Circular Systems, Digital Innovation and Green Skills for Sustainable Transformation

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue examines how circular, digital, and educational pathways can work together to deliver sustainable transformation—from the materials, structures and manufacturing systems that underpin the energy transition, through to the organisations, institutions and skills systems that must sustain it. Sustainability research has expanded rapidly, yet it remains fragmented: technical work on circular materials, low-carbon infrastructure and asset life extension rarely connects to the business models, governance arrangements, and educational reforms that determine whether such innovations are adopted at scale. This Special Issue is designed to bridge that divide.

Particular emphasis is placed on engineering and industrial systems, where sustainability claims must ultimately be demonstrated through measurable technical performance. We welcome contributions on circular and recycled materials, including recycled carbon fibre and thermoplastic composites; design for disassembly, repair, remanufacturing and reuse; life extension, repurposing and decommissioning of energy and marine infrastructure; structural integrity, fatigue, fracture and degradation mechanisms in offshore renewable energy and maritime systems; sustainable, hybrid and additive manufacturing routes; life cycle, circularity and techno-economic assessment; and digital enablers such as structural health monitoring, digital twins, and AI-supported inspection and asset management that reduce material, energy and carbon intensity across an asset’s life.

Alongside these, the Special Issue welcomes work on the organisational and human dimensions of the same transition: circular and sustainable business models, ESG implementation and reporting, Society 5.0, sustainable entrepreneurship, supply chain circularity, cross-sector and industry–academia collaboration, sustainability education, green skills and curriculum reform in engineering and business schools, and the accreditation, standardisation and policy instruments that shape professional practice. Empirical, conceptual, experimental, numerical, review and case-based studies are all in scope, at scales ranging from materials and components to structures, plants, organisations, universities, supply chains, communities and policy environments.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to advance interdisciplinary understanding of how sustainability strategies move from intention to implementation. Particular attention is given to studies that examine mechanisms, barriers, enabling conditions, trade-offs and measurable outcomes in real technical, industrial, organisational, educational and societal contexts. Contributions that critically assess implementation gaps, unintended consequences, rebound effects, data and standardisation challenges, or the relationship between innovation and actual sustainability performance are especially encouraged.

By bringing engineering and socio-economic perspectives together, this Special Issue seeks to supplement the existing literature with integrated evidence on how circular, digital and educational approaches contribute to sustainable transformation and impact. Rather than treating sustainability as a broad aspiration, we encourage research that clarifies what works, under what conditions, for whom, at what cost, and with what evidence of change. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Saeid Lotfian
Dr. Sharareh Shahidi Hamedani
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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.

• circular economy
• recycled composites
• sustainable manufacturing
• offshore renewable energy
• digital transformation
• sustainability education and ESG