Integrated Reporting Practices and Circular Economy Disclosure: Drivers of Enterprise Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, companies have sought to operationalize sustainable development goals and develop circular economy practices through integrated reporting. Adopting a holistic approach to sustainability by incorporating circular economy values ​​into reporting allows companies to transparently communicate their efforts to reduce waste, extend product life cycles, and promote resource efficiency. Further, it enables corporate entities to demonstrate their commitment to society by illustrating to stakeholders their interest in and concern for a sustainable future. This can enhance the reputation of organizations and increase investors’ confidence, generating a competitive advantage in an increasingly sustainability-focused market. Moreover, in the context of a complex and uncertain business environment, integrated reporting provides a comprehensive view of the business. Additionally, it allows businesses to highlight how circular practices contribute to creating value and strengthening resilience in the long term. An integrated approach to reporting information and promoting the implementation of the circular economy ultimately stimulates innovation and facilitates the transition of companies to a more sustainable and high-performing models of business. 

This Special Issue will focus on topics such as integrated reporting practices and circular economy disclosures. Integrated reporting is particularly valuable in the context of the circular economy, where organizations are expected to disclose their efforts to minimize waste, optimize resource use, and design for sustainability. By embedding circular economy disclosures within reporting frameworks, organizations can demonstrate how their strategies and operations contribute to long-term value creation and responsible resource management. This approach enables stakeholders to better assess an organization’s progress toward circularity, environmental impact, and resilience. Although answers to these issues have been presented in previous research, new factors are still emerging that influence the inclusion of circular economy issues in integrated reports. 

Consequently, this Special Issue will shed light on circular economy disclosure issues and integrated reporting practices, including integrated business models for circularity, transparency and disclosure in circular economy reporting, circular business ethics, sustainable supply chain reporting, sustainable life cycle management, waste management reporting and disclosure, recycling, reuse, innovation in circular economy, circular governance, and technology, but also other related topics.

Both original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following topics:

• Conceptual models;
• Empirical studies;
• Case studies;
• Other qualitative and quantitative studies.

Our Special Issue will provide a new orientation on the current state of integrated reporting practices and circular economy disclosures linked to enterprise, both from practical and research points of view. 

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Victoria Bogdan
Prof. Dr. Camelia-Daniela Hategan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

• integrated reporting
• circular economy disclosure
• ESG reporting
• transparency and disclosure in integrated reporting
• waste management reporting
• innovation in circular business models
• emerging technologies and circular business ethics
• sustainable supply value chain transparency
• circularity indicators