How can emerging technologies help us rethink consumption and supply chains? A new research initiative at the Adam Smith Business School explores the transformative potential of circular technologies to drive responsible production and sustainability.

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Rethinking Waste: From Linear to Circular

The world faces a triple planetary crisis: climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. This research responds to that challenge by exploring how circular economy principles, designed to minimise waste and maximise resource efficiency, can be supported by innovative technologies. Rather than following the traditional take-make-dispose model, circular technologies aim to redesign supply chains and consumer practices around reuse, recycling, and regeneration.

One such example is the EU’s forthcoming digital product passport, which will trace a product’s lifecycle from source to disposal. But what else is possible, and how do we scale these ideas in ways that are truly sustainable?

The Project

Running from 2025 to 2026 and supported by the ASBS Grand Challenges Fund, this interdisciplinary programme investigates how circular technologies can enable responsible consumption and sustainable supply chain management (SCM). The research is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

Led by Dr Abraham Zhang, Dr Anna Schulze Tilling, Dr Khaldoon Albitar, Dr Durga Nagarajan, and Dr Bowei Chen, the project aims to generate new knowledge around:

  • The real-world efficacy of circular technologies
  • Strategies for implementing them in supply chains
  • The social, economic and regulatory conditions that shape their success

A Path to Impact

The project is designed with a practical impact in mind. Its findings will:

  • Inform consumers about more responsible choices
  • Help businesses adopt greener, tech-enabled SCM strategies
  • Support policymakers in designing effective interventions for a circular economy transition

The team is aiming to scale this research into a larger national or international collaboration.

For further information, please contact business-school-research@glasgow.ac.uk 

First published: 20 May 2025

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