In the pursuit of a truly sustainable future, the intersection between circular economy (CE) and social innovation (SI) has emerged as a critical frontier of research, yet one that remains insufficiently explored. Recent findings illuminate a significant scientific void concerning how these two transformative concepts integrate, particularly through the lens of sustainable development (SD). Traditionally treated as separate paradigms, CE and SI have each contributed to environmental and social advancements independently. However, this new research stresses the urgent need to understand their combined impact, especially considering pressing issues of social equity and governance which are often neglected in purely economic or environmental analyses.
Circular economy, a concept that seeks to fundamentally rethink how resources flow through society, focuses primarily on optimizing production and consumption to minimize waste and extend the lifecycle of products. This systemic approach challenges the outdated linear economic model reliant on “take, make, dispose” patterns, advocating instead for regenerative processes that decouple economic growth from resource depletion and environmental harm. However, despite its environmental merits, the CE framework as currently implemented does not adequately address the social dimension of sustainability. The effects of CE initiatives on issues such as social inequality and patterns of hyper-consumption remain underexamined. This oversight risks perpetuating or even exacerbating societal disparities, underscoring the need to integrate the communal values championed by social innovation.
Conversely, social innovation places social needs, inclusion, and empowerment at the heart of its mission. It devises novel solutions adapted to complex social challenges, ranging from poverty to social exclusion, while influencing production and consumption behaviors in ways that also benefit the environment. Strategies like the maker movement, industrial symbiosis, and the rise of social enterprises exemplify this approach by fostering community involvement, collaborative governance, and grassroots entrepreneurship. By addressing social demands through inclusive mechanisms, social innovation has the potential to mitigate some unintended negative externalities of circular economy practices. This symbiotic relationship between CE and SI can catalyze a systemic transformation toward equitable sustainability that transcends mere waste reduction or resource efficiency goals.
The comprehensive literature review presented, encompassing a bibliometric analysis of 1,180 records and an in-depth examination of 83 pertinent documents, sheds light on the interconnectedness of CE and SI within the sustainable development landscape. Governance and stakeholders emerged as pivotal concepts, elucidating the necessity for collective engagement across academic, societal, and business spheres. Effective governance frameworks play a regulatory and coordinating role, harmonizing diverse actors to foster successful CE and SI strategies. Meanwhile, stakeholder participation enriches the design and developmental phases, ensuring that solutions are contextually sensitive and socially inclusive.
This analysis also reveals significant research gaps, especially regarding governance structures that facilitate the integration of social innovation into circular economy strategies. Such insights have paved the way for establishing a reference framework centered on four key dimensions: governance, stakeholders, design, and the waste hierarchy. Governance ensures a structured regulatory environment, while stakeholders embody the collaborative spirit required for co-creation and social participation. The design dimension emphasizes creativity and sustainability in innovation processes, and the waste hierarchy provides an actionable guide for resource management strategies that prioritize waste prevention, reuse, and recycling in descending order of preference.
Taken collectively, these insights coalesce into a compelling theoretical relationship between circular economy and social innovation, driven by an ambition to spur systemic change yielding environmental, social, and economic dividends. CE is articulated as an economic and environmental construct dedicated to reconfiguring production systems, optimizing resources, and minimizing waste through new sustainable business models tailored to the challenges of sustainable development. In contrast, SI is described as a social and environmental construct focused on transforming extant social practices to effectively address significant social issues through innovative, often bottom-up initiatives that empower communities to reclaim agency in solving their problems.
Further enriching the discourse, the research proposes three organizational strategies rooted in natural resource-based theory. These strategies emphasize efficient product use and disposal management, investment in clean technologies and innovation, and addressing unmet social demands via social innovation mechanisms. Nonetheless, there remains a critical need to explore how organizational learning and resource quantification can be leveraged to enhance the deployment of these strategies. Bridging these theories may unlock novel perspectives for dual strategies that synergistically combine CE’s environmental focus with SI’s social inclusiveness.
Complex human behaviors and community dynamics play an indispensable role in the sustainable management of resources, pointing to the necessity of incorporating social sciences into this conversation. Institutional theory, which highlights how coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures catalyze structural changes, has yet to be thoroughly examined in relation to circular economy adoption. Recognizing this theoretical gap carries profound implications—unifying theoretical frameworks from both social innovation and circular economy supports a more holistic understanding and robust application of sustainability initiatives.
The researchers are candid about the limitations tied to their methodology, highlighting the risk of publication bias by excluding unpublished or newer studies, possible subjective interpretations, and omission of grey literature and institutional documents that might contain critical normative and operational insights. The dynamic nature of regional socio-economic contexts, which impact how CE and SI strategies are embraced, did not feature prominently in their analysis. Despite these constraints, this investigation marks a seminal effort by providing an integrated, structured foundation that links circular economy and social innovation from the sustainable development perspective.
Looking ahead, the study signals promising avenues for future work, particularly empirical validation of the proposed theoretical framework to understand how localized social and economic realities shape CE and SI implementations. The authors position their findings as a foundational touchstone for researchers, policymakers, and community stakeholders who aim to confront the multifaceted challenges of sustainable development by combining the strengths of circular economy and social innovation. Such a systemic and inclusive approach holds the potential to revolutionize sustainability by embedding social equity and ecological integrity at the core of global economic transformation.
Emerging from this research is an intellectual call to rethink sustainability in an integrated manner. The potential for CE and SI to jointly remediate the entrenched environmental crises while fostering community empowerment signals a paradigm shift in green governance and policy frameworks worldwide. Rather than treating ecological and social considerations in isolation, this comprehensive perspective argues for synchronized action to reshape our economic future, guide infrastructure design, and redefine consumption patterns in socially conscious, environmentally prudent ways.
An interdisciplinary approach is indispensable for addressing the complexity inherent in the nexus of circular economy and social innovation. The interplay between governance models, stakeholder collaboration, creative solution design, and effective waste management strategies offers a multifaceted toolkit that can be adapted to varied contexts and scales. The systematic coordination among public institutions, private enterprises, academia, and civil society will be crucial to operationalizing these integrated frameworks and amplifying their socio-ecological impacts.
As ecosystems worldwide face unprecedented stress from resource extraction and waste accumulation, embedding social innovation within circular economy policies can democratize sustainability by prioritizing inclusivity and social justice. Sustainable development frameworks that meticulously incorporate community voices and participatory governance will help ensure that benefits do not remain concentrated among economic elites but extend equitably across society. This research thus provides a critical roadmap for dismantling the dichotomy between environmental and social agendas.
In essence, the evolving relationship between circular economy and social innovation represents a transformative axis for sustainable development thinking. By advancing theoretical clarity alongside pragmatic frameworks, this research equips stakeholders to jointly safeguard ecological health and promote social well-being. As the global urgency intensifies for climate action and social resilience, the imperative to harness synergies between CE and SI grows ever more vital.
In conclusion, the integration of circular economy with social innovation from a sustainable development perspective constitutes a promising but underdeveloped research field. This compelling body of work urges the scientific community and policy actors to move beyond siloed approaches, fostering multi-disciplinary collaboration that aligns economic, environmental, and social interests. As this research article establishes critical conceptual underpinnings and highlights areas ripe for further inquiry, it sets the stage for impactful practical interventions that can ignite systemic transitions toward an equitable, sustainable future.
Article References:
Carreño-Ortiz, J., Escobar-Sierra, M. & Lopez-Perez, F. Theoretical relationship between circular economy and social innovation from a sustainable development perspective. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 1549 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05862-0
