Master Thesis for Sustainable Management
2019/6/5
The challenges of “cradle-to-cradle”
strategy - A case study with Huawei
company
Authors:
Xiaoyu Zhang
Shuai Huang
Supervisor:
Emilene Leite
Abstract
The cradle to cradle (C2C) is a sustainable business strategy that mimics the natural recycling cycle and waste is reused, the question of when and how to apply the C2C concept successfully in business is still controversial. This thesis takes Huawei, the leading enterprise in the mobile communication industry, as an example, and to investigate the challenges for Chinese mobile communication companies in implementing an effective C2C strategy to achieve a sustainable development. This study used the semi-structured interviews in the qualitative data collection method to interview both Huawei and China Telecommunications’ managers. Data analysis shows that for the electronics industry with low recycling rate and high pollution, Huawei still faces many challenges in adopting the C2C strategy，which includes alloy recycling, recycling of electronic products in consumers' hands, disassembly problems, and recycling of electronic products by value, Another challenge is the mismatch between C2C evaluation mechanism and China's mobile communications industry. Only fully considered cradle to cradle, cradle to Grave, and Life cycle, the sustainable mode of the mobile communications industry would be reached.
keywords:
Cradle to Cradle, Cradle to Grave, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Circular economy, Linear economy, Upcycle, Technical cycle, Disassembly, Material composition, Reverse logistics, Recycling behavior.key Abbreviations:
C2C: Cradle to Cradle C2G: Cradle to Grave
CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility LCA: Life Cycle Assessment
MBDC: McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry
1.Introduction
3
1.1 Problem discussion
4
1.2 Research question
5
1.3 Purpose
5
2. Theoretical framework
5
2.1 Upcycle-Core idea of C2C
5
2.2 C2C and Circular economy
6
2. 3 C2C and LCA
7
2.3.1 Comparison between C2C and LCA
7
2.3.2Complementarity of C2C and LCA
7
2.4 C2C evaluation mechanism
8
2.4.1 Defects of C2C evaluation mechanism
8
2.5 Biological cycle and Technical cycle
9
2.6 Design for disassembly
10
2.7 Material composition
11
2.8 The system of reverse logistics
11
2.9 Determinants of recycling behavior
12
2.10 The research model
13
3. Methodology
14
3.1 Research design
14
3.1.1 Case background
15
3.2 Research approach
15
3.3 Sampling type
16
3.3.1 Sampling frame and sample selection
16
3.3.2 Sample background
17
3.4 Data collection
18
3.4.1 Date source-Primary and Secondary Data collecting
18
3.4.2 Semi-structured interview
18
3.5 Ethical and procedural considerations
19
3.6 Data analysis
19
3.7 Operationalization
20
3.7.1 Huawei Company
20
3.7.2 China Telecommunications Corporation
21
4. Empirical data
22
4.1 C2C and Circular economy
22
4.2.1 comparison between C2C and LCA
23
4.2.2Complementarity of C2C and LCA
24
4.3 C2C evaluation mechanism
25
4.4 Biological cycle and Technical cycle
26
4.5 Design for disassembly
27
4.6 Material composition
27
4.7 The system of reverse logistics
28
4.8 Determinants of recycling behavior
29
5. Discussion
30
5.1 The system of reverse logistics
30
5.1.1 Material composition
30
5.1.2 Determinants of recycling behavior
31
5.2 Circular economy
31
5.2.1 Technical cycle
32
5.3 C2C evaluation mechanism
33
5.4 Sustainable Mode of telecommunications industry
33
5.4.1 Design for disassembly
34
6. Conclusion
35
7. Recommendation for company
35
8. Limitation and Suggestions for future research
36
Reference
37
1.Introduction
Most developed countries have environmental regulations that stipulate that chemical manufacturers, power plants and users have a responsibility to handle chemical waste properly. In the mid-1980s, this was often referred to as "cradle to grave" resource management.Today, modern environmental management sets out sustainable manufacturing practices that highlight preventing waste and responsible care for the planet's natural resources. The focus on recovery of resources, recycling and reuse can be described as "cradle to cradle" resource management （Kumar & Putnam,2008). The cradle to cradle (C2C) is a sustainable business strategy that mimics the natural recycling cycle and waste is reused. The concept has been created by an American architect named William McDonough and a German chemist named Michael Braungart. The goal of the cradle-to-cradle approach is to create a circular resource management process rather than a linear process like a cradle to a grave. The cradle-to-grave concept is simply the process from birth to death, and its main goal is to reduce waste. The cradle to cradle method goes a step further, trying to eliminate waste completely (Study.com, 2019). In C2C strategy, there are two types of nutrients cycle. There are: i） biological cycle: materials are expect to return to the biosphere in the form of compost or other nutrients, from which new materials can be produced; and ii） technical cycle: materials that are not used up during the process of product use can be reprocessed to allow them to be used in new products (EPEA, 2019). In order to achieve a sustainable world based on the concept of “cradle to cradle”, products should be beneficial in terms of health, environment and economy (Toxopeus, De Koeijer&Meij, 2015). The attitude of Zero waste of C2C has attracted many new enterprises to get into the field of sustainable development (Bakker, Wever, Teoh& De Clercq, 2010).
