Empowering the transition towards a circular economy through empirically-driven research: Past, present, and future

In this introductory paper, we discuss the importance of empirically-driven research in the area of sustainable production and distribution systems in order to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy in contemporary societies. To this end, we first identify some gaps in the current state of knowledge that need to be addressed to design efficient and resilient sustainable supply chains. Then, we summarise the papers which have been disseminated through the present Special Issue (entitled “Empowering the Transition towards a Circular Economy: Empirically-Driven Research in Closed-Loop Supply Chains”) of the International Journal of Production Economics; such a collection of articles provides an insightful overview of real-life industrial problems related to the transition towards circular supply chains. Finally, we suggest some important directions for future research in this area with the aim of facilitating the implementation of circular economy practices, strategies and systems.