Circular Economy Models and Applications for Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

Circular business models reduce the exploitation and use of natural resources, as well as the production of residential and business waste. Circularity mitigates the consequences of such wastes by prioritising material recovery over material production. Moreover, a circular economy (CE) has the potential to protect a vulnerable environment, promote social equity, and accelerate sustainable economic growth. The three essential steps to building a circular business model are retaining product ownership, increasing product useful life, and designing products for recycling. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries practice a restorative approach to manufacturing and consumption, which includes rethinking, recovering, and reusing items and resources to reduce their environmental impact. Essentially, a CE requires the creation of markets that encourage the recycling of goods as opposed to their disposal and further resource extraction. All types of waste, especially discarded garments, metal products, and outdated technology, are repurposed or put to more efficient use in such economies.

In addition to the controversial claim that a circular economy will tackle the issues of waste, resource depletion, and climate change, its proponents also make promises about employment and economic growth. Using the circular economy in any firm requires careful selection. Therefore, regardless of the industry type or the goods or materials produced, a business should be able to select and maximize its key products and resources by successfully reusing, recycling, and transferring them.  A circular bio-economy decreases waste and pollution, such as plastics in the ocean, and uses less non-renewable resources, so it is better for the environment. Based on the biomass they create, a circular bio-economy also strengthens rural communities through new business opportunities and investment. Due to supply chain issues, a lack of investment incentives, complicated recycling procedures, and a lack of knowledge on how to enable involvement in reusing, recycling, and remanufacturing processes, industries are hesitant to implement the circular economy model.

Prof. Dr. Syed Mithun Ali
Dr. Bathrinath Sankaranarayanan
Dr. Usama Awan
Dr. Niamat Ullah Ibne Hossain
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.

• sustainable circular economy
• circular bio-economy
• environmental impact assessment
• zero wastage
• socio-economic impacts
• sustainability indicators
• ecological indicators
• policies and incentives