In recent years, the improvement of people's living standard is due to the development of science and technology, more and more consumers pursue personalized commodities and diversified commodities, which is reflected in the consumption of electronic products. Due to the change of industrial competition environment and consumer demand, the upgrading speed of high-tech electronic products is accelerated to meet consumer demand. Since the 1980s, many developed countries have been working on how to reduce the adverse impact on the environment in the process of disposing of waste products, and many foreign researchers have studied these issues, especially the recycling of electronic products: How to select the method of recycling, optimization model and related theoretical analysis.With the growth of awareness of environmental protection, many consumer begin to pay close attention to the company whether to make the use of sustainable materials in their products or services, whether they take corporate social responsibility (CSR) to protect the environment and society, which makes the traditional industry model "cradle to grave" is not enough to satisfy the consumers demand of reducing adverse effects on the environment.Therefore, the concept of supply chain management has been transformed from "cradle to grave" to "cradle to cradle"（Khan, Dong, Zhang & Khan, 2017）. However, in the electronics industry, success in achieving ecological and economic goals is a challenge (Weznek, 2003).The waste stream of e-waste is now expanding, but due to the low level of recycling, many electronic products are eventually thrown into landfills. The toxins released by burning e-waste cause pollution
and health problems (O'Lear, 2010).By 2010, the International Electronics Association's recyclers estimate that 1 billion computers will be discarded. They also claim to recycle 1.5 billion pounds of electronic equipment each year, including 40 million computer devices, including processors, displays and printers, Half of the recyclable material is recycled metal (Reverselogisticstrends.com, 2019). Due to the short life cycle of electronic products and the large number of defective products, traditional incineration, crushing, burying and other processes have caused serious harm to the environment due to mercury, arsenic, chromium, lead and other heavy metal elements contained in the products. If the C2C model is implemented in the product design process, recycled materials can be recycled （Khan et al. 2017). In order to answer the research question, a case study of Huawei will be used.
1.1 Problem discussion
The main value of C2C is that it raises many questions about current business practices. However, the question of when and how to apply the C2C concept successfully in business is still controversial（Bocken, de Pauw, Bakker & van der Grinten, 2016). O'lear (2010) discusses the C2C business model in chapter 5 of her book about environmental politics. Different from the mainstream ideas, O'lear (2010) critically considered the social problems that might arise from C2C. The main emphasis is on the power of ideology. The author believes that ideology affects consumers' values and ultimately changes consumer spending habits. In order to shorten the service life of products, businesses have created the concept of "planned obliteration", that is, using inferior raw materials to produce products, thus accelerating the repeated purchase frequency of consumers and resulting in a larger amount of garbage. As a result, companies are designing the recycling of commercial waste to 'whiten' the rise in total waste. Consumers are beginning to see their spending habits as harmless and considering the resulting waste as legitimate. Consumers no longer think about the environmental costs caused by early scrapping, nor do they delved into the fate of recycled waste. The power of this ideology is dominated by corporations, and they can even gain a good reputation from it.In such a business mindset, even a shift in strategy to a cradle-to-cradle model would not help, as planned obliteration still exists and consumer habits have changed already. When environmental protection becomes a means of commercial marketing, benefits will be the primary factor for business consideration. Recycling policies for this purpose only exacerbate the consequences of inefficient resource allocation. It is difficult to realize the ecologically effective sustainable operation mode that is imagined in the C2C theory.
However, the literature on how to combine C2C concepts with practice to achieve ecologically effective sustainable development is limited. This creates barriers and a lack of guidance for companies that want to implement a C2C strategy. Furthermore, Toxopeus et al. (2015) still points out that C2C production requires a systematic certification process to obtain certification labels. The C2C certification label will also have a positive impact on the reputation of the organization as a reward to the company that implements the C2C development model effectively. It can be found from Huawei's 2014 sustainable development
report and the company's official website that the C2C business model of circular economy was advocated and promoted by the company, which formed an output of ideology virtually simultaneously. If so, will this kind of C2C ideology output have a positive impact on the Huawei company's sustainable development? On the other side, Huawei set up more than 190 waste electronic product recycling sites in the Asia-pacific region to help promote the implementation of C2C strategy, but the follow-up progress of this project is not shown in the company's annual sustainable development report (Building a better connected world, 2014). The study found that, in 2015, there were nearly 7 billion mobile phone users worldwide (ITU, 2015). Meanwhile, the global mobile phone recycling rates have not reached 10% (Tanskanen, 2012). The previous data apparently does not meet the requirements of C2C design paradigm for product recyclability, which means the current situation of mobile communication industry is not conducive to the realization of C2C strategy. This also brings challenges to Huawei's C2C development.
1.2 Research question
What is the current status of Mobile Communications Enterprise's "cradle to cradle" strategy in China? - a case study with Huawei as an example.
1.3 Purpose
To investigate the challenges for Chinese mobile communication companies in implementing an effective C2C strategy to achieve a sustainable development.
2. Theoretical framework
2.1 Upcycle-Core idea of C2C
Braungart and McDonough (2013) point out that pollution is not the core problem behind environmental disasters, but the real culprit is flawed design. The author proposes a concept of "upcycle", which aims to encourage people to take good care of all creatures, love all children and let products interact with nature in the process of product design and manufacturing. The idea of upcycle requires humans to place themselves in nature to think, which means to be part of nature rather than to separate ourselves from environment (Kopnina, 2018). Traditional thinking holds that human beings can only cause damage to the earth, and the upcycle is similar to C2C philosophy, encourages people to think positively about the relationship between human beings and nature. We should not limit ourselves to how to reduce harm, but think optimistically about how to create common interests to increase eco-effective. The idea that simply treating nature as something need to be protected is a closed and arrogant thought. It would never harness power from natural such as microbes
and solar energy. The upcycle encourages entrepreneurs to redefine their business models with open and innovative thinking, and only by people-oriented manufacturing can develop C2C products in a real sense. Do not be afraid of failure and frustration is also an important spiritual force for enterprises in the process of seeking C2C model. Because the nature of C2C is innovation, it must be based on numerous examples of failure. Therefore, in order to establish a C2C development model, the entrepreneurship that is brave to accept challenges and optimistic to face failure is also an important influencing factor. Braungart and McDonough (2013) criticizes the idea of 'ecologism' that the earth can only be protected by minimizing people's needs. The authors believe that such a short-sighted idea limits the development mode of interdependence and common prosperity of human and nature.
2.2 C2C and Circular economy
C2C is regarded as a form of circular economy. A circular economy is an economic development model characterized by resource conservation and recycling and harmonious with the environment. The circular economy emphasizes organizing economic activities into a "resource - product - renewable resource" feedback process (Kopnina, 2018). In order to achieve this feedback process, it is important to integrate circular economy issues in the early stages of the product design process. Because once product specifications are developed, usually only small changes are possible (Bocken, Farracho, Bosworth & Kemp, 2014). Thus, as a design paradigm of circular economy, C2C should be considered at the very beginning of product design. The circular economy has been seen as a promising way to help alleviate the pressure of global sustainable development. Since the circular business model can continuously reuse products and materials in an economically feasible way and use renewable resources as far as possible (Geissdoerfer, Savaget, Bocken&Hultink, 2017). Europe and China have adopted the principle of circular economy as part of their future strategy (Su, Heshmati, Geng& Yu, 2013).
