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Sustainability
Volume 18
Issue 16
10.3390/su18168106
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Assessing Circular Economy and Environmental Management Maturity in Manufacturing SMEs: A Digital and AI-Enabled Equal-Weighted Diagnostic Framework

by
Daniel Filip
1,
Larisa Ivascu
2,*,
Livia Filip
1,
Alin Artene
2,* and
Aura Emanuela Domil
3
1
Department of Management and Economic Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 103-105 Muncii Avenue, 400641 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2
Department of Management, Politehnica University of Timisoara, 300006 Timisoara, Romania
3
Accounting and Audit Department, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timisoara, Romania
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2026, 18(16), 8106; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18168106 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 8 July 2026 / Revised: 6 August 2026 / Accepted: 7 August 2026 / Published: 8 August 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular Economy, Environmental Management and Sustainability)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The transition towards the circular economy and improved environmental management is a major challenge for manufacturing SMEs under growing pressures for resource efficiency, waste reduction and industrial sustainability. Although circular economy, environmental management, digitalization and artificial intelligence are widely discussed, they are often treated separately and rarely integrated into maturity-assessment frameworks. This article proposes CEEMMI—Circular Economy and Environmental Management Maturity Index—a digital- and AI-oriented diagnostic framework with a multi-criteria structure for manufacturing SMEs. CEEMMI integrates eight dimensions covering circular strategy, eco-design, resource efficiency, life cycle management, circular supply chains, digitalization and AI, organizational capabilities and sustainable performance. In its current version, the model is operationalized as an equal-weighted additive index for preliminary self-assessment, pending future content-validity testing and expert-derived weighting. The framework supports five-level maturity classification, profile-based interpretation, compensability safeguards and illustrative sensitivity analysis, offering a reproducible basis for diagnosis, decision support and future empirical validation.
Keywords: circular economy; environmental management; SMEs; manufacturing industry; organizational maturity; cleaner production; resource efficiency; digitalization; artificial intelligence; multi-criteria assessment; industrial sustainability; eco-innovation circular economy; environmental management; SMEs; manufacturing industry; organizational maturity; cleaner production; resource efficiency; digitalization; artificial intelligence; multi-criteria assessment; industrial sustainability; eco-innovation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Filip, D.; Ivascu, L.; Filip, L.; Artene, A.; Domil, A.E. Assessing Circular Economy and Environmental Management Maturity in Manufacturing SMEs: A Digital and AI-Enabled Equal-Weighted Diagnostic Framework. Sustainability 2026, 18, 8106. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18168106

AMA Style

Filip D, Ivascu L, Filip L, Artene A, Domil AE. Assessing Circular Economy and Environmental Management Maturity in Manufacturing SMEs: A Digital and AI-Enabled Equal-Weighted Diagnostic Framework. Sustainability. 2026; 18(16):8106. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18168106

Chicago/Turabian Style

Filip, Daniel, Larisa Ivascu, Livia Filip, Alin Artene, and Aura Emanuela Domil. 2026. "Assessing Circular Economy and Environmental Management Maturity in Manufacturing SMEs: A Digital and AI-Enabled Equal-Weighted Diagnostic Framework" Sustainability 18, no. 16: 8106. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18168106

APA Style

Filip, D., Ivascu, L., Filip, L., Artene, A., & Domil, A. E. (2026). Assessing Circular Economy and Environmental Management Maturity in Manufacturing SMEs: A Digital and AI-Enabled Equal-Weighted Diagnostic Framework. Sustainability, 18(16), 8106. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18168106

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