Circular business models (CBMs) are increasingly recognised as important firm-level mechanisms of the transition towards a circular economy. However, existing research still provides limited quantitative evidence on how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) implement them as portfolios of interconnected circular practices rather than as isolated models. This gap is particularly relevant in Central and Eastern European economies, SMEs operate within predominantly linear market structures while facing growing pressure to adopt circular solutions. This study examines what shapes the breadth of circular practices related to CBM implementation in Slovak small and medium-sized enterprises. It focuses on perceived barriers and drivers, cost relationships, sectoral differences and the use of environmental performance indicators. The empirical analysis is based on data from 300 Slovak small and medium-sized enterprises collected through computer-assisted telephone interviewing. Multiple linear regression and chi-square tests are used to examine relationships specified in four hypotheses. The results show that broader circular practice portfolios are positively associated with perceived barriers and, to a lesser extent, perceived drivers, suggesting that more engaged enterprises recognise both implementation constraints and expected benefits more strongly. Manufacturing enterprises show broader implementation than most other sectors. Higher perceived costs of introducing circular practices are associated with higher perceived operating costs, indicating cost complementarity rather than substitution between initial and ongoing expenditures. Broader circular practice portfolios are also linked to more intensive use of environmental indicators, although measurement remains focused mainly on cost savings, waste reduction and resource efficiency rather than explicitly ecological indicators. The study shows that circular transformation in SMEs enterprises is gradual, heterogeneous and shaped by perceptual, economic, sectoral and measurement-related factors.
The transition toward more sustainable manufacturing has become a global priority, driven by increasing regulatory requirements, resource scarcity concerns, and growing stakeholder expectations for environmentally responsible products. While eco-design and cleaner production approaches have been widely applied in high-volume industrial sectors, their implementation in luxury metallic accessories remains limited due to the need to simultaneously satisfy environmental, functional, and aesthetic requirements. This study investigates whether alternative manufacturing and surface finishing technologies can reduce the environmental impacts of luxury metallic accessories without compromising product performance or visual quality. To address this challenge, a life cycle-oriented eco-design framework is proposed and applied to an industrial case study of a luxury snap hook. Two functionally and aesthetically equivalent production routes were compared: Zamak die casting with conventional galvanic gold plating and stainless steel 316L manufactured through Metal Injection Moulding and finished with Physical Vapour Deposition gold coating. The assessment combined Life Cycle Inventory and Life Cycle Assessment using the Environmental Footprint 3.1 method with standardized mechanical, durability, corrosion, and aesthetic performance testing to ensure functional equivalence between the alternatives. The results show that the Metal Injection Moulding–Physical Vapour Deposition route reduces environmental impacts by more than 80–90% across key categories, including climate change, energy use, water consumption, human toxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, and resource scarcity. In addition, the alternative solution demonstrated superior corrosion resistance, coating stability, durability, and colour consistency compared with the conventional galvanic system. The findings demonstrate that cleaner surface finishing technologies can simultaneously improve environmental performance and product quality in luxury metallic accessories. The study contributes to cleaner production research by providing an eco-design framework tailored to luxury metal products, integrating life cycle environmental assessment with technical and aesthetic performance validation, and offering industrial evidence to support sustainability-oriented manufacturing decisions in high-value metal component production.
Environmental pollution has become a pressing global challenge, driven in part by the increasing demand for apparel and the prevalence of unsustainable manufacturing practices throughout the textile and apparel supply chain. Currently, the textile and apparel sector stand as the second most polluting industry worldwide. Most of the environmental problem stems from the traditional linear model of production, which promotes waste accumulation and resource consumption. While green merchandising offers a promising pathway to mitigate these adverse effects, significant challenges hinder its successful implementation. By adopting circular economy practices instead of the linear ones, most of the challenges related to green merchandising can be solved. Existing studies have largely examined green merchandising challenges and circular economy practices separately, with limited efforts to systematically link and prioritize them for managerial decision-making. Therefore, this study identifies critical green merchandising challenges and connects them with circular economy strategies using an integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach. The Fuzzy Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis was employed to weigh the relative importance of green merchandising challenges, while the Fuzzy Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment method was used to rank mitigating circular economy strategies. Results indicate that high investment in R&D, initial high technology cost, and a lack of environmental concerns are the primary challenges to green merchandising adoption. Conversely, circular economy strategies such as Rethink, Reuse, and Recycle emerged as the most effective tools for overcoming these hurdles. This research contributes to existing literature by systematically prioritizing challenges and providing a strategic framework for their mitigation through circularity. The findings demonstrate that circular economy practices can serve as effective pathways for addressing critical barriers to green merchandising and accelerating sustainability transitions within the textile and apparel industry.
A growing body of research has shown that urban ecosystem restoration plays a critical role in strengthening climate resilience, yet its localized impacts remain underexplored. This study investigates how nature-based infrastructure (NBI) interventions contribute to climate resilience in the rapidly expanding city of Jimma, Ethiopia, between 2015 and 2025. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study analyzed land-use and land-cover change, meteorological records, and household socio-economic surveys, complemented by expert and community insights. Key resilience indicators-carbon sequestration, temperature regulation, and flood mitigation-were quantified through structural equation modeling, while qualitative data were described using thematic content analysis methods. Results show that restored waterscapes, particularly Lake Boyye, are strongly associated with riverside development, solid waste recycling, afforestation under the Green Legacy program, urban agriculture, and corridor development. These interventions significantly improved climate resilience outcomes while advancing sustainable urban growth. The findings highlight NBI's potential to integrate ecological restoration with urban planning, offering actionable pathways toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Growing global pressure for climate mitigation and environmental accountability has intensified scrutiny over whether corporate sustainability disclosures genuinely reflect operational environmental performance. Although many manufacturing firms publish detailed sustainability reports, the alignment between reported commitments and actual green production practices remains unclear, particularly in emerging economies. This study assessed the alignment between sustainability disclosure and operational implementation in four Indonesian manufacturing companies. A multiple-case study approach was employed using publicly available sustainability reports. Disclosure practices were evaluated using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, while operational implementation was assessed through SCOR Digital Standard (SCOR-DS) Best Practices. Both dimensions were measured using a structured 0–3 scoring system and compared through disclosure–substance gap analysis. The results revealed measurable discrepancies between reported sustainability commitments and operational practices. Cleaner production, energy efficiency, and waste reduction exhibited minor under-reporting, indicating that implementation levels exceeded disclosure quality by 3-7%. In contrast, sustainable materials and resource conservation showed an average over-reporting gap of 11%, suggesting that reported commitments were not always supported by equivalent implementation maturity. Operational evidence included municipal waste-to-energy conversion of approximately 160 tons per day and partial coal substitution of 5–6%. By integrating GRI-based disclosure assessment with SCOR-DS operational evaluation, this study provides a practical framework for assessing sustainability governance maturity and identifying improvement priorities in manufacturing organizations.
