Towards a typological framework for circular economy roadmaps: A comprehensive analysis of global adoption strategies

This study introduces a novel typological framework for categorising Circular Economy Roadmaps (CERMs) across multiple governance levels, such as national, regional, and sectoral, responding to the fragmented landscape in current literature. Through a comprehensive review and analysis of 398 CE documents, combined with methodological approaches like natural language processing (NLP), topic modelling, and quantitative content analysis, patterns, prevalence, and priority areas in CERMs are expounded. Results underline the pivotal role of governance in CE transitions and spotlight environmental issues, especially sustainable waste management, as dominant motivations. Notably, there appears to be limited private sector involvement in CERM development. Given the inherent regional and sectoral nuances, the findings critically highlight the need for tailored CERM types to facilitate effective transitions. [Display omitted] •Proposed a typology for Circular Economy Roadmaps (CERMs) from reviewing 398 documents.•Used NLP, topic modelling, and analysis to identify patterns in Circular Economy Roadmaps.•Identified governance's key role in driving transitions in National and Municipal CERMs.•Key areas in CE strategies are sustainable waste, food, construction, and plastics.•CERMs mainly concentrated in Europe & Asia, highlighting early CE policy adoption.