Platform-Enabled Circular Economy Transformations – From Pilots to Systemic Change
Publication Alert

Platform-Enabled Circular Economy Transformations – From Pilots to Systemic Change

Last updated: 20 October 2025

Editors: Dr Outi Blackburn1, Dr Asma Rezaei1, Prof Minna Lammi1, Dr Peter C. Evans2, Prof Ali Kamali3, Dr Maria Antikainen 4

1 Anglia Ruskin University (UK)
2 All Things Circular (US)
3 University of Cambridge (UK)
4 Sandvik (FI)

 

Rationale and Scope

The circular economy (CE) is a central paradigm in sustainability debates, offering the practical promise of reducing virgin resource dependency and environmental harm whilst enabling innovation and new growth (Geissdoerfer et al., 2017; Kirchherr, Reike, & Hekkert, 2017). Yet, in practice, the CE implementation remains extremely fragmented. Many circularity initiatives still continue to revolve around pilots, municipal projects, or niche business models that, while successful in specific contexts, fall short of delivering systemic transformation at the level of industries, national economies, or global trade (Bocken & Short, 2021; Korhonen, Honkasalo, & Seppälä, 2018). And on top of that, the Circularity Metric continues to decline (CGR Global, 2025).

 

Studies highlight that systemic CE transitions require mechanisms of coordination, scaling, and accountability that extend beyond individual firms or isolated projects (Murray, Skene, & Haynes, 2017; Schröder, Anggraeni, & Weber, 2019). Circular Economy platforms – digital enablers of organising – are increasingly emerging as such mechanisms (Blackburn, Ritala & Keranen, 2023; Petrik, Hiller & Morar, 2025). It is well documented that platforms can orchestrate multi-actor ecosystems, enable industrial symbiosis, and facilitate the traceability of materials and products across global supply chains (Cusumano, Gawer, & Yoffie, 2019; Jacobides, Cennamo, & Gawer, 2018). Platforms also provide consumers with entry points into CE through sharing, reuse, and repair markets (Persson & Hinton, 2023), while supporting policymakers via tools such as the European Union’s digital product passports and extended producer responsibility schemes (European Commission, 2020).

 

Geographically, the Global East has already demonstrated the potential of state-led, large-scale platform and circularity initiatives, such as China’s Circular Economy laws and strategies (Mathews & Tan, 2016), as well as a growing number of academic literatures concentrating on the area, especially in the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) markets (Chi et al., 2014; Sun et al., 2020). However, the differences are not well understood across the regions. For example, where the WEEE collection in Europe is tightly linked to established municipal waste collection schemes, in China informal collection of the waste dominates (Salhofer et al., 2016). In the Global South, platforms increasingly formalise and scale grassroots circular practices rooted in necessity, such as repair and informal recycling schemes (Muchangos, 2022). These contrasting cases across the regions could help us to understand how platforms may mediate CE differently across geographies and institutional contexts, and what policy makers as well as practitioners could learn from those differences.

 

At the same time, the “platformisation” of CE raises critical questions. Platforms may reinforce power asymmetries, consolidate control in the hands of a few dominant actors, or even provide cover for corporate greenwashing (Kirchherr et al., 2017; Korhonen et al., 2018). Platforms may also disrupt labour markets, raising questions about job quality, inclusion, and the social justice dimensions of CE (Murray et al., 2017). Moreover, while AI, blockchain, and IoT promise to enhance transparency and efficiency in circular supply chains, they also bring risks of technological lock-in, rebound effects, and exclusion (Kristoffersen et al., 2020).

Hence, this JoCE special issue seeks to establish platform-enabled CE transformations as a critical research frontier. By focusing on how platforms enable, constrain, and shape CE across geographies, organisations, governance systems, and societies, the issue aims to advance both conceptual and practice-oriented insights into how CE can move beyond pilots and partial adoption to genuine systemic transformation.

