Supply chain collaboration as a facilitator of circular economy for bio-based food packaging

Abstract: The amount of food packaging waste is one of the issues associated with increasing global population and corresponding increase in consumption rate of packaged foods. Traditional plastic food packaging derived from fossil fuels imposes a significant environmental threat. There are sustainable bio-based alternatives developed to substitute traditional plastic packaging that are implemented in circular economy business models. These solutions often utilise collaboration to be implemented, however, there is a lack of research on the collaborative processes that enable circular economy in bio-based food packaging. In this thesis we examine what collaborative processes are being used in the bio-based packaging supply chain and how these processes help with facilitating the implementation of circular economy in the packaging production. Moreover, this thesis also investigates what are the barriers that the packaging producers face as they collaborate toward a circular economy. Therefore, we use qualitative interviews with representatives of bio-based food packaging companies and study the theories of supply chain collaboration and circular economy such as resource based view, transaction cost economics and various iterations of circular supply chain management models. We find that bio-based food packaging producers collaborate externally with customers, suppliers and internally among organisational teams to enable the circular economy of bio-based alternatives to conventional plastics. We also find that collaboration for circular economy in bio-based food packaging solutions is challenged by cultural differences, varying regulations among countries, opportunistic behaviour across the supply chain, insufficient organisation of communication between collaborators as well and misalignment of their interests. We contribute empirical evidence of collaborative processes across bio-based food packaging supply chains providing a ground for further research streams across the aspects of collaboration for circular economy.