Transcending degrowth-business oppositions collectively through discourse, practice, and power 

Sabrina Courtois, Louvain Research Institute in Management and Organizations
Valérie Swaen, Louvain Research Institute in Management and Organizations & IESEG School of Management (LEM-CNRS 9221) 

Summary 

With rising demands for organizations to adapt their activities to environmental and societal crises, business leaders face cumulative pressures to reconcile oppositions between business-as-usual and large-scale challenges such as climate change or biodiversity loss. However, only limited progress has been made, as corporations’ inherent characteristics and goals lead them to resort to business-as-usual responses such as technological innovations, allowing them to preserve the dominant discourse and evade polarizing debates. By adopting a constitutive approach to oppositions as developed by Putnam, Fairhurst and Banghart, we explore the opposition between business-as-usual and a remarkably polarizing concept, degrowth, by analysing how collective approaches can enable business leaders to address the opposition. We show how a community of CEOs and Board members navigated the degrowth-business opposition over a four-year period, by alternating either-or/ both-and and more-than approaches and legitimizing internal and external power sources, while gradually enacting the opposition through practice and discourse. Our article contributes to the organization studies literature by providing orientation in how practice, discourse, power, and approaches to oppositions, can help business leaders develop a collective practical and discursive consciousness of oppositions. We discuss the managerial and societal implications of the roles of organizations and business leaders in creating third spaces where even the most contentious issues can be reflected on, to further mobilize action. 

Keywords : oppositions; discourse; practice; power; degrowth 

Unveiling the effects of plastic packaging taxes: A comprehensive analysis of circular practices among food packaging producers in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal 

Grégory De Boe, Louvain Research Institute in Management and Organizations, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Valérie Swaen, Louvain Research Institute in Management and Organizations, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium & Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9221 – LEM – Lille Economie Management, IESEG School of Management, Lille, France
Marie Lamensch, Louvain Research Institute in Management and Organizations, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Summary 

Plastic's affordability and versatility have driven its extensive use, but its linear production-consumption model presents severe environmental challenges. As plastic packaging demand is expected to surge, the EU has implemented policies like the Single-Use Plastics Directive and Plastic Levy to move towards a circular economy. This prompted some European nations, including the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal, to introduce plastic packaging taxes to address circularity issues. However, how food packaging producers and importers perceive these taxes as catalysts for circular practices remains underexplored. This study explores the perceived influence of plastic packaging taxes on circularity in food packaging production across these three countries. Through interviews with stakeholders – including plastic converters, recyclers, and food and beverage brands – the research identifies key circular practices: eco-design (e.g., material selection, recyclability, lightweighting), increased recycling, carbon and water footprint reduction, waste-to-energy recovery, and, to a lesser extent, reusable packaging solutions. The findings highlight critical drivers and obstacles shaping these practices, including collaboration, innovation, culture, operational challenges, market conditions, regulatory frameworks, and material chemical properties. Policies like the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation are seen as strong drivers due to mandates for recycled content and scalable recyclable packaging by 2030. Conversely, plastic packaging taxes face challenges such as fraud, administrative burdens, and misalignment with broader contextual elements like the high cost of recycled materials and inadequate waste collection infrastructure. These shortcomings limit the taxes' perceived outcomes and generate industry resistance. This research underscores the multifaceted nature of fostering circularity in food packaging and provides practical insights for designing tax policies for sustainability. By exploring how taxes interact with broader industry dynamics, the study enriches environmental policy discussions and offers actionable recommendations to reduce non-recycled plastic waste among food packaging stakeholders. 

Keywords: Plastic Packaging Tax, Plastic Levy, Environmental Policy, Circular Practice, Circular Economy, Food Packaging Industry