Circular Economy Implementation Status of Selected ASEAN Countries

• Main Authors: Javed, Tariq, Said, Fareyha, Zainal, Dalilawati, Jalil, Azlina Abdul
• Format: Article
• Published: SAGE Publications 2024
• Subjects: H Social Sciences (General); HC Economic History and Conditions
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/45865/; https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231216261
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

Developed countries have adopted the circular economy concept to solve environmental problems. This study underpins the paradox theory to investigate the circular economy's implementation status in the ASEAN region through the circular economy index. The circular economy index disclosure data for top companies in the ASEAN region was collected through an automated content analysis approach using DICTION on the annual/sustainability reports. The findings show that most public companies from the ASEAN region disclose the circular economy indicators in their annual/sustainability reports. The environment-sensitive firms are disclosing the circular economy indicators actively compared to the non-environment sensitive companies. Based on the results, this study provides theoretical and practical implications. This study is also limited because it is based only on the ASEAN region. Future studies can underpin other theoretical support and provide a comparative analysis across the continents. This study used paradox theory to investigate the implementation of circular economy in the selected ASEAN countries. The study used circular economy index to collect data from the selected ASEAN companies. The results showed that environment-sensitive firms are disclosing the circular economy indicators actively compared to the non-environment sensitive companies. The study's findings has implications for the companies to actively implement circular economy concept and highlight any issues and limitations.