 

Key Topics

We invite submissions that address how platforms act as enablers, orchestrators, and governance mechanisms in scaling CE from fragmented initiatives to systemic transformations, including but not limited to the following areas:

 

Platforms across geographies

• How platforms shape CE transitions in the Global South, East, West, and North, based on the current literature?

• By using comparative insights, how could platform orchestrators seek to contribute into policy-driven, necessity-driven, and technology-driven platform models? What can policymakers learn from them?

 

Platforms, organisations, and supply chains

• How do platforms alter power dynamics in supply networks, perhaps comparing between SMEs and multinational corporations, when they are embedding CE principles?

• To what extent do platform-enabled industrial symbiosis and reverse logistics reconfigure traditional value chains into regenerative loops?

• How could platforms act as boundary objects that reconcile tensions between efficiency, resilience, and sustainability in global supply chains?

 

Platforms as governance and policy tools

• How effective are platforms as instruments for monitoring compliance and driving accountability in CE regulation (e.g., by looking at the EU’s digital product passports)?

• In what ways might platforms both challenge and reinforce state authority in CE governance?

• What risks may arise when platforms become de facto regulators (potentially leading to monopolisation, opaque accountability, or even symbolic greenwashing)?

 

Platforms, technology, and finance

• How do AI, blockchain, IoT, and digital marketplaces co-evolve as an ecosystem that enables systemic CE, and where are the fault lines?

• What role do investment and financing platforms play in mobilising “patient capital” for CE transitions, and how might they reconfigure financial risk allocation?

• Do digital platforms in CE risk technological lock-in, exclusion of marginal actors, or rebound effects that undermine sustainability goals?

 

Platforms and the R Strategies

• How do circular platforms enable or align with R strategies (redesign, reuse, refurbish, repair, and recycle) across product lifecycles?

• What mechanisms allow platforms to coordinate and prioritise tighter loops (e.g. reuse, repair) over wider ones (e.g. recycling)?

• How do data, governance, and incentives support integration and trade-offs among R strategies within platform ecosystems?

• What opportunities exist for circular platforms to influence upstream product design and downstream recovery through data feedback and collaboration?

 

Platforms, society, and just transitions

• How are labour relations reshaped in platform-enabled CE practices such as repair work, recycling, and secondary marketplaces?

• To what extent do platforms genuinely empower consumers and citizens in CE transitions, rather than reducing them to passive data providers?

• How can platforms ensure inclusivity and prevent CE adoption from becoming merely symbolic or extractive, especially for vulnerable communities?

 

Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the journal’s author guidelines. Submissions will undergo double-blind peer review. Both conceptual and empirical papers are welcome.

Format and word count

Review: 4,500–6,000 words
Research Papers: 3,500–6,000 words
Perspectives: 800–1,000 words
All word counts exclude tables, illustrations, and references.

Submission Deadlines

Extended abstracts (500–750 words): 15 February 2026
Notifications of accepted abstracts: 15 March 2026
Workshop 1 (developmental): mid-April 2026 (online)
Full papers due: 1 September 2026
First-round reviews completed (target): 1 February 2027
First-round revised papers due: 1 May 2027
Second-round reviews completed (target): 1 July 2027
Final revised papers due: 1 September 2027
Final decisions communicated: 1 October 2027
Target publication window: October 2027 (rolling publication upon acceptance)

Note: The journal publishes accepted papers on a rolling basis; earlier submissions may be published earlier. Manuscripts should be submitted via the journal’s online system, selecting “Special Issue: Platform-Enabled Circular Economy Transformations – From Pilots to Systemic Change.”

Developmental Workshop for Abstracts

The workshops aim to raise overall quality, align manuscripts with the Special Issue scope, and accelerate review readiness. Each workshop is a 90–120 minute virtual session (Teams) with breakout rooms as needed. Authors with accepted abstracts present for 5–7 minutes, followed by a 10-minute feedback discussion led by two discussants (a peer and a guest editor). Focus areas include sharpening the contribution, fit with the Special Issue, and feasibility.

