Education Level and Adoption of Circular Economy in Panipat’s MSMEs

A strategic model for sustainable growth must revolve around the procedures that constitute circular economy. This economy emphasizes optimizing resource efficiency, reducing the total waste and closed-loop production methodologies. The economic development in India is highly dependent on growth and output of micro-, small- as well as medium Enterprises (MSMEs), yet the circular economy practices are largely not adopted. This paper explores Panipat’s textile MSMEs regarding investigating the awareness levels and adoption of circular economic practices, relating this with their educational levels. It was seen that the entrepreneurs with higher educational levels tend to have higher awareness levels, as well as willingness to implement such practices. The prediction models adopted for this study showed that the likelihood of resorting to circular economy practices depends not only on education levels but also on firm characteristics. Our study explicitly explains that education is a vital enabler for driving sustainable transitions in MSMEs. Concluding the study, we have recommended that targeted training programs, friendly policy frameworks and collaborative channels can play significant roles in enhancing the acceptability of circular economy practices in small-scale enterprises.