However, different opinions hold that the core concept of how to conduct with circular economy is to slow down the flow rate in the closed loop, that is to say, extending the life cycle of products is the key to the success of the circular economy (Bocken et al. 2016). A closed loop that moves too fast in a circular economy even put more pressure on the environment than a traditional linear economy. However, the C2C concept is not focus on the product life cycle, that is to say, the main role of C2C is just to close the whole loop without paying attention to the effectiveness within the cycle.
Bocken et al. (2016) indicated that, as a typical representative of circular economy, C2C's pursuit of more cycles without considering the service life of products will lead to further acceleration of linear resource flow (selling more and more effective products), resulting in very limited saving of total resources. Therefore, in the initial product design, enterprises should try to use environment-friendly and recyclable materials to process the recycled products, improve product quality and make them enter the recycling cycle. (Khan et al. 2017).
2. 3 C2C and LCA
2.3.1 Comparison between C2C and LCA
The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) concept has become a more mature alternative to the eco-efficiency concept based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The concept of eco-eco-efficiency is often defined as “increasing maximum value with minimal resource utilization and minimal pollution” (Huesemann, 2004). C2C concept challenges traditional methods by looking to the future of absolute environmental sustainability，the way to achieve it is to increase the positive impact on the environment by designing “eco-effectiveness” products rather than designing “efficiency” products to reduce negative impacts, because Eco-efficiency aims to reduce the negative environmental footprint of human activities, while C2C attempts to increase the positive footprint (Bjørn&Hauschild, 2013). The concept of eco-efficiency does not involve a long-term vision or strategy, the link between resource consumption and waste discharge is not well linked to the state of sustainable development, increased efficiency may lead to an increase in consumption levels. In summary, eco-efficiency focuses on reducing impacts, thereby increasing the relative environmental sustainability of products, C2C's sustainability approach is to “maximize the effectiveness of ecosystems” rather than eco-efficiency methods that reduce damage (Bjørn&Hauschild, 2013).
2.3.2Complementarity of C2C and LCA
The concept of C2C is very focused on material strategy，which is inspired by nature and shows the future of sustainable development (Bakker et al. 2010). While the C2C concept represents an inspiring vision for future product design for more continuous material loops and renewable energy-based energy systems, the performance of C2C products in LCA is not guaranteed to be good. C2C emphasizes innovation in the direction of continuous up-cycle at the expense of energy efficiency (Braungart, 2011). C2C tends to generate planned scrapping. "planned scrapping" refers to the fact that the service life of the products produced is so short that there is no economic benefit. Therefore, consumers will have to repeat the purchase, which will promote consumers to buy more products and make the environment unsustainable (Bulow, 1986). C2C does not see waste itself as a problem, but care about how to deal with it (Pauli, 2010). The main negative criticism related to C2C is that its process is related to establishing physical restrictions, instead encouraging to use materials creatively and extravagantly to shorten product life (Braungart, McDonough &Bollinger, 2007).
Since the eco-efficiency of C2C products is not considered, from the perspective of LCA, C2C products are often not as sustainable as eco-efficiency reference products (Bjørn&Hauschild, 2013). Increasing the durability of a product means that it can withstand longer, more demanding use, making possible a product-service system and a sharing economy from which owners can derive more value. This contrasts with planned
obrogation (Brennan, Tennant&Blomsma, 2015). For companies that choose to apply the C2C concept in product innovation, they cannot record the sustainability of their products （Bjørn&Hauschild, 2013). However, Braungart et al. (2007) pointed out that the analysis of eco-efficiency should be condemned, because although eco-efficiency can provide short-term economic and ecological advantages, it lacks a long-short-term perspective to establish a truly positive relationship between industry and nature.
2.4 C2C evaluation mechanism
The company can also choose to apply for C2C certification for its products, this certification has been managed by Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA) and McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), but now assigned to non-profit organizations (Bjørn&Hauschild, 2013).MBDC evaluates products and materials for companies of any size, MBDC is the creator of the cradle-to-cradle design framework and the cradle-to-cradle certification product program, helping businesses gain business value from products designed For the emerging circular economy（Dyllick&Rost, 2017)， and the goal of EPEA is to provide high-quality products that are safe for human health and the environment and can be reused in the fields of biotechnology and biotechnology Gorman (Gorman, Mehalik, &Werhane, 2017). Certification is divided into five different levels: basic, copper, silver, gold and platinum, of which gold and platinum have the most stringent requirements (MBDC, 2019)
2.4.1 Defects of C2C evaluation mechanism
When developing C2C products, enterprises must consider the final destination of each material in the process of product design. Toxopeus et al. (2015) believes that the company cannot independently develop a C2C product, and must seek the cooperation of professional C2C evaluation agencies. However, the study points out that the existing C2C authority still has some imperfections, which leads to errors in the final evaluation results (Toxopeus et al. 2015). For example, EPEA- a certification agency founded by C2C philosophy creators William McDonough and Michael Braungart, its expert group mainly consisting with material experts, the situation has led to the tendency of evaluation agencies to focus on material (product) optimization rather than encouraging the development of innovative products (Toxopeus et al. 2015). This goes against the basic concept of C2C - 'eco-effectiveness rather than eco-efficiency'. The C2C products evaluated by this standard may only meet the eco-efficiency, but fail to produce eco-effectiveness results. As a matter of fact, products with C2C 'tags' may not fundamentally fit the cradle-to-cradle theory due to lack of innovation. EPEA ratings target companies' specific products based on five criteria- material health, material reutilization, renewable energy, water stewardship and social fairness (EPEA, 2019). Judging from the cases targeted by Toxopeus et al. (2015)’s research, companies tend to mainly consider material health and material reutilization into product design, resulting in the risk that the other three criteria will be neglected. This led to among the three principles
of C2C - no waste, only sustainable energy and the promote diversity, only the first principle is actively implemented. On the other hand, due to the lack of energy consumption assessment in the concept of C2C, C2C products may have the weakness on product life cycle. Toxopeus et al. (2015) therefore suggest that when designing and manufacturing C2C products, LCA should be included to improve product sustainability.
