Circular Economy Implementation: From Processes and Systems to Organizational Transformation
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: 6 October 2026 | Viewed by 14
Special Issue Editors
Interests: social development and community sustainability; entrepreneurship and circular economy; sustainable development and environmental protection
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The literature on the circular economy (CE) is rich in concepts but thinner on how organizations operationalize CE at scale. This Special Issue focuses on implementation—the concrete integration of processes, metrics, and organizational change that turn circular intent into measurable outcomes. We highlight three intersecting pillars: (i) data-enabled implementation (e.g., Digital Product Passport, digital twins, IoT/AI) that improves traceability and decision-making; (ii) robust measurement and evaluation (e.g., dynamic MFA/stock-flow, exergy/material circularity, integrated LCA/LCC/S-LCA, performance dashboards); and (iii) organizational and behavioral transformation (governance, incentives, skills, culture) necessary to embed CE in day-to-day operations. Grounded in current policy and market developments—such as the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), and Digital Product Passport (DPP)—we invite contributions that deliver empirical evidence, implementation frameworks, and comparative insights across firms and value chains. By centering on methods, metrics, and management, the Special Issue moves beyond broad narratives to the practical levers that de-risk adoption and scale circularity.
Aims & Scope (Focused)
We seek papers that advance implementation through one or more of the following axes:
- Data & Traceability for CE
- DPP-ready architectures; interoperable data pipelines; governance of product/asset data; AI/IoT/digital twins for circular operations.
- Metrics & Decision Support
- Integrated LCA/LCC/S-LCA for trade-offs; dynamic MFA/stock-flow; material/exergy circularity indices; portfolio/plant-level dashboards; cost-benefit under ESPR compliance.
- Organizational & Behavioral Enablers
- Operating models, incentives, and skills; change management and culture; stakeholder engagement; procurement and contracting for circular outcomes.
- Processes & Value-Chain Redesign
- Design-for-X (repair, remanufacture), reverse logistics, PSS, industrial symbiosis, reliability/maintenance strategies for circular assets.
Dr. Simina Lakatos
Dr. Andreea-Loredana Rhazzali
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
- sustainable processes
- organizational transformation
- business models for circularity
- digital supply chains
- integrated LCA/LCC/S-LCA
- dynamic MFA/stock-flow
- exergy/material circularity metrics
- operations and supply chain redesign
- disruptive technologies
- reliability and maintenance for circular assets
- industrial symbiosis
- behavioral enablers
- sustainable management practices
- transition strategies
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