Resources Sustainability through Material Efficiency Strategies: An Insight Study of Electrical and Electronic Companies

Abstract

The circular economy (CE) is in a growing trend, especially to address the concern of resources sustainability, both from academics as well as industrial practitioners. For manufacturing businesses and services to be sustainable, using materials efficiently is an essential strategy, which is able to enhance the promotion of CE. However, for a developing country like Malaysia, little is known about the ongoing material efficiency strategies among the manufacturers. This paper presents a qualitative investigation of adopting material efficiency strategies in the manufacturing industry. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the material efficiency strategies at selected Electrical and Electronics (E&E) companies in Malaysia. A list of 11 E&E companies material efficiency strategies were determined and explicated. This paper provides valuable insights to academics and practitioners for a better understanding of the current practices pertaining to the material efficiency strategies in E&E companies in a developing country.

Keywords

• circular economy
• material efficiency
• sustainable manufacturing
• waste reduction
• waste minimization