2.5 Biological cycle and Technical cycle
Maximizing recycling is often described as a "closed loop," which concept known as a "cradle-to-cradle" approach (McDonough&Braungart, 2002). There are two broad recycles: "biology" and "technology". Gaps remain in the development, implementation and dissemination of effective product solutions and design solutions to support the transition to a circular economy. The circulatory system approach needs to be adopted at both technical and biological levels. Within the framework we propose, these levels are called "design for the technical cycle" and "design for the biological cycle" respectively (Mestre& Cooper, 2017). "Biological cycle design" represents biological design solutions that occur (or are inspired by) in natural ecosystems, in which materials are recycled over time in nature.Bio-based recycling strategy, using biomaterials, at the end of its life cycle, can safely return to the biosphere to provide nutrients for (micro)biological life without waste (Mestre& Cooper, 2017).
"Technology cycle design" means the use and conversion of materials and energy and/or technologies and the optimization of their design to the highest possible level of efficiency. The goal is to minimize material and energy inputs and emissions emissions throughout the product's life cycle, while maximizing value propositions for users and society (Mestre& Cooper, 2017). Technical cycle strategies include "slow the loop strategies" and "close the loop strategies". "Slow the loop strategies" include slowing down the flow of material at each stage of the life cycle, such as the design of durability and extended product life (Vezzoli and Manzini, 2008); It also addresses recent developments from the perspective of value added users, such as emotionally durable designs (Chapman, 2005). "Close the loop strategies" includes recyclability design strategy, detachable design strategy and appropriate material selection strategy. It is worth noting that there may be tensions between the policies that need to be addressed (such as between durability and recyclability). "Technology cycle design" solutions can be developed at a progressive level of innovation in the short or medium term (Mestre& Cooper, 2017). ‘slow the loop strategies’ and ‘close the loop strategies’ can be implemented in existing business models to optimize their current level of efficiency, although in some cases more radical solutions may be required.
Setting an example that combine the "slow the loop strategies" and "close the loop strategies", Fairphone represents a new approach to the design and manufacture of mobile phones. Founded in the Netherlands in 2013, Fairphone aims to "create positive social and
environmental impacts from the beginning to the end of the life cycle of mobile phones" (Fairphone, 2019) by four main principles: durable design, fair materials, good working conditions, and reuse and recycling. The qualities associated with Fairphone's looping focus on the later stages of its life cycle and emerge from its modular design. Fairphone also highlights its social responsibility in managing the end-of-life of its and other brands of phones. Its partner, Teqcycle, receives refurbished phones (used in the second-hand market) and recycled them (when the refurbished cost exceeds the phone's value).
2.6 Design for disassembly
"Design for disassembly" is a strategy that overlaps technology and biocycle design and is a contribution to technology and biocycle design to ensure that products and components can be easily separated and reassembled. This strategy is also critical for the separation of materials entering different cycles (biological and technological) (Reijnders, 2008). Design for disassembly technology is crucial to allow for higher technical efficiency (Chiodo, 2005). Thus, disassembly should be considered in the process of product design. Specifically, during disassembly, toxic and hazardous substances in the product may increase the potential impact on human and environmental health (Huang, Liang& Yi, 2017). Despite to that, The product disassembly process also could bring a positive impact on the environment (Deniz&Seckin, 2002). Effective disassembly design enables the recovery of valuable components, and the rest can be recycled, re-sold, or stored for future use (Brennan, Gupta&Taleb, 1994). At the design stage, product modularization should also be considered to simplify the product and improve disassembly efficiency. Product modularization is dividing the product into several parts- namely several modules. Each part has independent function but geometric connection with a consistent interface and consistent input and output interface unit. The same type of module can be reused in the product family and swaps. Due to the modularity of the product, the components are highly common, so the product disassembly efficiency can be accelerated. Some studies have shown that the disassembly efficiency of products has a direct impact on the economic benefits of environmental protection products. In most cases, 80% of the manufacturing cost of products can be determined at the design stage (Tuncel et al., 1993). The key point of disassembly design is that it is easy to disassemble and can remove parts and materials without damage (Chiodo and Boks, 2002). Since most of today's used products are comminuted, designs that are easy to disassemble may irritate for reuse and recycling. From a C2C perspective, it makes sense to redesign products that are easy to disintegrate and upgrade, otherwise the most likely scenario for their obsolescence would be landfill and/or incineration (Bakker et al. 2010). The C2C model is a new perspective of sustainable development. Its basic idea is that the safe recovery and use of raw materials should be considered in product design, and nutrition management should replace traditional waste management. C2C pursues green and innovative design; That is, from the first stage of product design, research and development, the product should be carefully designed and easy to disassemble, so that the raw materials are easy to be recycled, can establish a recycling system and raw material recycling network platform, so that the raw materials back to the biological cycle or processing cycle, which can effectively avoid the waste of raw materials
and energy, but also can reduce the cost. Clean energy should be used whenever possible in the manufacturing process. In the sales stage, the C2C model is helpful to open up new markets for raw materials, transform wastes into valuable materials, and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises through innovation (Khan, et al. 2017).
2.7 Material composition
Cost-effectiveness may be the biggest problem facing enterprises in implementing C2C. A cost-effective analysis is a way to assess the value of a project by comparing the full cost and benefits of the project. Dutch companies such as Oce (copiers and printers) That lease high-end copiers may find it relatively easy to implement C2C principles because of a 100% return (Bakker et al. 2010）.C2C material strategy involves both material composition and material flow management.It is a challenge for industrial designers to understand the exact composition of materials in products (De Clercq，2008).
