Developing a maturity model for circular economy in SME

Procedia CIRP 2026 Open access

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Authors: Jonas Barth, Enno Lang, Lena aus dem Bruch, Joachim Metternich
DOI: 10.1016/j.procir.2026.01.153
Cited by: 3
References: 22

Abstract

The importance of implementing a circular economy in industry is constantly increasing and poses a variety of challenges, especially for SMEs. Maturity models help structuring the development of organizations by making trend topics more tangible and are, therefore, suitable for supporting the implementation of a circular economy. However, the existing circular economy maturity models lack specific recommendations for increasing the maturity level and do not consider the specific characteristics of SMEs. To address this gap, this paper presents the development path of a maturity model for a circular economy that is intended to provide holistic support for SMEs in the transition to a circular economy.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Sustainable Supply Chain Management Environmental Sustainability in Business Innovation and Socioeconomic Development

Publication details

Journal / source
Procedia CIRP
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Volume
138
Pages
885–890
Publication date
1 January 2026
Language
EN