Circular Economy and Competitiveness in the Era of Global Sustainability Transitions
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: 1 June 2026 | Viewed by 5
Special Issue Editors
Interests: low-carbon development; pro-environment behavior; carbon emission; energy policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
With the intensifying global push for sustainability, circular economy (CE) has emerged as a key pathway for achieving both environmental and economic objectives. Circular strategies—such as waste reduction, resource regeneration, and life-cycle thinking—are increasingly seen as levers to enhance competitiveness in firms, regions, and nations. However, how CE contributes to or challenges traditional notions of competitiveness remains underexplored, particularly in the context of global sustainability transitions.
This Special Issue focuses on the interaction between circular economy practices and competitiveness during sustainability transitions. It aims to highlight innovative frameworks, tools, and empirical evidence that demonstrate how CE can drive green innovation, foster industrial transformation, and support resilient value chains. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, circular business models, performance measurement, policy and regulatory innovations, digital enablers (e.g., AI, blockchain), and cross-sectoral or regional CE strategies. This Special Issue welcomes original research and reviews that provide insights for academics, practitioners, and policymakers navigating the complex CE–competitiveness nexus.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Circular business models and green innovation strategies.
- Resource efficiency and life-cycle thinking in enhancing competitiveness.
- Policy instruments and regulatory frameworks for CE implementation.
- The role of digital technologies (e.g., AI, IoT, blockchain) in enabling CE.
- Industrial symbiosis and supply chain reconfiguration.
- Sectoral and regional case studies of CE-led competitiveness.
- Metrics and evaluation models for circular performance and economic impact.
- Institutional challenges and governance mechanisms for CE transitions.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Wei Li
Dr. Xiaoguang Liu
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
- circular economy
- competitiveness
- sustainability transitions
- green innovation
- resource efficiency
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