Innovating for Sustainability: Digital and Circular Strategies in the Twin Transition Era
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 12 June 2026 | Viewed by 80
Special Issue Editors
Interests: economics; innovation; regional studies
Interests: circular economy; management; sustainable business models; OLCA
Interests: economics; services of general interest; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The twin transition—digital and ecological—represents a transformative force reshaping societies, industries, and territories in the pursuit of sustainable development. This Special Issue focuses on how innovation enables and accelerates this dual transformation, particularly through the lens of circular economy principles and remanufacturing practices, which are essential levers for promoting resource efficiency, resilience, and long-term environmental sustainability.
The scope of the issue includes interdisciplinary and applied research exploring the integration of digital technologies (e.g., AI, IoT, blockchain) with circular economy strategies across diverse contexts: industry, urban and regional systems, households, public policy, and civil society. We particularly welcome papers that address business models, socio-technical systems, governance frameworks, and monitoring tools that foster innovation and sustainability. Topics such as remanufacturing, reuse, industrial symbiosis, and product-service systems are central to this call.
The purpose of the Special Issue is to expand the body of literature on sustainability transitions by promoting systemic, cross-sectoral, and multilevel approaches. By bringing together contributions from technology, environmental science, economics, and the social sciences, this collection will highlight both theoretical insights and practical solutions for implementing the twin transition globally and locally.
This Special Issue directly contributes to Sustainability’s mission by addressing integrated socio-technical approaches to sustainable development, tools to quantify and monitor sustainability, and policies to support the transition. It aims to fill current gaps in the literature where digital innovation, remanufacturing, and circular strategies converge, offering both conceptual frameworks and empirical evidence to support more effective sustainability pathways.
Contributions include (but are not limited to):
- Environmental impact monitoring methodologies;
- Sustainable and smart mobility solutions;
- Household energy and emissions reduction;
- R-strategies and circular economy practices;
- Digital tools for sustainability;
- Consumer behaviour in the twin transition context;
- Policy and governance innovations;
- Circular business models;
- Urban and territorial applications;
- Socio-technical transitions;
- Systemic and integrative approaches;
- Waste management performance across regions;
- Cross-sectoral case studies.
Prof. Dr. Donato Iacobucci
Dr. Marco Ciro Liscio
Dr. Paolo Sospiro
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- twin transition
- circular economy
- remanufacturing
- digital innovation
- sustainability transitions
- systemic change
- green and digital technologies
- sustainable development
- resilient systems
- Industry 4.0 and sustainability
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