One issue here is product complexity. For example, electronic products contain printed circuit boards, which require hundreds of components and materials (Mazurek ， 1999). C2C requires that products be designed to be easily separated into their pure material parts. In practice, this means that certain composite materials are not acceptable in C2C design, which may compromise the overall sustainability and functionality of the product （Bjørn&Hauschild, 2013）. The use of composite materials and special metal alloys enables lightweight designs, and important characteristics such as heat and corrosion resistance. Composite materials are generally not capable of continuous recycling (Daniels et al. 2004). Although individual alloys can process continuous loop recycling theoretically, but the premise is that they are not mixed with other alloys, if a product has too many kinds of alloys, Recycling is not logically possible (Nakajima et al. 2010). LCA research shows that the environmental benefits of lightweight components far outweigh their lack of recyclability, while this conclusion relies on automotive fuels, some products rely on the properties of composites and alloys (such as strength, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance) (Song et al. 2009). Thus, even in an ideal future, the demand for these materials will not be eliminated. Therefore, banning the use of composite materials will strict limit the possibility of developing new designs based on heterogeneous materials, thereby limiting innovation. Supporters of C2C may reply that they praise innovation but not "the wrong technology". In an ideal C2C future, it is hard to say whether it is realistic to abandon the "wrong technology" entirely （Bjørn&Hauschild, 2013).
2.8 The system of reverse logistics
Reverse logistics is the process from recycling to final processing of the outdated or damaged products and packages that have been used by the customer. If the company has a "reverse logistics" system, then the implementation of the C2C principle is even more realistic. The flow of reverse logistics includes the flow of products, packaging, parts, materials and other raw materials in the customer's hands, and flows back from the end of the supply chain along
the supply chain to the corresponding nodes (Lu＆Bostel，2007）.Green reverse logistics is proposed from the perspective of resource conservation and environmental protection, and is conducive to the sustainable development of society. The implementation of green reverse logistics by enterprises reflects the willingness of enterprises to assume social responsibilities. For electronics manufacturers, what they need to recycle is products that contain too much metal. If there is a problem with recycling activities, it can seriously damage the environment (Mishra, Kumar & Chan, 2012).
The object of reverse logistics of electronic products is mainly the products purchased by customers, including the products with serious problems or returned products, which need to be recycled. These products include not only recyclable parts, but also parts that are harmful to the environment and cannot be recycled. Therefore, green reverse logistics can reduce environmental pollution as much as possible. It is not simply abandoning the “cradle to grave” industry model, but combining C2C with it to rationally implement the decision of reverse logistics activities under the concept of environmental protection (Hazen, Wu, Cegielski, Jones-Farmer & Hall, 2012). Because of the electronic product life cycle is shorter, the number of the defective product, in the electronic product recycling the process, some of the products and parts cannot be recycled is inevitable, in this case, the enterprise under the condition of considering the cost, technology and other issues, should choose the best way to handle with minimum damage to the environment, give them the processing of low pollution. However, because the products contain mercury, arsenic, chromium, lead and other heavy metal elements, the traditional incineration, crushing, burying and other processes have caused serious harm to the environment. If the C2C model is realized in the product design process and the recyclable materials are used to the maximum extent, enterprises can recycle some components and reduce the adverse impact on the environment during product recycling. Some products will release less pollution in the cradle-to-grave process after proving to be of no use value. The effective combination of the two models will be more suitable for the manufacturing activities of enterprises （Khan et al. 2017).
2.9 Determinants of recycling behavior
The reverse logistics system also requires consumers to take the initiative to recycle, but the recycling rate of mobile communication products such as mobile phones continues to be low. This is in sharp contrast to the rapidly expanding mobile communication market in recent years. (Welfens, Nordmann&Seibt, 2016). In the study of drivers and barriers to recycling behavior, Hornik et al. (1995) pointed out that in addition to environmental knowledge, another important motivator is social impact. Research suggests that recycling can be a motivating factor if it is considered desirable behavior within a social group or society. If recycling is socially desirable, then there is social pressure to recycle. On the other hand, the recycling infrastructure of mobile devices, such as the recycling bin of mobile devices, is also an important factor affecting the recycling culture. Kollmuss and Agyeman(2002) believe that the desire for comfort and convenience is a major driving force affecting consumption patterns. Therefore, whether the recycling infrastructure is easy to use and whether it causes high recycling costs for consumers are also key factors in determining the recycling behavior.
Another obstacle to recycling for mobile devices connected to the recycling infrastructure is a certain mistrust created by the opacity of the recycling process. People are afraid that others will access their personal data through their old mobile phones, thus causing an invasion of personal privacy. Consequently, they prefer to keep their old mobile phones. In the meantime, because of the small size of mobile devices, consumers are more likely to store their unused phones at home than to recycle them. In general, the social environment will be an important factor if the recycling rate of mobile devices is to be increased, and a complete recycling infrastructure system is necessary. At the same time, a social atmosphere encouraging recycling will also promote the formation of recycling pressure at the social level, so as to promote the recycling behavior of consumers (Welfens et al. 2016).
2.10 The research model
In order to more intuitively show the relevance between previous theories, based on the theoretical framework obtained from literature review, the research model was established. Figure 1 below illustrates the characteristics of a C2C strategy that is ideally closest to a sustainable development model. Figure 2 takes the existing literatures and researches as the benchmark, illustrates the challenges that enterprises may need to face in the implementation of C2C strategy and the relevance between them.
Figure 2: Conceptual framework
3. Methodology
This chapter introduces and demonstrates the research methods and designs used in this study. The Methodology chapter further describes the data collection process and the selection tools associated with it. In addition, it provides an operational method of turning theory into practice, which lays the foundation for the collection of empirical materials. This chapter concludes with the theory and argumentation of validity, reliability, and ethical considerations of this study. A comprehensive description of theory and practice supports the transparency and consistency of research, which guarantees the quality of research (Yardley, 2000).
3.1 Research design
This study has explored what is the current status of Mobile Communications Enterprise's "cradle to cradle" strategy in China through the method of case study. Case study method refers to the study based on a specific individual, community, phenomenon or subject. This
type of research extensively collects the related data for the detailed understanding, the reorganization and the analysis research object. The subjects of case study could be individuals, or individual groups or institutions. Case study method is a very popular and widely used research design in business research, which focuses on the complexity and particularity of cases (Bryman& Bell, 2014). The research object selected in this study belongs to a typical or representative case. As a leading private enterprise in China and a large multinational company, Huawei can represent a typical operation mode organized by large companies in Chinese commercial society.
