Environment Friendly Sustainable End‐Of‐Life Solutions for Plastic Components in Indian Automotive Industries

ABSTRACT

Growing concerns about the environmental and social consequences of plastics around the world, manufacturing industries are associated with business are focusing on sustainable end‐of‐life options‐based solutions which aim at increasing the product life cycle. India, a developing nation aiming for sustainable development, is faced with resource scarcity and struggles to implement effective product recovery plans across businesses. In this regard, this research aims to establish a cause‐and‐effect paradigm to determine the causal relationships among the drivers identified for successfully implementing sustainable end‐of‐life options and evaluate the strength of the relationships using the decision‐making trial and evaluation laboratory technique. The plastic automotive part manufacturing scenario is considered and the prominent drivers for implementing sustainable end‐of‐life options in an Indian context are identified. Twenty‐three common drivers identified from the literature are shortlisted to 18 using expert opinions, and further analysis reveals that eight drivers are causal drivers and 10 are the influenced drivers. “Recycling and Remanufacturing options”, “Competitor's market and after Market”, “Pressure from competitors to take eco‐friendly initiatives” and “End‐of‐life imposts for customers at sales point” are identified as the most influential drivers. The findings of this study provide business owners and managers with valuable insights for planning effective business strategies for the successful implementation of sustainable end‐of‐life options by prioritizing the influential drivers.