Barriers to Circular Supply Chain Adoption: A Perspective of Electric Battery Industries of Bangladesh

Abstract The demand for electric batteries is increasing day by day in Bangladesh because of the increasing demand for electric vehicles and energy storage supporting power systems. There are 25 companies in Bangladesh that are trying to meet this rising demand. Since toxic materials such as lead (Pb) and sulphuric acid (H2SO4) are used in electric batteries, the supply chain of the industry needs to be more circular. The aim of this study is to explore the barriers of implementing Circular Supply Chain (CSC) in Electric Battery Industries (EBIs) of Bangladesh. Related barriers were defined using the PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal) framework, and the contextual relationship among the identified barriers was developed using Interpretive Structural Modelling (MICMAC i.e., Cross Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification technique), followed by a cause-effect analysis of the driving barriers to determine the root causes. Lack of sustainable development planning, lack of knowledge about the environment, health, and future generations, lack of coordination among industries and supply chain partners, increased competition, lack of investment in technological innovation, and low quality of circulated products are the root causes of the driving barriers to implementing CSC in Bangladesh's EBIs. The government and the supply chain partners of EBIs should take holistic approach on sustainable development. The results would help in the implementation of CSC, making it easier to achieve sustainable development by introducing economic growth, improving the environment, and creating more job opportunities.