3.1.1 Case background
Huawei is the world's leading provider of ICT (information and communication) infrastructure and smart terminals, and is committed to bringing the digital world to everyone, every family, every organization, and building a smart world of Internet of Everything. In 2014, Huawei launched a green recycling operation for used mobile phones. By setting up recycling networks in various countries, recycling of used mobile phones in consumers' hands, and giving mobile phones a new life, thereby realizing recycling of resources and promoting the development of circular economy.At present, Huawei has carried out green recycling activities in 8 countries including China, India and Thailand, and has set up more than 190 collection points. Consumers can check the nearest recycling outlets through Huawei's official website. Consumers can deliver any brand of used mobile phones to recycling outlets. Huawei will collect the used mobile phones at each collection point for free and hand them over to internationally renowned recycling manufacturers to maximize the recycling value of used mobile phones.Through the implementation of the “cradle to cradle” circular economy practice, Huawei has argued that they have increased the proportion of product reuse and reduced the environmental impact of waste (Huawei, 2014).
3.2 Research approach
Hyde (2000) believes that there are two ways to obtain knowledge, inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. He pointed out that inductive reasoning is a “theoretic construction process”, by starting the investigation with observations, and through these observations to try to establish a generalization of the investigation phenomenon.
The researchers opted to use qualitative research design and inductive approach to investigate the case study. Qualitative research is characterized by exploratory, diagnostic, and predictive characteristics. It does not pursue certain conclusions, but only understands where the problem is, understands the situation, and then gets a perceptual understanding (Bernard, 2013). Since the purpose of this research is to investigate the challenges for Chinese mobile communication companies in implementing C2C strategy, which the challenges have not been explored in the previous literature. Researchers have summarized the challenges as new findings after collecting the data. Thus, the most suitable research
method for this study is inductive method. On the other hand, this study is not aiming on finding the perfect solution to C2C implementation challenges, but aiming on finding out general direction of the problem for future researches. Therefore, qualitative research is more suitable for this study to have a general understanding of C2C implementation challenges for the mobile communication industry in China.
3.3 Sampling type
The most commonly applied form of sampling for purposive samples is non- probability sampling (Guest, Bunce& Johnson, 2006). and researchers intend to proceed the snowball sampling of non-probability sampling. In this sampling method, the researchers first contacted a small group of people related to the research topic and then used these people’s networks to connect with others (Bryman& Bell, 2014). Authors contacted a senior management of Huawei, and through him, researchers contacted 6 department heads of relevant C2C departments. Also, authors contacted another China telecom employee, and then researchers got the contact information of the two interviewees.
3.3.1 Sampling frame and sample selection
As one of the largest domestic equipment manufacturers in China's communications industry, Huawei is also the second largest smartphone manufacturer in the world (IDC, 2019). As an organization with a large resource, Huawei has a need and has developed a C2C strategy to improve the recycling rate of electronic products. Therefore, for the topic of this research, Huawei has a lot of experience and knowledge to be tapped. However, Huawei's experience is limited to internally- how an individual company designs products to increase its recyclability. Since Huawei is not a professional recycling company, therefore, from a external perspective, Huawei lacks relevant knowledge on how the e-waste recycling system operates throughout the industry.
In view of this situation, China Telecom as one of Huawei’s crucial partners, it has also been added as one of the respondents. China Telecom Group Co., Ltd. is a large-scale state-owned communication enterprise and central enterprise established in accordance with the People's Republic of China's telecommunications system reform plan. It is China's largest fixed-line and data communication operator and the third largest mobile communication operator. China's fixed-line and fixed-line broadband market share exceeds 50%, and has the world's largest fixed-line and data communication network, covering the entire urban and rural areas, reaching all over the world. China Telecom also acts as an agent for major mobile phone brands in China, and sells mobile phones at the same time as the "mobile phone trade-in" business. Responsible for handling the recycling of various brands of used mobile phones, with more experience in electronic waste recycling (Ctsi.com.cn., 2019).
3.3.2 Sample background
The following table introduces the basic information of participants to prove that they have special industry experience which is make them valuable to be interviewed. Overall, all of the participants are males and come from China. Due to ethical considerations, the job information of participants has been blurred, but the job nature remains the same.
3.4 Data collection
In order to collect the data, the researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with six respondents at Huawei's employee training base in Shanghai, China. The researchers then went to the Shanghai branch of China telecom to conduct semi-structured interviews with two China telecom employees. Each participant was interviewed individually by the researchers. All of the interviews have been face-to-face and the average interview time was one hour.
3.4.1 Date Source-Primary and Secondary Data collecting
Data can be collected in two different ways, primary and secondary. Primary data is usually collected in the form of information that researchers can directly provide, such as inquiries, focus groups and observations (Ghauri and Grønhaug ， 2005). Secondary data refer to existing studies, i.e. collect information and knowledge from previously written studies in order to analyze the data collected for other purposes. (Appannaiah, Reddy &Ramanath, 2009). In this study, researchers collected secondary data from Huawei's annual sustainable development report in order to have a preliminary understanding of the company's current situation and background. Based on that, researchers then designed a semi-structured interview in order to collect the primary data for current study case- Huawei Company. The secondary data has been used as the comparison reference value of the primary data, so as to establish a new C2C theoretical discovery.3.4.2 Semi-structured interview
Interviews provide effective and reliable information and are an effective way to enter social networks (Sinding& Aronson, 2003). To conduct this study and generate valid data, this study has taken qualitative interviews, which is semi-structured interview (Rubin & Rubin, 1995). In qualitative interviews, “talking” is usually encouraged, so that the researcher can gain a deeper understanding of what the respondents think is important and relevant, and the researchers will get richer and more detailed answers (Bryman& Bell, 2011). Semi-structured interviews refer to informal interviews based on interview outlines (Bryman& Bell, 2011).This method has only a rough basic requirement for the respondent's conditions and the questions to be asked. The interviewer can flexibly make the necessary adjustments based on the actual situation of the interview. There are no specific requirements for the way and order of questions, the way of interviewee answers, the way of records, and the time and place of the interviews. But in general, all pre-designed questions will be asked (Bryman& Bell, 2011). In a semi-structured interview, a guide that questions and topics that must be covered. Interviewers have some discretion about the order in which questions are asked, but questions are standardized. When researchers want to delve into a topic and thoroughly understand the answers provided, they usually use semi-structured interviews (Harrell & Bradley, 2009).
