The Role of Technology in Circular Waste, Food Retail, and Supply Chains:

Pros and Cons of Digital Solutions

1. Introduction

The use of technology has become a common phenomenon for human beings
and has been around for many years, offering more efficient workplaces and
mechanical advantages. Technology has become essential to the existence of
the human species, and we depend on it. We use it in our everyday lives for its
benefits, whether in our homes or even in factories. Technology is only going to
continue to be used more over time, and it will only advance more as time goes
on; it is everywhere, and the retail industry is no exception either. Technology is
innovative and is usually expected to only offer advantages; however, some of
these advancements have created challenges that need to be faced because of
the damage they could cause to the environment or, if used negligently, can
cause harm to communities or other species.

This research paper uses relevant sources of information and research

conducted previously to uncover the advantages and disadvantages of
technology in the retail industry, more specifically the impact that digital solutions
and innovation have on waste and supply chains in different sorts of retail
businesses.

2. Background
The retail industry is no different from any other industry where ethical sourcing
and corporate accountability have become expected attributes of practice. In
modern times, sustainability, diversity, transparency, and greening the
environment for future generations are all integral parts of running a business,
and there have been regulations put in place to make sure retail businesses
comply with the concept. Supply chain ethics and corporate responsibility are
now critical and crucial to brand image and, therefore, to success. The increasing
concern regarding ethical and responsible sourcing in retail demonstrates a long-
term shift towards holding retailers accountable for their sourcing. This is done by
ensuring all products are acquired legitimately; meaning workers are paid
reasonable wages, human rights are abided by factories are safe, and
communities impacted by sourcing are treated more impartially. Ethical sourcing
 reinforces social and environmental responsibility in all industries and aims to
preserve whilst producing effectively and efficiently.

Ethical product sourcing is important to retailers because corporate social

responsibility (Dal Mas et al., 2021) helps build their brand image. Retailers have
privileged access to final consumers, to whom they must disclose certain
information about the products they are providing to them, consumers have
become more aware of ethical product sourcing so having a positive brand image
as a retailer is important because it builds trust between the retailer and the
consumers and overall make the retailer more reliable and trustworthy ( Dal Mas et
al., 2021). Many retail businesses now go the extra step and hire independent
auditors who inspect their manufacturing facilities to ensure that they are
considered ethical and meet all essential requirements, especially for workers’
rights, safety, and the protection of the environment; this also assists in providing
evidence that they are lawful and are abiding by ethical product sourcing
protocols.

Factors such as the manufacturer the retailers decide to work with have an
impact on the ethicality of how their products are sourced retailers need to be
aware of what the manufacturer’s beliefs are and what their environmental
footprint is like. Some companies are even certified as B-Corp, which means that
their primary purpose is to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy,
which includes elements of ethical sourcing (Saha et al., 2019). Labour laws and
regulations have also played a role in ethical sourcing as these laws set the
standard to which retailers need to comply to create suitable work environments
for their employees and no discrimination is present at the facilities.

