Circular Economy and Sustainability Integration in Emerging Markets: A Machine Learning-Based Content Analysis of Borsa Istanbul Companies

Abstract

Emerging global environmental challenges make the shift toward circular economy (CE) strategies imperative; nevertheless, there has been limited evidence about the relationships between multidimensional sustainability and CE in emerging markets. In the current research, the disclosure mechanisms of CE and sustainability in Turkish manufacturing sectors in the Borsa Istanbul Sustainability Index are explored. By employing a two-stage methodology, we first carry out bibliometrics based on 4,839 published papers to introduce analytical frameworks. Subsequently, through TF-IDF weighting and K-means analysis of corporate sustainability reports in four manufacturing sectors from 2021 to 2023 in Türkiye, we carry out network analysis as part of our methodology. The findings reveal asymmetric three-pillar integration patterns and distinct sectoral differences, where sectors consuming greater resources target waste management and energy utilization, contrariwise to sectors interacting with consumers who target product reuse and lifecycle extension. Additionally, networks mapping sustainability-CE relationships denote close linkages between both environmental and emerging relationships in both economic and governance aspects. The current research significantly contributes to theory by explaining the sustainability-CE interrelationship in emerging markets, validating forthcoming methodologies quantitatively in the analysis process, and providing practical insights for adopting circular transitions in these markets.

Keywords

• Circular economy
• Machine learning
• Manufacturing sector
• Sustainability

Gelişmekte Olan Pazarlarda Döngüsel Ekonomi ve Sürdürülebilirlik Entegrasyonu: Borsa İstanbul Şirketlerinin Makine Öğrenmesi Temelli İçerik Analizi

Abstract

Küresel çevresel zorlukların artması, döngüsel ekonomi (DE) stratejilerine geçişi zorunlu kılmaktadır; ancak gelişmekte olan pazarlarda çok boyutlu sürdürülebilirlik ile DE arasındaki ilişkiler hakkında sınırlı kanıt bulunmaktadır. Bu araştırmada, Borsa İstanbul Sürdürülebilirlik Endeksi'ndeki Türk imalat sektörlerinde DE ve sürdürülebilirlik açıklama mekanizmaları incelenmektedir. İki aşamalı bir metodoloji kullanılarak, önce analitik çerçeveleri tanıtmak için 3.762 yayınlanmış makaleye dayanan bibliyometrik analiz gerçekleştirilmiştir. Ardından, 2021-2023 yılları arasında Türkiye'deki dört imalat sektöründeki kurumsal sürdürülebilirlik raporlarının TF-IDF ağırlıklandırma ve K-ortalamalar analiziyle ağ analizi yapılmıştır. Bulgular, asimetrik üç sütun entegrasyon kalıplarını ve belirgin sektörel farklılıkları ortaya koymaktadır; daha fazla kaynak tüketen sektörler atık yönetimi ve enerji kullanımını hedeflerken, tüketicilerle etkileşim halindeki sektörler ürün yeniden kullanımı ve yaşam döngüsü uzatmayı hedeflemektedir. Ayrıca, sürdürülebilirlik-DE ilişkilerini haritalayan ağlar, hem çevresel hem de ekonomik ve yönetişim boyutlarında ortaya çıkan ilişkiler arasındaki yakın bağlantıları göstermektedir. Bu araştırma, gelişmekte olan pazarlarda sürdürülebilirlik-DE ilişkisini açıklayarak, analiz sürecinde gelecekteki metodolojileri nicel olarak doğrulayarak ve bu pazarlarda döngüsel geçişlerin benimsenmesi için pratik içgörüler sağlayarak teoriye önemli katkılar sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Döngüsel ekonomi
• İmalat sektörü
• Makine öğrenmesi
• Sürdürülebilirlik

