Analysis of Circular Economy in Unilever: Benefits and Practical Application

Running head: ANALYSIS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
ANALYSIS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
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ANALYSIS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Executive Summary
The report is grounded on the analysis of the concept of circular economy which deals with
the sustainable use of resources for the purpose of creating sustainable operations. The
organization which is taken into consideration for the analysis of the circular economy
concept is Unilever. The ways by which Unilever has been able to implement the circular
economy concept in its supply chain is analysed in the report. The benefits that are provided
to the organization due to the implementation of circular economy is also analysed in the
report in detail. This has helped in understanding the importance of circular economy on the
operations of an organization.

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ANALYSIS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Description of the organization......................................................................................3
Operations and concepts of circular economy...............................................................4
Drivers of circular economy.......................................................................................7
Economic drivers.......................................................................................................7
Social drivers..............................................................................................................7
Environmental benefits..............................................................................................7
Practical application of the circular economy................................................................8
Business model of the company.................................................................................8
Operations and the supply chain of the company......................................................8
Benefits provided by circular economy to Unilever................................................10
Conclusion....................................................................................................................10
References....................................................................................................................12

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ANALYSIS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Introduction
Circular economy is a major alternative to the traditional linear type of economy in
which the resources are kept in use for the longest time. The organizations which implement
the concept of circular economy aim at extracting maximum value from the various resources
that are available for them. The resources are used for the purpose of regenerating the
services and products at the end of the service life. This can be defined as a regenerative
system in which the resource input, waste, the energy leakage and emission are minimised by
the closing, slowing and narrowing loops of materials (Andrews 2015). This process can be
achieved with the help of preservation, long-lasting design, reuse, repair, revamping and the
closing of the recycling loops. The major advantage of the circular economy is that the
achievement of a sustainable world does not always require a change in the lifestyle of the
consumers or the loss of revenues of the company. The circular business models have proved
to be profitable in nature like the linear models and consumers are also able to enjoy the same
type of products (Blomsma and Brennan 2017).
This report will be based on the analysis of the concept of circular economy and the
ways by which this concept is practically used in the modern organizations. The drivers and
the benefits of circular economy to the organizations and the consumers will also be analysed
in the report.
Description of the organization
The organization that is taken into consideration for the analysis of circular economy
is Unilever PLC which is a British-Dutch transnational organization which operates in the
sector of consumer goods. The headquarter of the company is locate in London in the United
Kingdom and Rotterdam in Netherlands. The products that are offered by the company
include, drinks, food, personal care based products and the cleaning agents. The sector in