Digital Platforms and Emerging Technologies as Enablers of Circular Economy Transitions Toward Sustainable Development

Growing environmental challenges and unsustainable resource use are among the most pressing issues facing the world today, driving increasing interest in circular economy (CE) strategies. In this context, digitalization is increasingly viewed as a key pathway for enabling and accelerating such strategies through digital platforms. Digital platforms are widely recognized as key enablers of the CE. However, limited understanding persists regarding how digital platforms translate circular strategies into practice, coordinate multiple actors, and generate measurable sustainability outcomes. This study conducts a systematic literature review to explore how emerging digital technologies enable digital platforms to support supply chain transparency and material traceability within CE transitios. The findings reveal that digital platforms enable circular strategies such as reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, and resource optimization by enhancing supply chain transparency, material traceability, product lifecycle management, and multi-actor collaboration. At the same time, significant barriers persist, particularly related to data interoperability, governance structures, regulatory uncertainty, digital inclusivity, and the limited empirical validation of platform-enabled circular solutions. To address these challenges, the study proposes an integrative conceptual framework that links digital technologies, CE strategies, enabling and constraining conditions, and sustainability outcomes. Overall, the study advances understanding of digital platforms as socio-technical infrastructures and provides policy insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers, highlighting contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 and SDG 12.