Sustainable Management and Marketing for Circular Economy

This article explores the concept of circular economy and how organizations are implementing sustainable management and marketing strategies to reduce waste and promote recycling. It discusses famous brands like Gap Inc., Burberry, M&S, Primark, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, and Arvind Fashions Company and their sustainability measures. The article also provides insights on value proposition, creation, delivery, and capture of these brands.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Sustainable management and marketing
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Introduction
Circular economy is being defined as a way of minimizing the wastes in the different
processes through the enumeration of procedures relating to alternative consumption. In this
relation, most of the organizations planned the sustainability measures with the objective of
encouraging the recycling process while designing new and improved set of product offerings
(Geissdoerfer et al. 2017).
The concept of circular economy is developing at a very rapid rate in order to make
sure that the different organizations are trying to take natures their teachers and are
undertaking all their projects in a very sustainable manner (Hong and Chen 2017). They will
be able to ensure that the different kinds of works that are being undertaken by the companies
are not harming the nature in any way (Korhonen, Honkasalo and Seppälä 2018). There are
some very evil aspects taking place in different organization. One of the major polluting
activities is the solid waste that is being dumped on the ground or being accumulated into the
Earth’s atmosphere due to plastic wastes and other such solid pollutants (Agarwal 2016).

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Figure: Circular Economy
(Source: Bek and Lim 2018 )
Table 1
BRAND RESOURCE
ISSUES
HOW USED /MANAGED
BRAND 1(Gap Inc.) Water usage
 The organization aimed at reducing the
rate of emission of the GHG (Green
House gases) by 50% by the year 2020
while already optimizing the operations
of the same in the markets
 The organization designed a Water
strategy with the objective of reducing

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the water use in production departments
by 10 billion litres by the end of 2020
BRAND
2(Burberry)
In a practice
understood to be
common across
the retail
industry, the
luxury brand
burned £28.6m
of products,
including
£10.4m worth of
beauty items,
according to its
annual report.
 However, the wastes that are created by
the brand affected the environmental
sustenance of the same while operating
in the different markets
BRAND
3(PRIMARK)
Child
labour(ethical
issue)
 The organization’s lower control over
the suppliers from India resulted to the
scandal relating to child labour in the
manufacturing departments of the
organization.
 The application of cheap labour and
exploitation of the children while
developing the line of products resulted
to the ethical issue in the organization

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BRAND 4(M& S) Lack of product
innovation and
development
 The lack of product and service
innovations in the organization also
affected the competitive position of the
venture while operating in the different
markets.
BRAND 5(Aditya
birla fashion and
retail)
 The organization aimed at reducing the
dependency on grid electricity by 12%
while increasing their capability of
renewable energy sources by 25% by
2020
 The organization focused on reducing
the rate of wastes to zero by 2020
 25% of the reductions in the GHG
emissions by 2020 is again a strategy
that is being operated on by the
organization with the objective of
upholding the business sustenance
 The different environmental, economic
and social sustenance related goals of the
venture enabled the same in retaining the
trust and confidence of the stakeholders
BRAND 6 (Arvind
(company)
 The organization has already
implemented procedures for reutilizing
water and 65% usage of the operations

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are developed on the basis of recycled
water
 The organization aimed at reducing the
carbon footprint by 25% while
implementing Better Cotton Initiative
(BCI) for improving the rate of organic
cotton farming
 The community developmental programs
that are initiated by the organization
enabled the same in maintaining the
efficiency of the operation sin alignment
with the needs of the customers
 There are some other companies like Gap Inc. that has already tried its level best to
make sure that they are working over the abolition of the waste water usage (Stahel
2016). This shows that a good and useful strategy has been undertaken for the purpose
of the overall welfare of the organization and also the society as well. This will be
helping the company to earn a good will among their customers so that they can
develop some sustainable approaches for the overall welfare of their organization
(Agarwal 2016). PRIMARK has reported to indulge children, mostly as young as 11
years, as labour force for manufacturing their apparels. Burberry is an organization
that destroyed around £28m worth of its fashion and cosmetic products for avoiding
situations related to counterfeiting (Wood and Butler 2019). It helped the organization
in continuing with the social and economic sustenance through empowering the trust
and confidence of the customers.

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 They have also taken some kinds of strategies that will be helping them to reduce the
waste accumulation from their production and manufacturing processes (Jones and
Comfort 2017). Aditya Birla has tried to reduce the 25% of the reductions in the GHG
emissions. Improper usage of electricity consumption has been reduced by Arvind
company. M&S has been able to deal with lack of product innovation and
development affected the capabilities of the organization, Marks and Spencer, in
providing the customers with a variation of offerings as per the changing needs.
Compare and discuss the key analysis from the Table
It is evident from the given table 1 that there are some of the very famous and well
known brands that have been fighting with several sustainability issues over the years
Camiller 2017). However they have to make sure that they are being able to recognize these
issues and the make sure that they are also being able to adopt some safe and sustainable
resources for the purpose of carrying on their business in the long run (Sarkar and Shaw
2017). Though it was seen that the companies were calling back all their faulty products and
practices, this practice cannot be allowed to carry on (Agarwal 2016). For an instance it has
been seen that PRIMARK is one of the major companies that is engaged in the production of
clothes and retail products (Camiller 2017). However it has been seen that one of the
drawback is the child labour that they used for the purpose of maximizing their production.
However after these issues were discovered the company took it on a serious note and made
sure that they are being able to reassess their supply chain and abolish all the unethical
activities that have been taking place (Sarkar and Shaw 2017).
Table 2

