The Circular Economy as an Environmental Mitigation Strategy: Systematic and Bibliometric Analysis of Global Trends and Cross-Sectoral Approaches

The growing global environmental crisis calls for fundamental transformations in production and consumption systems, but the understanding of how circular economy strategies translate into quantifiable environmental benefits remains fragmented across sectors and geographies. The objective of this study is to synthesize current scientific knowledge on the circular economy as an environmental mitigation strategy, identifying conceptual convergences, methodological patterns, geographic distributions, and critical knowledge gaps. A systematic review combined with a bibliometric analysis of 62 peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2024, retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Springer Link and Wiley Online Library, was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The results reveal a marked methodological convergence around life cycle assessment, with Europe dominating the scientific output (58% of the corpus). Four complementary conceptual frameworks emerged, emphasizing closed-loop material flows, environmental performance, integration of economic sustainability and business model innovation. The thematic analysis identified bioenergy and waste valorization as the most mature implementation pathways, constituting 23% of the research emphasis. However, critical gaps remain: geographic concentration limits the transferability of knowledge to diverse socioeconomic contexts; social, cultural and behavioral dimensions remain underexplored (12% of publications); and environmental justice considerations receive negligible attention. Crucially, the evidence reveals nonlinear relationships between circularity metrics and environmental outcomes, calling into question automatic benefits assumptions. This review contributes to an integrative synthesis that advances theoretical understanding of circularity-environment relationships while providing evidence-based guidance for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers involved in transitions to the circular economy.