Revisions & Editorial Flow

Up to two rounds of revision are anticipated (additional rounds may be considered for promising papers). Review model: double-blind peer review. The timeline allows some papers to progress faster; accepted papers publish as soon as they meet JoCE standards. Guest editors will help source expert reviewers to meet the Special Issue timeline.

Contact

Questions: [email protected]
All submissions must adhere to the Journal of Circular Economy’s guidelines and rules .

References

  1. Blackburn, O., Ritala, P., & Keränen, J. (2023). Digital platforms for the circular economy: exploring meta-organizational orchestration mechanisms. Organization & Environment, 36(2), 253–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266221130717
  2. Bocken, N., & Short, S. (2021). Unsustainable business models – Recognising and resolving institutionalised social and environmental harm. Journal of Cleaner Production, 312, 127828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127828
  3. CGR Global. (2025). Circularity Gap Report 2025. Global Circularity Gap. https://global.circularity-gap.world/
  4. Chi, X., Wang, M. Y., & Reuter, M. A. (2014). E-waste collection channels and household recycling behaviors in Taizhou of China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 80, 87–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.05.056
  5. Cusumano, M., Gawer, A., & Yoffie, D. (2019). The Business of Platforms. New York: Harper Business.
  6. European Commission. (2020). A new Circular Economy Action Plan. Brussels.https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?format=PDF&uri=cellar:9903b325-6388-11ea-b735-01aa75ed71a1.0017.02%2FDOC_1&utm
  7. Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2017). The circular economy – A new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 757–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048
  8. Jacobides, M. G., Cennamo, C., & Gawer, A. (2018). Towards a theory of ecosystems. Strategic Management Journal, 39(8), 2255–2276. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2904
  9. Kirchherr, J., Reike, D., & Hekkert, M. (2017). Conceptualising the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 127, 221–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.09.005
  10. Korhonen, J., Honkasalo, A., & Seppälä, J. (2018). Circular economy: The concept and its limitations. Ecological Economics, 143, 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.06.041
  11. Kristoffersen, E., Blomsma, F., Mikalef, P., & Li, J. (2020). The smart circular economy: A digital-enabled circular strategies framework for manufacturing companies. Journal of Business Research, 120, 241–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.0441
  12. Mathews, J. A., & Tan, H. (2016). Circular economy: Lessons from China. Nature, 531(7595), 440–442. https://doi.org/10.1038/531440a
  13. Muchangos, L. S. D. (2022). Mapping the circular economy concept and the global south. Circular Economy and Sustainability, 2(1), 71–90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-021-00095-0
  14. Murray, A., Skene, K., & Haynes, K. (2017). The circular economy: An interdisciplinary exploration of the concept and application in a global context. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(3), 369–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-021-00095-0
  15. Petrik, D., Hiller, S., & Morar, D. (2025). Digital platforms for circular economy: Empirical development of a taxonomy and archetypes. Electronic Markets, 35(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-025-00792-w
  16. Persson, O., & Hinton, J. B. (2023). Second-hand clothing markets and a just circular economy? Journal of Cleaner Production, 390, 136139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136139
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  18. Schröder, P., Anggraeni, K., & Weber, U. (2019). The relevance of circular economy practices to the sustainable development goals. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 23(1), 77–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12732
  19. Sun, Q., Wang, C., Zhou, Y., Zuo, L., & Tang, J. (2020). Dominant platform capability, symbiotic strategy and the construction of “Internet+ WEEE collection” business ecosystem: A comparative study of two typical cases in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 254, 120074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.114

Editors: Dr Outi Blackburn1, Dr Asma Rezaei1, Prof Minna Lammi1, Dr Peter C. Evans2, Prof Ali Kamali3, Dr Maria Antikainen 4

1 Anglia Ruskin University (UK)
2 All Things Circular (US)
3 University of Cambridge (UK)
4 Sandvik (FI)

 

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