The primary aim of this paper is to survey the literature’s coverage of integrating circular economy practices with renewable energy sources in the manufacturing sector. A systematic review of 107 peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2023 in journals within the Web of Science and Scopus databases was conducted. The review documented CE and RE applications in emerging economies across Africa, Asia, and South America, assessing the overall characteristics of the research, its methodological rigour, and the barriers to or facilitators of CE and RE integration. Integration refers to the implementation of at least one CE practice, as well as one or more RE sources, in a single context, like manufacturing. A total of 14 practices were included in this analysis because they were mentioned at least 10 times by varying authors. The practice list includes recycling (mentioned in 74 articles), reducing materials (57), remanufacturing (53), the reuse of materials (51), waste minimisation (48), renewable energy use (43), consumer awareness (38), repurposing (35), refuse (33), education and training (28), environmentally friendly design (22), environmental criteria for supplier selection (17), reverse logistics (16), and stakeholder collaboration (14). Recycling, life cycle assessment, and end-of-life management were the most common CE practices in the literature. Additionally, solar power and bioenergy emerged as the most frequently recurring areas of integration for CE practices within the RE realms. Governmental support, incentives, research and development, and strong environmental legislation were found to be the most frequently recurring facilitators of effective CE and RE integration. Organisational resistance, bureaucratic red tape, lack of human capital, limited stakeholder involvement, and insufficient collaboration were found to be important barriers to effective integration between CE and RE.

Introduction: Limited research and knowledge have tackled the facilitators and hindrances contributing to the integration of circular Economy (CE) and renewable energy (RE) in the manufacturing sector. The primary goal of the current investigation is to build a holistic system that explains why and how manufacturers adopt and implement CE and RE integrations. Methods: The analysis utilized a mixed-methods research design that began with reviewing 107 peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2023 and soliciting 10 experts' opinions through two focus group sessions held in 2024 with stakeholders in the manufacturing sector. The review and focus groups generated a list of 22 facilitators and barriers distributed across six themes: (a) regulations, (b) institutions, (c) stakeholders, (d) finance and economics, (e) infrastructure, and (f) technology. The 22 factors informed the construction of the system model using causal loop diagram (CLD). Results: The analysis produced an integration system comprised of 11 feedback loops, indicating the intersectionality and dynamism of CE and RE integration. Network analysis demonstrated that strong government support, technical research and development, human capital technology programs, consultancy services, and cost were the most influential factors in the integration model. Discussion: The present analysis contributes to the ongoing debate on how CE and RE are integrated into manufacturing facilities to decrease waste at all levels.

Circular economy (CE) and renewable energy (RE) are frequently discussed as complementary pathways for sustainable manufacturing, yet implementation guidance often treats resource circularity, energy transition, digitalization, and institutional conditions separately. This study develops a hierarchical framework for their joint integration. Candidate factors were drawn from a systematic review of 107 peer-reviewed studies and two Saudi Arabian focus groups involving 10 manufacturing, research, and policy participants. A pragmatic dual-source screening rule retained 13 recurrent factors for Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC). The resulting six-level hierarchy places government institutions at the foundation, followed by economic incentives, regulatory clarity, advanced technology, mobilisation capabilities, and more dependent ecosystem conditions. MICMAC identifies government institutions, incentives, regulatory frameworks, and enforcement as primary drivers; private investment and political stability are linkage variables. A preliminary expert evaluation included 40 respondents, of whom 10 had participated in the focus groups, and indicated generally favorable judgments of relationship plausibility and practical intelligibility. The contribution is therefore a compact, evidence-grounded ordering of CE–RE integration conditions rather than a universal implementation sequence or proof of effectiveness. Multisector, longitudinal field studies are required to test the proposed relationships and outcomes.