This study used the semi-structured interviews in the qualitative data collection method to interview both Huawei and China Telecommunications’ managers. In this study, semi-structured interviews did not prevent researchers from asking more questions based on participants' responses to get more detailed information. At the same time, designing a certain number of questions in advance can help control the overall rhythm of the interview and prevent off-center thinking.
3.5 Ethical and procedural considerations
When conducting any type of research, ethical issues can occur at several different levels, and if people are included, the situation will be even more complicated. Considering ethical issues and sensitivity to the environment improves the quality of research (Yardley, 2000). The relaxed environment is beneficial. It is easier for respondents to tell their true thoughts. In order to ensure privacy, the interviews for Huawei has took place at Huawei's internal staff training base. At the same time, the interviews for China Telecommunications Corporation has took place at its branch office in Shanghai. Both of them are relatively closed and quiet private spaces. Ethical aspects need to be considered, one of which is anonymity and confidentiality (Bryman and Bell, 2011). Therefore, before the interview, researchers have told the participants that they would be anonymous and the whole process would be recorded and transcribed. Interviews have been conducted only with the consent of the participants. If they do not want to answer certain questions, they can refuse, and the participants can terminate the ongoing visit at any time. Given that participants have the right to know (Andersson, Shivarajan&Blau, 2005). The researchers have also informed the participants what the interview would be used for and what is the purpose of this interview.
3.6 Data analysis
First of all, given that all interviews with Huawei in this interview are conducted in Chinese, we will translate the audio recording of the interview into text and then translate it into English. It is important to prepare qualitative data before starting the analysis. This includes some form of transcription, such as recorded in interviews (Greener, 2008). Next, we will read the recorded text materials repeatedly, identify the categories in the transcribed text, and use concept as a specific code to classify the interview contents according to different concepts. In other words, similar interview contents are grouped into the same concept as a category for easy analysis. As researchers review the data collected, repeated ideas, concepts or elements become apparent, and marked by code (Strauss & Corbin, 1997). The code is described as a word or phrase that represents the longer part of the text in symbolic or visual terms (Bryman& Bell, 2014). As more data is collected and reviewed, the code can be divided into concepts and then classified (Strauss & Corbin, 1997). Open question coding usually requires repeated reading of respondents' response texts and forming different themes in their answers (Bryman& Bell, 2014).
3.7 Operationalization
This section build the operationalization aim to define abstract concepts, make theoretical concepts clear and measurable, and then understand them through empirical observation (Campbell, 1957).This study conceptualizes the factors influencing and implementing the C2C strategy, and designs corresponding interview questions for each concept.
3.7.1 Huawei Company
Concept Sub-concept Conceptual defination Questions C2C and LCA Eco-efficiency Increasing maximum value
with minimal resource utilization and minimal pollution (Huesemann, 2004).
Do you think your company's C2C strategy includes the pursuit of ecological efficiency? Why?
Complementar ity of C2C and LCA
LCA Reduce the negative
environmental footprint of human activities,
increasing the relative environmental
sustainability of products (Bjørn&Hauschild, 2013).
How do you see the difference between LCA and C2C? What is the relationship between the two concepts?
C2C Upcycle Braungart and McDonough (2013) redefine business models with open and innovative thinking, and only by people-oriented manufacturing can develop C2C products in a real sense.
How is the product
recreated after the product is recycled in your company's c2c program? Defects of C2C evaluation mechanism
EPEA The existing C2C authority still has some
imperfections, which leads to errors in the final
evaluation results (Toxopeus,
DeKoeijer&Meij, 2015).
Does your company have any C2C certification? What do you think of the existing C2C rating agencies? Material composition Product complexity
Composite materials are generally not capable of continuous
recycling …(but)some products rely on the properties of composites and alloys (Song et al. 2009).
How do your C2C products solve the problem of composite material recycling?
Reverse
logistics Design for disassembly Proper management of material flow will require the dismantling and recycling of products and materials (Reijnders, 2008).
Does your company have disassembly design for C2C products? Why is that? C2C and Circular economy Flow rate in the closed loop C2C's pursuit of more cycles without considering the service life of products will lead to further
acceleration of linear resource flow (selling more and more effective
products), resulting in very limited saving of total resources (DE Pauw et al. 2016).
How long is the cycle of your company's c2c products? What is the overall resource savings associated with developing a C2C product chain? Biological cycle and Technical cycle Biological cycle
at the end of its life cycle, can safely return to the biosphere to provide nutrients for
(micro)biological life without waste (Mestre& Cooper, 2017).
How do you think about biodegradable cycle in C2C strategy? Biological cycle and Technical cycle Technical cycle
The use and conversion of materials and energy and/or technologies and the optimization of their design to the highest possible level of efficiency
(Mestre& Cooper, 2017).
How do you think about technical cycle in C2C strategy?
Table 2: Operationalization- Huawei Company
3.7.2 China Telecommunications Corporation
Concept Sub-concept Conceptual defination QuestionsC2C Upcycle Braungart and McDonough
(2013) redefine business models with open and innovative thinking, and only by people-oriented
manufacturing can develop C2C products in a real sense.
How is the recycled electronic waste reused or recreated?
Material composition
Product complexity
Composite materials are generally not capable of continuous
recycling …(but)some products rely on the properties of composites and alloys (Song et al. 2009).
In the recycling process of electronic products, how does the recycling system deal with composite materials? Determinants of recycling behavior Recycling infrastructure
whether the recycling infrastructure is easy to use and whether it causes high recycling costs for
consumers are also key factors in determining the recycling behavior (Kollmuss&Agyeman, 2002). Whether China's electronics recycling infrastructure is adequate for consumers?
