| Abstract | The circular economy (CE) is critical to advance sustainability. To advance sustainability, CE can
be integrated into business’ daily operations, yet CE uptake varies by industry. Small manufacturers,
particularly impact regional-to-local sustainability conditions, so CE adoption by these entities provides
sustainability information. This research aims to document CE practices and principles of small
manufacturers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and assess if company characteristics and business
leadership motivation towards the environment impact CE implementation. I surveyed 69 manufacturers. I
designed questions to investigate CE adoption, company characteristics and motivation. I analyzed
responses via descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. I found that uptake of CE practices increased
with improved motivation, and that company characteristics led to subtle differences in CE adoption.
Minority-owned businesses implemented more CE principles than non-minority owned. Overall, my
findings suggest that small manufacturers use easy to adopt CE practices, and motivations can significantly
improve CE uptake. |
