A multi-criteria approach to assess interconnections among the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of circular economy

The debate about the negative impacts that production and consumption cause on the environment is in vogue. Strategies that point to a sustainable, healthy, and resilient path are being sought. One of these paths is the Circular Economy, which emerges as an alternative to reduce the socio-environmental impacts caused by the linear model of production-use-disposal, presenting opportunities to generate revenue, income, and wealth with circular processes. However, despite the circular economy being considered an essential strategy to improve overall performance toward sustainability in its three dimensions, recent research has shown that the predominant focus of circular approaches is on the economic and environmental dimensions. At the same time, the social aspects still need to be explored. This article addresses this problem, aiming to explore circular economy environmental, economic, and social elements in three economic blocs from 2000 to 2020 using the Five Sector Sustainability Model, establishing a baseline to co-create an equitable and regenerative future. The results showed that ASEAN in 2000 occupied the first position in the general ranking. The European Union had the best classification in the economic sector, and Mercosur was the best regarding social benefits. In 2020, while the European bloc was better positioned in the general ranking, the South American bloc occupied the last post in almost all sectors. Comparatively, the highest-ranked bloc in 2020 in overall sustainability is more in line with the UN SDG due to circular actions oriented towards the three fundamental pillars of sustainability. •CE advocates reducing dependence on finite resources.•The 5SEnSU model is used to monitor sustainability performance.•The sustainability of ASEAN, EU and Mercosur was analyzed.•Economic development influenced the environmental issues of the studied blocks.•EU is the highest-ranked bloc for overall sustainability.