that firm sustainable consumption claims increase consumers’ purchase, thus leads to larger firm sales, whereas firm sustainable production claims decrease consumers’ buying intention, then result in smaller firm sales. Therefore, I show that, contrary to extant belief, firm environmental sustainability can decrease consumers’ intention to buy. Finally, a firm may be impacted when some of its upstream or downstream stakeholders, or its own operations, are impacted by a natural disaster, which are becoming more frequent due to climate change. In the third essay I study the joint effect of market attention and donation timing on firm stock returns based on the experiences of firms who donated to the 2017 Hurricane Harvey. I conclude that neither the first donors nor the followers can mitigate the negative stock returns due to disasters. However, firms who match their donation timing with market attention experience less negative stock market returns compared to other counterparts.
ContributorsCheng, Feng (Author) / Dooley, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Han, Sang-Pil (Committee member) / Polyviou, Mikaella (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020