Table 3: Operationalization- China Telecommunications Corporation
4. Empirical data
4.1 C2C and Circular economy
During the interview, the researchers found that not all the participants understood the C2C strategy, but everyone knew what the circular economy is. Some participants to Huawei believe that the key to a circular economy lies in how to design a product that causes as little damage as possible during use. Because the circular economy has strict restrictions on raw material resources, the company needs to reuse these resources to the maximum extent, and the dissipation in the use process is irreversible. If the resources are depleted, it is necessary to supplement them to complete the production process again. "Electronics is a high-cost industry, and the resources needed to produce mobile devices like mobile phones are huge and complex. For example, participant from the China telecom company pointed out that some parts of an old mobile phone can be reused as maintenance parts. For example, the phone camera can be removed, and it can be installed and used in any phone brand with the same pixel. The circular economy is a worthy business model for maximizing the use of energy and resources. From the perspective of environmental protection, circular economy can also reduce the harm to the environment.The participants who work in technology, said that batteries in electronic products will cause great harm to the environment if they are not properly recycled, such as soil damage and water pollution. The circular economy advocated by Huawei company takes the C2C strategy as the core goal to collect and reuse waste
batteries, so as to minimize pollution and prevent a large number of rare metals from being wasted.
4. 2 C2C and LCA
4.2.1 comparison between C2C and LCA
Some participants believe that Huawei's C2C strategy does not include the pursuit of ecological efficiency. They think Huawei as a private enterprise may not have too much on the consideration of eco-efficiency, the company must conform to the laws and regulations of different regions firstly, and also through a variety of certification such as the European Union certification etc., so the direction of the development of Huawei is mainly follow the local laws and regulations as the driving force, and not as the purpose of reduce the pollution or reducing the negative environmental impacts of human activities to improve eco-efficiency deliberately .
Other participants believe that Huawei's C2C strategy has fully reflected the concept of eco-efficiency. Among them, participant C said that Huawei has a modular concept when designing products. When a module of a product fails, it may be pulled out and replaced with a new module. This design is to improve the Stability and maintainability of the products as the subjective desire, and to pursuit the eco-efficiency objectively, because once scrapped, it will not be the scrap of the entire machine but only the replacement of local instruments. Other participants believe that Huawei's C2C strategy has fully reflected the concept of eco-efficiency. Among them, participant C said that Huawei has a modular concept when designing products. When a module of a product fails, it may be pulled out and replaced with a new module. This design is to improve the Stability and maintainability of the products as the subjective desire, and to pursuit the eco-efficiency objectively, because once scrapped, it will not be a scrap of the entire machine but only the replacement of some parts of the machine. The second point is that the design concept of the equipment is a future-oriented concept. The main purpose of the design is to make the company's products more competitive and last longer, which reduce the impact on the environment objectively, because the product continuity of Huawei is particularly strong, and the architecture's design of mobile phone and software has been based on a sustainable guiding ideology. Participant E mentioned Huawei Tiangang, the core chip of 5G base station. He said that compared with 3G4G, 5G is not only the improvement of operation rate but also the improvement of materials for 5G equipment. Besides, many software and hardware devices are completely different from those of 3G 20 years ago. This chip of Huawei Tiangang can make the whole size of the 5G base station reduced by 55%, weight reduced by 23%, and the base station is a large power consumption, the reduction of the size and weight means that the power consumption is also reduced, as well as reduce the difficulty of the site deployment. "There will always be new technologies or new products or new production chains to improve ecological efficiency, Making the recycling rate as high as possible is the direction of our efforts," he said.
4.2.2Complementarity of C2C and LCA
Some participants said that C2C products are valuable and significant, even though the products of C2C shorten the product life cycle and need a large number of funds to research and to develop. The innovation of the mobile Internet, artificial intelligence and technology is very fast, so technological innovation will lead to a result of the shortened life cycle, which is also a meaningful process, otherwise, the electronics industry will be difficult to develop. Participant B believes that innovation is a meaningful thing definitely. He noted that Huawei spends 10 to 15 percent of its annual sales on innovation, and that Lenovo's 30 years of research and development might not match Huawei's one year. Huawei is already investing heavily in innovation, ranking third globally. He said: "first of all, we need to ensure that we continue to innovate in our major business areas. But innovation that does not encourage big changes without understanding the reality of the situation. I think the design of C2C is a very perfect state and Huawei has not reached it yet. Huawei has not yet reached completely. Although Huawei attaches great importance to innovation, its business trajectory still needs to be consistent with the current commercial society. Huawei positioning is still a business company, I have to keep yourself alive, Huawei internal sentence "we have to keep leading technology, but we have only half a step ahead without a step leading technology", it means that Huawei all resources used in the process of innovation needs to be the most efficient use of rather than spend a lot of money to develop a market five years has any demand, this in Huawei company, this appears to be serious waste of resources. This is also a serious waste of resources for Huawei. Huawei certainly has a plan for its sustainable development. If Huawei wants to have a place in the global industry, it must also bear the challenges from its peers in terms of ecology. Therefore, when doing the whole design, even if it does not mention it, others will also mention it." Participant A believes that the life of many products can be designed to a certain point in time. The best design concept now is that all chips and all components have a life cycle. If the life cycle is designed to a relatively uniform time point, the benefit of an enterprise will be maximized. If a product is scrapped very early and its supporting products or other products are scrapped very late, the investment will be huge and more manpower, material resources and financial resources will be needed to deal with it. Participant D think C2C the life cycle of C2C products will be shorter compared with traditional products, this is the order of development of human civilization, is inevitable, because now technology is faster and faster, the iteration of the mobile phone service life will be more and more short, besides the software upgrade, the recycle ratio of hardware with the development of technology will be more and more high, the aim of recycling are to reduce the economic cost of the enterprise and to reduce the environmental costs.
Some participants think C2C products to shorten the product life cycle cost is unnecessary, because when a product appears on the market needs certain cycle and validation to realize the value of it, if ending its cycle blindly, which would not good for development, and would create a huge waste. The premise of the innovation is economic value and social value is proportional to price. Moreover, they emphasize that innovation is based on customer demand, and its innovation must be to optimize the cost to make the product stronger, and innovation is the ways rather than the goal. Participant F believes that the
