Long-term innovation trajectories are shaped by cycles of creative destruction (Aghion & Howitt, 1992) and by the cumulative development of useful knowledge that fuels continuous reinvention (Mokyr, 2002). Building on the Schumpeterian tradition, which was recognized by the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics, this perspective highlights technological innovation as the fundamental engine of economic growth and emphasizes that progress unfolds through continual renewal and the cumulative refinement of knowledge, representing an evolutionary process that integrates both disruptive and incremental change.

In the circular economy domain, however, most research has focused on business models, while technological and engineering enablers remain underexplored (Chauhan et al., 2022). A decisive leverage point lies in the technological and design decisions that shape circularity early in innovation. Evidence shows that circularity is largely determined during product development, when architectures, materials, interfaces, and platform strategies define the scope of possible circular pathways (Bocken et al., 2016).

Engineering choices at this stage open or constrain the potential for reuse, repair, upgrading, remanufacturing, disassembly, and high-quality recycling. Circular innovation is therefore not an afterthought but a design paradigm rooted in lifecycle thinking, platform logic, and design-for-X principles such as modularity and serviceability, which guide industrial product development (Pruhs et al., 2024). Building on this foundation, digital technologies expand circular potential by enhancing transparency, lifecycle insight, and data-driven optimization for circular-by-design decisions (Ferrigno et al., 2023). Object identification and traceability systems further enable efficient recovery, reuse, and remanufacturing loops that extend product lifecycles (Treick et al., 2022).

Grounded in this premise, the track explores how technology-driven approaches embed circularity into product and system design. It examines how front-end engineering, digital integration, and intelligent systems translate circular principles such as reuse, remanufacturing, and lifecycle optimization into practice.

We invite empirical or case-based studies using tools such as IoT, Auto-ID, digital twins, simulation platforms, and AI applications that operationalize circular-by-design concepts. Submissions should show how early-stage technological and design choices open pathways toward measurable circular outcomes, using implementation evidence, simulation results, or demonstrated feasibility. Studies linking early design reasoning to circular performance metrics are especially welcome.

Submissions focused only on business models, consumer behavior, ESG narratives, or end-of-life logistics, without a design or engineering component, fall outside the scope. The emphasis is on technological and design mechanisms that embed circularity into products and systems, even when these mechanisms later inform strategic, business, or policy decisions.

This track repositions circular economy research around the technological and engineering choices that make circularity actionable. By demonstrating how early design and digital integration shape long-term material and product lifecycles, it underscores the central role of technology in achieving credible and scalable circular solutions. Building on this foundation, the alignment of technological capability and strategic purpose reflects the growing expectation that firms embed sustainability into their innovation strategies, moving beyond reactive compliance toward long-term value creation (Bolton & Park, 2021). Such integration provides a pathway to upgradeable and future-proof innovations that sustain competitiveness and renewal over time.