3. Subtheme
Companies enhance waste management efficiency by informing their customers
about the information on recycling by having recycling signs on products offered
as they are the end users of these products. It is a challenge to implement these
processes across all industries. According to (Praveen Kumare Gopalakrishnam,
2021) as the number of people increased, improved technology and new
sustainability goals have brought about a movement in the “smart cities” to
manage solid waste efficiency. By putting in place effective waste management
systems, retailers can be unique in their market, push customer loyalty, and add
to a more maintainable future.
Retailers are being transparent in waste management by being involved with
their customers to spread knowledge about food waste and raise responsible
buying habits, by giving an incentive for a decrease in waste at home, giving
information about the product shelf life and motivating the buying of imperfect
products, this way retailers are adopting a sense of shared responsibility for
waste reduction. Retailers can also categorize sourced products and show eco-
friendly packaging which will help alleviate waste and call on environmental
awareness among consumers, resulting in an increase in the brand reputation
and customer loyalty (retail, 2023) . According to (Maria Merray Svidronova,
2022) The European Union has emphasized the need to provide the connection
between economic growth, buying of resources and waste production and has
set a way to achieve the most fruitful way to use natural resources and alleviate
waste, these changed have directed to the modification of laws in people within
the country including Slovakia. Broad size and environmental
performance/transparency according to (Thi Hong Van Hoang, 2021)
Generational diversity in the context of environmental issues, such as putting
information about the environment out there or personal preference towards
environmental strategies, can have an eloquent impact on a firm’s environment.
According to (Finch, 2022) Step one approach towards a waste management
plan Is Implementing a strategy that solely focuses on waste hierarchy before a
contractor plays a part, It is important to have a direction on how to manage
waste based on the waste hierarchy, The hierarchy ranks waste management
using their effectiveness on protecting the environment. The materials and
processes used in sectors within the organization mean that every method used
to approach the strategy will not be the same from case to case. However, as a
rule of thumb, it ensures that the organization does not produce a lot of waste
while manufacturing and is most sustainable and cost-effective. The steps used
there are Prevent, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, and Dispose of. For
preventing The aim is to address the disposal of waste it is important to check
whether the organization is reducing their production, for reuse then it means
 organizations can use more products on the packaging which can be used again
in future which can be alleviating costs for the organization.
There are now a lot of companies aiming to recycle which typically involves
getting a large amount of mixed recyclable waste and then the responsibility will
then be passed onto their contractors. The issue with using this way is that it may
be difficult for recycling facilities to put apart and recover materials, which pushes
them to be exported overseas as waste and burned. Material recovery includes a
lot of processing from waste incineration to anaerobic digestion of organic
substances and the change of materials for use in construction.
4. Subtheme
Blockchain is an emerging innovative technology that can change human
transactions. It is a form of decentralized Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)
that stores digital data in a secure way, and it is distributed across all nodes
connected in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. A blockchain system is a fusion of
several existing technologies such as shared ledger, distributed network, and
cryptography, which enhance trust, data security, and transparency, and
influences functionality (Chilamkurti et al.,2021).
(Atlam,2018) has explained that it requires a consensus mechanism. Namely,
Proof of Stake (PoS) and Proof of Work (PoW). A group of transactions are
collected and assigned a block in the ledger. A timestamp and hash function
associated with each block are used to link the block to the previous block. So,
multiple blocks are chained together, and given the name blockchain.
Tracking records is a difficult task for big organizations. The information about the
product could be accessed through the sensors deployed in products as well as
RFID tags. Blockchain aids in tracing the product from the origin to the current
time, which helps to detect fraud in supply chain management. Through the
tracking process, overseeing a crisis could be done properly with a detailed
analysis of products that are purchased through the location of consumers and
retailers. (Prevost, C. 2018). Chilamkurti et al., (2021) explain that open access to
data is public in addition to gaining access to certifications and claims.
Authentication could be checked by third parties as the registration is done on the
Ethereum blockchain.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a modern technology where various physical and
virtual devices can be connected and communicate with each other over the
Internet often without human intervention. IoT devices are utilized to tackle our
everyday problems and to facilitate our life by sensing and collecting various
kinds of information about our surrounding physical environment that are utilized
to create novel digitized services. (Atlam H.F, et al., 2020)

According to (Williams P, 2018) they are various advantages of the IoT in all
sectors, namely, healthcare, industry education, agriculture, and others.
Advantages of implementing IoT initiatives include how affordable it is automated
making productivity more efficient and reducing the workload. It is also an
accurate way of storing data and allows for easy tracking.

Williams, P (2018) also identified some major challenges associated with

implementing IoT, which are that the data scalability or amount of data will not be
static in nature in IoT; it requires increasing storage space as well as other
resources based on the environment. Another challenge includes the large Data
storage needed because the sensors record data continuously, a massive
amount of data is stored in the IoT cloud, meanwhile, the old data will change to
big data after a certain number of years. Bandwidth issues are also a challenge
because IoT works on the internet; and if the internet is not dependable and
robust, there will be issues such as a delay or a failure in data transmission.
Analytics of data also brings challenges in the sense that the IoT sensors process
certain amounts of data, such as structured, unstructured, and semi-structured
data which makes it challenging to make any business decisions with available
data analytics methods. One crucial issue that arises with IoT is privacy and
security as every recorded IoT data are stored in the IoT cloud, it becomes easy
for an attacker to hack the centralized cloud to access data.

AI is a type of approach to make a machine determine how smartly a human

brain can think or perform any task. It is the study (Dean, J. 2020) of how humans
think, learn, work, and decide when it comes to problem-solving. Furthermore,
the whole study gives a software system as an output, which is highly intelligent.
AI aims to enrich computer functions that are associated with human knowledge,
for instance, reasoning, problem-solving, and learning.
 Benefits of AI and blockchain integration include seamless data management
because the data is continuous and runs smoothly, this system is also scalable
and can process and manage increased demand if needs be. The data in these
systems can be secured or encrypted to keep the data secure. AI systems can
also be trusted to do what it is designed and programmed to do with ease or
minimum monitoring. One benefit that is used often is data monetization and
which is the process in which data that is generated is used to benefit the
economy at large, this can be by selling collected data to improve processes or
realize innovation opportunities.

Common challenges include the tremendous amount of data sets needed to

efficiently run an AI system, in some instances, it also fails to present its foremost
power and it is quite different from the groundwork of blockchain because it is
decentralized.