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BRAND SLOW(REUSE) NARROW(REDUCE) CLOSE(RECYLE)
BRAND 1(Gap Inc.)  They are
trying to
convert the
retail waste
from landfills
into
something
useful
 Significantly
trying to
reduce the
energy waste
like water
wastage and
use it for some
kinds of
fruitful
purposes.
 Solutions for
polybags is
one of the
recycling
strategies
being used
by them.
BRAND 2(burberry)  They are
trying to
reuse the
plastics and
the other
packaging
materials that
are used for
the purpose
of delivering
their
products
 They are
working for the
reducing of the
maximum
amount of
plastic waste so
that they can
reduce the
plastic waste in
the world.
 Created
paper
packaging
using FSC
certified
virgin pulp
and fiber
from
recycled
coffee cups
in
partnership
with
CupCycling.

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BRAND 3 (M& S)  They have
the approach
of
developing a
circular
economy and
make sure all
wastes gets
reduced
 The company
has eliminated
1,700 tonnes of
black plastic
packaging
because it’s
hard to recycle
and switching
over to other
brands.
 They are also
making
newer
strategies so
that they can
transform the
plastics
BRAND 4(Primark)  They are
trying to
work over
the
production of
renewable
sources of
energy
 They are trying
to look after
the production
of eco friendly
products
 They have
looked after
the reduction
of the landfill
waste and
waste water
BRAND 5(Aditya
birla fashion and
retail)
 Reduction in
petcoke
consumption
by reuse of
petcoke ash
with fresh
petcoke
 Reduction in
the amount of
energy that is
being used by
the company

 Replacement
 Reduction
strategies
have been
undertaken
through the
recycling of
all the waste

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of conventional
tube lights with
LED lights
(1,000 No.s),
saving of
158,400 units
during the
year.
water and
making them
usable in
some other
modern
scientific
technological
means.
BRAND 6 (Arvind
Fashions company)
 They have
taken steps to
reuse the
water
footprint.
This has
helped them
to reduce
their usage of
dependency
on the usage
of water
which is a
natural
resource for
the
operations at
 They have
entered into a
public private
project where
they undertook
some kinds of
recycling
works
Partnership project at
Santej Unit, where the
sewage water is
extracted from the
different processes and
 from nearby
communities
through the
local
 Recycling of
water has
been
undertaken
that is now
being used in
order to meet
about 60%
off their
water
demand

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different
units.
municipality’s
wastewater
network. In
addition to
efficient use of
water
resources, our
aim is to
completely
eliminate the
use of fresh
water.
Compare and discuss the key analysis from the Table
It can be seen from the table that all the different well known brand are being able to
understand about the concept of circular economy and are taking active steps in order to deal
with the same. They have started taking different steps that would be helping them to not
only minimize the amount of waste that is being generated in the atmosphere due to their
production but at the same time the waste materials are being also recycled for something
purposeful and useful. There are several companies that make the promises of maintaining all
the necessary environmental standards. Arvind Fashions Company has worked hard for
looking after the excessive loss of water. Aditya Birla has also worked for the purpose of

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working over the reduction in the waste water usage. PRIMARK has been working over the
reduction of the landfill wastes and the production of the other renewable sources of
packaging materials.
Gap Inc has worked hard for the purpose of making sure that they are able to work
over the extra usage of polybags. Burberry has tried to create paper packaging using FSC
certified virgin pulp. This will help in making sure that the industries are being able to look
after the generation of the wastes into the atmosphere and make sure that they are being able
to take care of their society and their planets by making sure that they are using the eco
friendly products like the environmental friendly packing materials and also pollution free
products.

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Individual Critical Analysis Linking Marketing and Management Sustainability
BRAND
Table 3
BRAND
1(Gap Inc.)
BRAND
2(burberry)
BRAND
3(M& S)
BRAND
4(Primar
k)
BRAND
5(Aditya
birla
fashion
and
retail)
BRAND 6
(Arvind
Fashions
company)
value
propositi
on
The company
has a very
unique range
of products
and acts like a
one stop store
for all the
different types
of clothing for
men, women,
kids .
Therefore they
help in
solving the
needs of their
entire
customer at
Authenticity
lies at the
very core of
this brand.
They make
sure that they
are being
able to
satisfy the
need of
elegance and
giving a very
beautiful
British
charm to the
M& S mainly
depends On
the aspects of
quality,
service,
innovation
and trust.
They make
sure that they
are able to
communicate
their values
to all their
customers in
a proper
manner and
also to make
The
unique
aspect of
the
company
to set a
very low
affordabl
e price
range for
the
buyers so
that they
can
develop a
very
unique
One of
the very
well
known
company
that helps
to solve
the need
for
getting
best
quality
garments
One of the
most popular
conglomerat
e with a wide
and unique
range of
clothing and
fashion items