References

1. Afolabi, H., Ram, R., Rimmel, G., 2023. Influence and behaviour of the new standard setters in the sustainability reporting arena: Implications for the Global Reporting Initiative’s current position. Sustainability Accounting Management and Policy Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-01-2022-0052
2. Aithal, S., Aithal, P.S., 2023. Importance of circular economy for resource optimization in various industry sectors – a review-based opportunity analysis, SSRN Electron. J. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4575631
3. Akbari, M., Hopkins, J., 2022. Digital technologies as enablers of supply chain sustainability in an emerging economy. Operations Management Research, 15(3-4), 689-710. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12063-021-00226-8
4. Altan, A., Beyca, Ö., Zaim, S., 2024. Link between digital technologies adoption and sustainability performance: supply chain traceability/resilience or circular economy practices. Sustainability, 16(19), 8694. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198694
5. Arpin, M., Leclerc, S., Lonca, G., 2024. The circular economy (ce) rebound as a paradox of knowledge: forecasting the future of the ce--iot nexus through the global e-waste crisis. Sustainability, 16(15), 6364. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156364
6. Bashynska, I., Malynovska, Y., Kolinko, N., Bielialov, T., Järvis, M., Kovalska, K., ... Саєнсус, М., 2024. Performance assessment of sustainable leadership of enterprise's circular economy-driven innovative activities. Sustainability, 16(2), 558. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020558
7. Blomsma F., Brennan G., 2017. The emergence of Circular Economy: a New Framing around Prolonging Resource Productivity. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 21:603–614. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12603
8. Chen, C., Chang, Y., 2024. Leveraging circular economy metrics for data-driven forecasting of solid waste production in europe. Sustainability, 16(3), 1017. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031017

