Aligning financing strategies with circular business principles: a multicriteria decision framework

Abstract

Circularity principles, evident in closed-loop systems, aim to minimize waste and maximize value through material and product reuse, repair, refurbishment, and recycling. Circular practices can be financed using diverse models with different characteristics. Examples include pay-as-you-go, which involves usage-based payments; performance-based financing, which links funding to out comes; grants, which provide nonrepayable support; public–private partnerships, which combine public and private resources; green bonds, which fund eco-friendly projects; and impact investing, which addresses social or environmental impacts alongside financial gains. To establish the correlation between circular supply chain principles and financing strategies, this study employed two multic riteria decision-making methods: the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The obtained results were compared with findings from diverse manufacturing industries in existing literature