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one point of
time.
different
clothes.
sure that they
are being able
to solve all
the issues.
customer
loyalty
and make
sure that
they are
being
able to
give a
very
tough
competiti
on to
their
competito
rs
value
creation
and
delivery
They can
gain a good
value in the
market by
developing
the online
sales so that
they give a
tough
competition
to the market
Customer
value
creation is
one of their
prime
objectives.
They have
gone digital
since the
year 2009.
They have
They can
create the
value by
making sure
that all the
customers
are being
able to get a
wide range
of products
The
company
tries to
create
value by
gatherin
g the
products
from all
over the
world
They
have
tried to
develop
a good
value for
their
custome
rs by
develop
a wide
They have
been able to
develop a
good
circular
approach
for the
purpose
producing
goods at a
very

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started
undertaking
the co
creation of
value by
understandin
g that all the
modern day
transactions
are being
done in an
online
platform.
and
procurin
g best
products
to the
customer
s.
range of
products
at a
reasonab
le price
affordable
and
environmen
tal friendly
manner.
value
capture

 They
will
be
able
to
captu
re
value
by
devel
op a
 They
are
able
to
captu
re
value
as
they
are
being
able
 they
can
captu
re
the
value
by
maki
ng
sure
that
they
They are
very
large
stores to
generate
bulk
purchase
by
customer
s but did
not have
online
They
can
capture
value by
making
sure that
they are
able to
work
over the
options
and also
They will b
able to
capture a
good
market
value as
they are
able to
maintain a
proper
sustainable
environmen

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wide
range
of
produ
cts
and
also
worki
ng
over
both
onlin
e and
physi
cal
stores
to
diver
sify
thems
elves.
.
are
enter
ing
into
new
inno
vativ
e
rang
es so
that
they
can
appe
al to
new
targe
ted
custo
mers
shopping
. They
have to
work on
the same
for
generatin
g greater
value
create
different
new
coupons,
offers
and also
discount
s
tal approach
Value dimensions
Gap inc. has been able to make sure that they are working over the product
diversification. This will in turn help them to understand the changing needs and demands f
the customers. In this modern day scenario customers all over the world are looking for some

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eco friendly products. Customers are not willing to pay any charge for the products like
textiles that are being made at the cost of the degradation of the environment. Therefore they
are trying to develop a large number of products to suit the taste and the preference pattern of
all the customers living in different geographical locations. Burberry on the other hand is
trying to increase their value dimensions by adding a pure and smart British elegant look to
different clothes that are being designed by them (Jones and Comfort 2017).
However this is a really good strategy for the overall welfare of the organization but
at the same time they have to make sure that they are diversifying themselves even more and
adding more authentic elements in the products. This will be helping the company to make
sure that they are being able to attract the attention of many customers belonging from
different age groups. Marks and Spenser are trying to make sure that innovation and diversity
is at the very core of their organizational structure. They have to make sure that they are
working over both their online and their physical stores as well so that they can appeal to all
the different customers. Customers will be able to take their purchases and their transactions
from their homes by using the online platforms (Geissdoerfer et al. 2017).
PRIMARK always tries to make sure that they are being able to sale their products at a price
that is affordable by all their customers. This in turn is a very good step or strategy that will
be helping them to know that they can give a very tough competition to all their competitor
brands. It must be noted that in this modern day scenario this strategy can turn out to be both
advantageous and also disadvantageous (www.ukessays.com. 2019). This is because they will
be able to attract a large number if customers who are from the low or the medium income
range. At the same time, some customers may become over concerned about the quality of
the products. In that case the company will have to be over alert about developing the quality
of the items. Aditya Birla has become one of the most popular names in the field of the
modern business scenario (He et al. 2018). They have tried their best in order to make sure

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that all the products are being made at a reasonable price and are being sold to the customers
so that they can buy all the goods and services without worrying much about their income
affordability. Arvind company has been able to generate value dimension by making sure that
they are being able to produce a wide range of products by adding all the unique products to
their collection.
CONSULION
Thus it can be concluded that all the well known retail brands have to work in a
sustainable manner so that they can provide ethical products to the customers. Circular
economy is one of the most useful concepts that is being followed by all the different brands
in the modern day business context so that they do not generate any harmful impacts on the
environment because of the goods being produced by them. However they have to make sure
that in order to flourish in the long run all the companies will have to abide by the different
sustain able measures so that they can actually develop their brand image (Stahel 2016). In
the modern day scenario there is a huge transition in the needs and the demands pattern of the
customers. There are many customers who have become ethically alert and are not willing to
pay for any kinds of services that are being given to them at the cost of harming the
environment Geissdoerfer et al. 2017).
There are several companies that must be able to carry on an extensive kind of
environmental analysis or is assessment so that they are able to find out some kinds of
measures for the overall well being of their company and also their customers in the long run.
It is the duty of the companies to make sure that they are developing some very useful
circular economy approaches so that they are able to focus over the better production of all
the different goods and services maintaining the environmental and the ethical standards.

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