Journal profile · Energy-Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Journal of Circular Economy
ISSN 2752-163X · DSRPT GbR · Germany · Semi-annual
Journal of Circular Economy: impact factor 3.1 (journal website); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 10 weeks (community reports); 65 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Circular Economy is published by DSRPT GbR. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Sustainable Industrial Ecology and Environmental Sustainability in Business, together about 56.4% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Circular Economy (JoCE) is an academic journal publishing articles within the field of circular economy (CE). JoCE accepts articles regardless of national origin, in English. JoCE is an interdisciplinary journal that aims to provide practical advice to businesses, policymakers, and civil society on accelerating the transition towards a more circular economy. The concept of circular economy pertains to the efforts of limiting the use of virgin materials. This includes but is not limited to activities which reduce, reuse and recycle resources and is therefore a crucial tool to increase the sustainability of the economy, improve the quality of life of people, and reduce the environmental consequences of human related activities. Specific subject areas include, but are not limited to: Circular business models, circular start-ups, circular business model experimentation Dynamic capabilities for a circular economy Circular supply chains, reverse logistics Circular economy policies and governance Barriers and enablers to the circular economy Sustainability transition theory and circular economy Social, environmental and economic impacts of circular economy Circular rebound Circular degrowth Circular economy terminology And more… Any disciplinary approach is welcome. Any methodological approach is welcome.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Energy-Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 3%); most named Netherlands 7, Italy 5, United Kingdom 4, United States 3, Norway 3 (35 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Sustainable Supply Chain ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting32.7%
- Sustainable Industrial EcologyEngineering15.5%
- Environmental Sustainability in BusinessBusiness, Management and Accounting8.3%
- Municipal Solid Waste ManagementEnvironmental Science3.3%
- Recycling and Waste Management TechniquesEnvironmental Science3.3%
- Innovation and Socioeconomic DevelopmentBusiness, Management and Accounting3.3%
- Environmental Impact and SustainabilityEnvironmental Science3.1%
- Sustainability and Climate Change GovernanceEnvironmental Science2.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceScopusPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.86LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.26LetPub ·
- h-index
- 11OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 13OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.63OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 62LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 239 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 129 | 129 | 59 |
| 2025 | 65 | 65 | 159 |
| 2024 | 26 | 26 | 141 |
| 2023 | 15 | 15 | 124 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 10 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 10 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | EUR 640 | Yes | CC BY | |
| LetPub | EUR 380 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | EUR 640 / EUR 540 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- EUR 640
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Templates
- Word
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- perspectiveThe journal publishes three main types of contributions. Authors are encouraged to select the format that best fits the purpose of their manuscript. Research Ar…main text ≤ 150 words · abstract ≤ 150 words
- perspectivesPerspectives are shorter contributions intended to advance discussion or open new lines of inquiry within circular economy research.Length not stated
- research articleThe journal publishes three main types of contributions. Authors are encouraged to select the format that best fits the purpose of their manuscript. Research Ar…Length not stated
- research articlesResearch articles present original scholarly work. They may be empirical, theoretical, or conceptual in nature, but should: engage with relevant academic debate…Length not stated
- reviewThe journal publishes three main types of contributions. Authors are encouraged to select the format that best fits the purpose of their manuscript. Research Ar…Length not stated
- review articleThe journal publishes three main types of contributions. Authors are encouraged to select the format that best fits the purpose of their manuscript. Research Ar…Length not stated
- review articlesReview articles synthesise and critically assess existing research. They aim to: provide structured overviews of a body of literature, identify patterns, gaps, …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Self-archiving
- Authorship
Flexible submission model Model summary
JoCE follows a flexible submission model: ‘Your Paper, Your Way’.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of Competing Interests
All authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could be perceived to influence the content of the submitted work. Examples include: Employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or patent applications Grants, honoraria, paid expert testimony, or advisory roles Institutional affiliations or collaborations relevant to the research This declaration is required fr…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
No advertising Model summary
JoCE does not allow advertising on its website or any other platforms.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Licensing and Copyright
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license Model summary
JoCE applies the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to all works we publish. Under this license, authors agree to make their articles legally available for reuse—without permission or fees—for virtually any purpose. Anyone may copy, distribute, or reuse articles, provided that the author and original source are properly cited.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
The Journal of Circular Economy only publishes open access articles under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Under this license, authors agree to make articles legally available for reuse, without permission or fees, for virtually any purpose. Anyone may copy, distribute, or reuse these articles, if the author and original source are properly cited.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer-Review
Double-blind peer review Model summary
This journal aims to further innovate peer-reviewed publishing in science and thus challenge established norms in peer-reviewed publishing. JoCE operates a double-blind peer-review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by a member of the editorial board (handling editor) and or a guest editor. JoCE operates under the Initial Editor Direct Decision (IEDD) model. This means that the …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprint sharing encouraged Model summary
We encourage authors to already publish their work in preprint servers such as SocArXiv during the review process with JoCE.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving
Repository policy Model summary
Authors may deposit the submitted, accepted, or published version of their manuscript at any time into an institutional or subject-specific repository of their choice.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- DSRPT GbR
- Country or region
- Germany
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semi-annual
- ISSN
- 2752-163X
- Society / sponsor
- Roskilde University
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Circular Economy
What is the impact factor of Journal of Circular Economy?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.1; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.6, h-index 11.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Circular Economy?
Authors report an average review time of about 10 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Circular Economy?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Templates: Word; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Circular Economy based?
Of the 35 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Netherlands (7), Italy (5) and United Kingdom (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Circular Economy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Circular Economy is indexed in ESCI and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and Scopus; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Circular Economy open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Circular Economy is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .