Sustainable waste management through eco‑entrepreneurship: an empirical study of waste upcycling eco‑enterprises in Sri Lanka

摘要

The key aim of a transition to a Green Economy is to enable economic growth and investment while increasing environmentalquality and social inclusiveness. In this context, eco-entrepreneurship plays an important role. This paper focuses on threewaste-based eco-enterprises in Sri Lanka, namely; Katana Upcycles, Paalam Products and Yaal fibre. All three eco-enterprisesupcycle plastic waste. SWOT analysis and a Triple bottom line (TBL) Impact assessment were used to develop an integratedframework to understand the enablers, barriers and the impact they create. The study suggests that eco-enterprises achievea mix of social, economic and environmental impacts through their businesses, including waste reduction, creating jobopportunities and introducing eco-friendly alternatives to the market. These eco-enterprises face numerous challenges insustaining their growth and scale-up. Challenges include limited access to funds, lack of business and marketing skills andaccess to suitable markets. The study suggests that providing networking opportunities and creating platforms for dialoguecould support eco-enterprises to connect and build partnerships that will help in innovation, productivity enhancements andunlocking new market opportunities.