Subtheme Addressing Social and Ethical Implications of Technology Adoption in Circular Systems

Blockchain technology is a ground-breaking protocol for sharing and updating

data by connecting ledgers or databases in a decentralized, peer-to-peer, open-
access network. It is intended to ensure that data is securely stored and updated
in a tamper-proof and irreversible manner. Blockchain technology and the circular
economy: Sustainability and social responsibility implications Through the lens of
sustainability and social responsibility, this article examines blockchain
technology’s current and potential contribution to the circular economy. The
findings show that blockchain technology can lower transaction costs, improve
supply chain performance and communication, protect human rights, improve
healthcare patient confidentiality and welfare, and reduce carbon footprint.

Through its principles of decentralisation, distributiveness, and tamper-

resistance, blockchain technology can aid in the achievement of circular economy
outcomes. Smart contracts and tokenization can be used to create circular value
in products and services. Systems thinking is encouraged to ensure a cyclical life
cycle in the design of products and services. Blockchain technology can connect
complex networks and databases with built-in designs and configurations to
update all connected databases simultaneously, irreversibly, and facilitate
automation. Blockchain technology is a disruptive technology that is having a
significant impact on businesses and society. It has unique characteristics such
as immutability and transparency, which reduce or eliminate managers’ ability to
control business transactions. It also increases transparency in business
processes and ethical codes, resulting in accurate tracking of executive services
and the valuation of organizational assets. By establishing a secure network,
blockchain technology can help to address ethical issues in data-driven science.
It is critical to follow the rules and regulations in blockchain communities.

The circular economy Is centred on sustainability, which is achieved through

three interconnected pillars: economic, environmental, and social. Industry 4.0
investment in digitalisation provides opportunities for long-term economic growth
while protecting the environment and being socially responsible. Through
considerations of sustainability and social responsibility, the blockchain procedure
and its applications in various sectors can both advantage and challenge the
circular economy. Smart contracts help to automate transactional payments and
contribute to social responsibility by preventing fraudulent transactions. Through
crowdfunding, the blockchain procedure can help raise venture capital more
equitably.

Blockchain technology has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It

is used in the automobile industry to track ownership and to develop safe
automated driving technology. Tang and Tang (2019) proposed using blockchain
technology to create a distributed carbon ledger connecting carbon asset
management and emission trading schemes. The use of blockchain platforms is
also being promoted in the development of smart cities with low carbon
emissions and a green environment. However, there are numerous difficulties to
be aware of when implementing its widespread application. Blockchain aims to
elicit stakeholders’ trust through its decentralized and immutable algorithmic
system, which provides security and prevents tampering. As trust in the system
grows, blockchain technology will contribute significantly to the circular economy
through sustainability and social responsibility.
Organizations must invest in blockchain research and implementation to reap
long-term benefits such as sustainability and social protection, aligning with the
 circular economy. Blockchain research and implementation are beneficial to the
circular economy.

5. Management Implications
Management can put in place the use of technology by offering employees
training in for these technological changes and which will instil the skill on how to
operate machines and make use of the machines such as embodied robots
which will be used in the future as the retail industry grows, new systems and
software for cashier is being upgraded so for a retailer to gain competitive
advantage using these technologies they would also need to upgrade to a fast-
moving technology and the IoT by allowing their organisations to be present in
Meta Products such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter to put their organisation in
public and have customers accessing their website from anywhere in the world
because IoT allows people from different countries in the world to meet at once
and make a purchase from far example would be how Takealot is online and
advertising using these meta products. Managers can look at how Coca-Cola and
SAB have to recycle signs on their bottles to show that their packaging is
recyclable, hence one needs to return an empty bottle to purchase their products
and that way they are participating in waste management so managers also need
to have ways as to how to manage waste by having in place reusable items and
returnable items to retailers so that it becomes the retailer and the customer’s
responsibility to manage waste as well.
6. Conclusion & suggestions for future research

This research paper investigates the advantages and disadvantages of digital

solutions in the retail industry, as well as the impact of digital solutions and
innovation on waste and supply chains. It also examines why ethical product
sourcing is important to retailers and what factors influence product sourcing for a
retailer. Ethical product sourcing reinforces social and environmental
responsibility, and businesses are being transparent about waste management. A
waste management plan should centre on the waste hierarchy, which ranks
 waste management based on its effectiveness in protecting the environment. The
environment of a company can be influenced by generational diversity.

The research we conducted was a generic view of the retail industry, however, as
a suggestion for future research we have identified that further research could
have been done on different sorts of retail stores and their impact on waste and
their certain challenges and successes.

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