9. de Oliveira, C.T.; Oliveira, G.G.A., 2023. What Circular economy indicators really measure? An overview of circular economy principles and sustainable development goals. Resour. Conserv. Recycl., 190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106850
10. de Villiers, C., Dimes, R., 2022. Critical analysis of the contribution of Integrated Reporting (IR) to sustainability. In Handbook of Accounting and Sustainability (p. 210). https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800373518.00020
11. European Union, 2020. A new circular economy action plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:9903b325-6388-11ea-b735-01aa75ed71a1.0017.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
12. Fatorachian, H., Kazemi, H., Pawar, K., 2025. Digital technologies in food supply chain waste management: a case study on sustainable practices in smart cities. Sustainability, 17(5), 1996. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17051996
13. Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., Hultink, E. J., 2017. The Circular economy-- a new sustainability paradigm? Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 757-768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048
14. Geng, Y., Fu, J., Sarkis, J., Xue, B., 2012. Towards a national circular economy indicator system in China: an evaluation and critical analysis. J Clean Prod 23:216–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.07.005
15. Ghisellini, P., Cialani, C., Ulgiati, S., 2016. A review on circular economy: The expected transition to a balanced interplay of environmental and economic systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 114(1), 11-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.007
16. Güngör, N., 2023. Sürdürülebilirlik raporlarında döngüsel ekonomi: Borsa İstanbul’da bir araştırma. Denetim ve Güvence Hizmetleri Dergisi, 3(1), 36-47.
17. Grimmer, J., Stewart, B. M., 2013. Text as data: The promise and pitfalls of automatic content analysis methods for political texts. Political Analysis, 21(3), 267–297. https://doi.org/10.1093/pan/mps028
18. Hernández-Chover, V., Bellver-Domingo, Á., Castellet-Viciano, L., & Hernández-Sancho, F., 2024. Ai applied to the circular economy: an approach in the wastewater sector. Sustainability, 16(4), 1365. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041365
19. ISO, I., 2010. 26000 Guidance on social responsibility. Ginebra: ISO, 3(4), 6.
20. Khan, S., Umar, M., Asadov, A., Tanveer, M., Yu, Z., 2022. Technological revolution and circular economy practices: a mechanism of green economy. Sustainability, 14(8), 4524. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084524
21. Kirchherr, J., Piscicelli, L., Bour, R., Kostense-Smit, E., Muller, J., Huibrechtse-Truijens, A., Hekkert, M., 2018. Barriers to the circular economy: Evidence from the European Union (EU). Ecological Economics, 150, 264–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.04.02
22. Kondala, M., Nudurupati, S., Pappu, R., 2023. The challenges in adoption of circular economy in smes -- a research agenda and way forward. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 31(5), 1667-1699. https://doi.org/10.1108/bij-04-2023-0272
23. Koska, A., & Erdem, M. B., 2023. Performance Analysis of Manufacturing Waste Using SWARA and VIKOR Methods: Evaluation of Türkiye within the Scope of the Circular Economy. Sustainability, 15(16), 12110. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612110
24. Kravchenko, M., Pigosso, D. C., & McAloone, T. C., 2019. Towards the ex-ante sustainability screening of circular economy initiatives in manufacturing companies: Consolidation of leading sustainability-related performance indicators. Journal of Cleaner Production, 241, 118318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118318
25. Lieder, M., Rashid, A., 2016. Towards circular economy implementation: a comprehensive review in context of manufacturing industry. Journal of Cleaner Production. 115, 36-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.042
26. Luthin, A., Traverso, M., Crawford, R., 2023. Circular life cycle sustainability assessment: an integrated framework. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 28(1), 41-58. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13446
27. MacArthur, E., 2013. Towards the circular economy. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2(1), 23-44
28. Manning, C. D., Raghavan, P., Schütze, H., 2008. Introduction to information retrieval. Cambridge University Press.
29. Nath, S., Mustayin, S., Eweje, G., 2025. Circular economy in a developing country's textile and apparel industry: managerial perspectives on challenges and motivators. Business Strategy and the Environment, 34(3), 3600-3617. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4169
30. Neuendorf, K. A., 2017. The content analysis guidebook (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
31. Pan, X., Wong, C. W., Li, C., 2022. Circular economy practices in the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) industry: A systematic review and future research agendas. Journal of Cleaner Production, 365, 132671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132671
32. Papoutsi, A., Sodhi, M. S., 2020. Does disclosure in sustainability reports indicate actual sustainability performance? Journal of Cleaner Production, 260, 121049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121049
33. Park, J., Sarkis, J., Wu, Z., 2010. Creating integrated business and environmental value within the context of China’s circular economy and ecological modernization, J. Clean. Prod. 18 (15) 1494–1501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2010.06.001
34. Reike, D., Vermeulen, W. J. V., & Witjes, S., 2018. The circular economy: New or Refurbished as CE 3.0? Exploring Controversies in the Conceptualization of the Circular Economy through a Focus on History and Resource Value Retention Options. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 135, 246-264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.08.027
35. Rejeb, A., 2025. When Industry 5.0 Meets the Circular Economy: A Systematic Literature Review. Circular Economy and Sustainability, 5(4), 2621–2652. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-025-00570-y
36. Şahin, G., Önder, H.G., 2021. Waste management, greenhouse gas emissions and Türkiye: An evaluation within the framework of the european green deal. J. Acad. Soc. Sci., 9, 194–216. http://dx.doi.org/10.29228/ASOS.47802
37. Shafique, M., Adeel, U., Rashid, A., 2024. The synergy between industry 5.0 and circular economy for sustainable performance in the chinese manufacturing industry. Sustainability, 16(22), 9952. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16229952
38. Türkiye Teknoloji Geliştirme Vakfı (TTGV), 2023. Greening Türkiye's Economy GREET 2023. https://ttgv.org.tr/media/2024/03/658573346b162.pdf
39. Ünal, A., 2025. Digitalisation and Sustainable Supply Chain Operations: An Overview and Case Analysis. 61–81. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83608-650-520251004
40. Uriarte-Gallastegi, N., Landín, G., Landeta‐Manzano, B., Laskurain‐Iturbe, I., 2024. The role of ai in improving environmental sustainability: a focus on energy management. Energies, 17(3), 649. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17030649
41. Wang, S., Abbas, J., Sial, M. S., Álvarez-Otero, S., Cioca, L. I., 2022. Achieving green innovation and sustainable development goals through green knowledge management: Moderating role of organizational green culture. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 7(4), 100272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2022.100272
42. World Bank, 2023. The Development, Climate, and Nature Crisis: Solutions to End Poverty on a Livable Planet. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatechange/publication/the-development-climate-and-nature-crisis
43. Yücel Karamustafa, E., Arsan, B., Beşoğul, K., 2022. Döngüsel Ekonomi ve Endüstri 4.0’ın Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Hedeflerini Gerçekleştirmeye Etkisi: Sistematik Literatür Taraması. Bilgi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 24(2), 294-323. https://doi.org/10.54838/bilgisosyal.1113937
44. Zaccone, M.C., Santhià, C., Bosone, M., 2022. How Hybrid Organizations Adopt Circular Economy Models to Foster Sustainable Development. Sustainability, 14, 2679. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052679
45. Zhou, Y., 2025. AI-driven digital circular economy with material and energy sustainability for industry 4.0. Journal of Cleaner Production, 146731. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.146731
46. Zuhri, N., Abdullah, Z., Puspita, N., 2024. Assessing the viability of circular economy in indonesia's msmes agribusiness sector. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 19(11), 4227-4237. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.191112