Sustainable Business Models for a Circular Economy
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: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 172
Special Issue Editor
Interests: 3D reconstruction; digilization; object detection; BIPV; LCA; Scan-to-BIM; heritage conservation; circular economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The transition from linear “take–make–dispose” systems toward a circular economy is increasingly recognized as being necessary to achieving environmental sustainability, economic resilience, and long-term value creation. While substantial progress has been made in circular technologies and material strategies, the effective implementation of the circular economy critically depends on the development of sustainable business models that can operationalize circular principles in real market and organizational contexts. This Special Issue aims to advance the current understanding of how business model innovation can enable and accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
This Special Issue will focus on business models that support circular value creation, delivery, and capture by integrating environmental, economic, and social dimensions. The scope spans multiple sectors, including manufacturing, construction and the built environment, energy systems, mobility, consumer products, and urban systems. Contributions may address product–service systems, sharing and platform-based models, circular supply chains, reverse logistics, remanufacturing, recycling-oriented value networks, and digitally enabled circular solutions. Both conceptual and empirical studies are encouraged, including case studies, quantitative modeling, comparative analyses, and policy-oriented research.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to (i) clarify the mechanisms through which circular business models generate sustainable value for firms and society, (ii) identify the key barriers, drivers, and governance conditions affecting their adoption and scalability, and (iii) provide actionable insights for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers engaged in circular economy transitions.
This Special Issue complements and extends the existing literature, which has predominantly emphasized technological innovation, life-cycle assessment, and high-level conceptual frameworks. By placing business models at the core of analysis, this Special Issue will bridge the gap between circular economy theory and practical implementation, offering integrated perspectives that link technology, organizational strategy, market dynamics, and policy instruments. It will also contributes to emerging debates on the economic feasibility, performance measurement, resilience, and social implications of circular economy practices.
Topics of interest:
- Circular business model innovation and value creation mechanisms;
- Product–service systems, sharing economy, and platform-based circular models;
- Circular supply chains, reverse logistics, and industrial symbiosis;
- Digital technologies (AI, data platforms, digital twins) enabling circular business models;
- Policy, governance, and performance assessment of circular economy business models.
Dr. Qingxiang Li
Guest Editor
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-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 business models
- business model innovation
- value creation
- circular supply chains
- product–service systems
- digitalization
- industrial symbiosis
- sustainability transitions
- policy and governance
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