E-Waste Management in India

E-waste is a rising problem given the volumes of e-waste being generated and the content of both toxic and valuable materials in them. This new kind of waste has raised serious concerns regarding their disposition and recycling all over the world. Having hazardous components in television and computer monitors (lead, mercury, and cadmium) and in circuit boards (nickel, beryllium, and zinc), the recycling and discarding of e-waste becomes a key concern. Disposal of e-waste poses serious environmental and health hazards. However, these problems can be tackled with the help of a circular approach. In this backdrop, the chapter discusses the problem of e-waste management in India, the related environmental and health issues in e-waste handling and disposal. It also discusses e-waste recycling practices in India and the current policy level interventions by the government. The chapter also highlights the possible business opportunities offered by the circular approach to e-waste management.

A Study of Consumer Switching Behaviour in the Indian Context With Respect to Recycled Products

In recent years, the need of every corporation to address the environmental issues has grown multifold. The corporate social responsibility concerns are growing, and it has become an indicator to judge a business performance. In the context of increasing environmental concerns where issues of pollution, generation of wastes, use of toxic substances for packaging, etc. are gaining strong ground, the consumers have also become alarmed and they fully understand the implications of such issues both on nature and earth. The chapter aims to study the behaviour and the change therein of Indian consumers. It is true that all the efforts and policies targeted towards initiative of green marketing cannot be realised if it is not received by the consumers. The chapter proposes to cover the concept of green marketing and its relation to the circular economy, the green marketing practices in Indian context, the attitude and preference of the Indian consumer towards green products, and the switch in the purchase pattern of the Indian consumers with respect to green/recycled products.

Sustainable and Green Human Resource Practices

Two topics, circular economy and human resource practices, have been in separate baskets. However, recent studies have shown that both have a major impact either directly or indirectly on each other. Human resource management or human management is largely associated with a behavior of an economy. It has been largely debated and accepted that human resource management has a major role in creating sustainable organizations. Human resource management as a function involves a lot of postulates of sustainability in the scope of an organization. We all understand that the role of human resources has widened throughout time, and there is a need for more innovations in better management with various stakeholders and employees to create HR as a more solution-based function.

Protection of Intangible Heritage

The convention concerning the protection of cultural and natural heritage only emphasizes the protection of tangible cultural heritage. However, the present convention completely turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the intangible cultural heritage. “Cultural heritage” as a term and its content are largely taken from other fields like anthropology and archaeology. The legal aspect of cultural heritage is most complex and difficult to understand. There also exist elements of intangible culture which would include songs or folklore musical traditions, ceremonial or ritual traditions, aspects of the life of ancient societies, and any special relationship between the people and the land that they inhabited. With the term property also comes the idea of assigning the artifact a market value whereas they are historically priceless. Cultural heritage has been made global and a part of universal heritage or “common heritage of mankind.”

Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade of Cash Crops

Virtual water flows (VWF) among states or countries have been proposed as a viable solution to mitigate water scarcity. The aim of this study is to assess the virtual water content and flows from India, for six cash crops, coffee, cotton, jute, sugarcane, tea, and tobacco, and their derived products over a period 1980-2013. The virtual water trade (VWT) estimates across three time periods show India to be a net exporter of virtual water for all the cash crops, except jute. The quantity of virtual water traded has increased over the decades with the increase in the quantum of crops traded. With free trade policies and the opening up of the economy, export quantities increased during the 1990s and the period thereafter, leading to larger virtual water exports. Sustainable agricultural practices for all crops, and in all countries, can help in reducing the water flow of these crops and help in controlling the water scarcity solution.

An Investigation of the Relationship Between Employee Perception of Corporate Citizenship Behaviour and Organisational Sustainability

Corporate greening practices such as measures to reduce pollution emission, management of waste, use of green technologies, sustainable reporting, consuming removable energy sources, implementation of ISO environment management certification, auditing, etc. are required for sustainability. A lot of studies of stakeholder perceptions of corporate responses towards societal concerns are mostly from the point of view of marketing, existing or prospective customers, and industry at a large, but the employee's aspects is most neglected. This chapter investigates the employee's perception of corporate citizenship (CC) and organisational sustainability and also the interrelationship of these variables.

Water Systems in a Circular Economy

The circular economy is based on three fundamental principles as defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation: design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems. This chapter explores the relationship between the circular economy principles and the water management systems to identify the integration points where the water systems can be aligned with the circular economy. The chapter also ascertains the impediments which hinder this transition and identifies the opportunities that will present themselves in this endeavor. This chapter aims to help the readers understand the social, economic, and environmental impacts that will be created when water systems get integrated into the circular economy framework.

Analysis of Circular Economy From a Household Perspective in the USA

In this chapter, the authors conduct original research on household emissions based on data from various sources in the literature. They analyze the extent of reduction of GHG emissions by adopting zero waste strategies by the households voluntarily, incurring no costs, but rather savings in wasteful expenditure. They then model this extent of reductions using a global computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to understand what could have been the carbon tax imposed to achieve this extent of GHG reduction. From the analysis, they find about 50% of GHG potential can be reduced from household emissions, as well as the associated life cycle emissions of products consumed. Reduced wasteful expenditure may facilitate both savings-led investments and the purchase of more green products by consumers, thereby boosting the economy. Therefore, they conclude that policies that incentivize zero waste lifestyle may go a long way in reducing the supposed tradeoff between the economy and the environment. They also review some strategies for the households, based on the literature, to minimize waste.

Prospects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Towards the Circular Economy

Artificial intelligence has become a large part of everyday life. The world is heading towards new heights of adaption of various decision support technologies. In the present era, the rate at which we are consuming natural finite resources and depleting them, through producing chemicals, soil pollution, water pollution, air pollution, etc., is destroying our ecosystem. We have tried several recycling methods to minimize wastage, but it is insignificant. Now there is a need to think about state-of-the-art technological support like artificial intelligence (AI). This chapter explores the prospects of artificial intelligence in the circular economy.

Circular Economy

The ongoing discourse of zero-waste and the circular economy in recent time have been underscored by key players, such as the European Commission, NGOs, INGOs, academia, and multinational companies. The discourse revolves around the fact that capitalist form of development has pushed the environment to the brink of destruction. The need of the hour is sustainable growth through the model of the circular economy. Thus, the idea of growth is being de-politicized by a post-growth narrative. This chapter wants to delve into the critical aspect of circular economy which propounds itself as a solution to capitalism driven growth. The first theme it addresses the actual materialization of circular economy whether it is actually a possible phenomenon or not. The second theme it deals with the concept of social sustainability and fulfillment of human wants. The last theme revolves around ideological dimension of post-growth, how the circular growth in the garb of post-growth ideology propels and legitimizes a more growth -driven society.