About the Conference

The KODECET International Conference 2026, hosted by the Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) under the Knowledge Development for Circular Economy Transition (KODECET) initiative, is a global platform designed to advance scholarship, policy dialogue, and industry engagement in the domain of circular economy and sustainability. In an era marked by climate urgency, resource constraints, and accelerating technological disruption, organisations and societies are rethinking traditional linear models of growth. The transition towards circularity demands not only innovation in products and processes but also systemic transformation in business models, governance frameworks, and service ecosystems. The conference brings together academics, researchers, industry professionals, policymakers, and development practitioners to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue and co-create actionable knowledge. It seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice by fostering collaborations that enable scalable, inclusive, and sustainable solutions across sectors.
Anchored by BIMTECH’s commitment to sustainability and supported through the DIGI-SUSTEACH Centre, the conference aims to:

• Promote cutting-edge research and evidence-based insights
• Encourage cross-sector and cross-regional collaboration
• Facilitate knowledge exchange between academia, industry, and policy stakeholders
• Build capacity for circular economy education and practice

Through keynote sessions, paper presentations, and thematic discussions, the conference aspires to catalyse transformative thinking and practical pathways for advancing circular transitions at local, national, and global levels.

Conference Theme
The transition to a circular economy represents one of the most critical shifts in contemporary economic and societal systems. Moving beyond linear production and consumption patterns, circularity emphasises resource efficiency, regenerative design, closed-loop systems, and sustainable value creation. The theme “Circular Futures: Empowering the Next Generation” reflects the urgent need to integrate interdisciplinary research, digital innovation, and stakeholder collaboration to address complex sustainability challenges. It recognises that the future of circularity lies in reimagining service ecosystems, business models, and institutional frameworks that are resilient, inclusive, and adaptive.
The conference invites contributions that explore how organisations and ecosystems can:

• Design and implement circular business models and strategies
• Advance sustainable operations, supply chains, and resource productivity
• Leverage digital technologies and data-driven solutions for circular transformation
• Address climate change, decarbonisation, and ESG imperatives
• Foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and circular start-up ecosystems
• Strengthen policy, governance, and institutional mechanisms
• Promote sustainable consumption, behavioural change, and social inclusion

By bringing together diverse perspectives from academia, industry, and policy, the conference aims to generate actionable insights and scalable solutions that accelerate the transition towards resilient, regenerative, and circular economies.

Objectives

1. To create an interdisciplinary platform for scholars, educators, industry leaders, policymakers, and practitioners to deliberate on circular economy transitions and sustainable futures.
2. To examine innovative pathways for circularity across business, education, policy, technology, and community systems, with a focus on resource efficiency, resilience, and responsible development.
3. To empower the next generation by highlighting the role of higher education, green skills, sustainability pedagogy, and youth engagement in shaping circular futures.
4. To promote collaboration among academia, industry, and policy stakeholders for developing practical, scalable, and context-relevant solutions to sustainability challenges.
5. To encourage research dissemination and knowledge exchange through presentation of research papers, cases, and practice-based insights that advance circular economy scholarship and implementation.

Important Dates

• Track 1: Circular Business Models and Strategic Transformation
• Track 2: Circular Supply Chains, Reverse Logistics and Closed-loop Systems
• Track 3: Sustainable Operations, Lean-Green Manufacturing and Resource Productivity
• Track 4: Waste-to-Value Innovations and Material Recovery Technologies
• Track 5: Sustainable Packaging and Plastics Circularity
• Track 6: Circular Economy in Key Sectors
• Track 7: Digital Sustainability and Smart Circular Solutions
• Track 8: ESG, Sustainability Reporting and Circular Performance Measurement
• Track 9: Climate Action, Carbon Neutrality and Decarbonisation Pathways
• Track 10: Sustainable Consumption, Green Marketing and Consumer Behaviour
• Track 11: Policy, Governance and Institutional Frameworks for Circular Transitions
• Track 12: Circular Economy Finance, Green Investments and Sustainable Business Funding
• Track 13: Social Sustainability, Equity and Inclusive Circular Development
• Track 14: Education for Sustainability and Circular Economy Pedagogy
• Track 15: Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Circular Start-up Ecosystems

The KODECET International Conference invites scholars, researchers, academicians, practitioners, policymakers, and doctoral scholars to submit original contributions addressing contemporary issues, innovations, and transitions in circular economy, sustainability, responsible management, and future-oriented education.

1. The KODECET International Conference invites original submissions aligned with the conference theme, “Circular Futures: Empowering the Next Generation,” and the announced conference tracks. 
2. Authors may submit contributions in the form of research papers, conceptual papers, empirical studies, review papers, case studies, pedagogical papers, policy analyses, and practice-oriented papers. 
3. All submissions must be original, unpublished, and not under review for publication elsewhere at the time of submission. 
4. Authors are required to first submit an extended abstract in the prescribed format. 
5. The extended abstract submission deadline is 30 July 2026. 
6. The decision on abstract acceptance will be communicated by 15 August 2026. 
7. Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to present their work at the conference and may also submit a full paper by 30 September 2026. 
8. Submission of a full paper is optional for conference presentation, but it is necessary for consideration for journal referral opportunity. 
9. Full papers submitted by 30 September 2026 may be considered for referral to conference-associated journals, subject to thematic fit, quality, and availability of journal partnerships. 
10. Any paper referred to a journal will undergo the regular journal review and editorial process. Conference acceptance or presentation does not guarantee journal publication. 
11. Authors must ensure that their submission clearly reflects:

• Relevance to the conference theme or track, 
• Conceptual clarity, 
• Academic rigor, 
• Originality, and 
• Practical or scholarly contribution. 

12. At least one author of each accepted paper must register for the conference for the paper to be included in the presentation schedule. 
13. The organizing committee reserves the right to review, screen, shortlist, and schedule submissions based on quality, relevance, and availability of presentation slots.
14. Detailed submission formats for extended abstracts and full papers will be made available through the conference management system. 
15. Registration for the conference will open on 2 August 2026.

Extended Abstract Submission Guidelines

• The acceptable word range for the abstract is 700-800 words.
• Keywords: Minimum 3 and Maximum 5.
• Must be original, unpublished, and clearly present purpose, context, approach, and contribution.
• Publication Opportunity: Full papers submitted by 30 August 2026 may be considered for journal referral (subject to journal review; no guarantee of publication).
• Structure of Extended Abstract
  • Title – Clear and concise
  • Purpose/Objectives – What the study aims to do
  • Background/Context – Problem and relevance
  • Research Questions/Focus – Core inquiry
  • Theoretical/Conceptual Foundation – Frameworks used
  • Methodology/Approach – Design, data, tools, analysis
  • Key/Expected Findings – Outcomes or arguments
  • Implications/Contribution – Theory, practice, policy, etc.
  • Originality/Value – Novelty or significance
  • Keywords – 5–7 keywords
• Formatting Instructions
  • Word limit: 700–800 words
  • Font: Times New Roman, Size 12
  • Line spacing: 1.5, Alignment: Justified
  • File format: Word

Accepted submissions include: research papers, conceptual papers, review papers, empirical studies, case studies, pedagogical papers, policy analyses, and practice-oriented contributions aligned with the theme/tracks.

Paper Submission Guidelines

• To be submitted in a document with A4 size pages with double-spaced, Times New Roman-12 font size in MS Word compatible format text. The paper should be submitted in a Word doc only (no PDF will be accepted).
• The length of research papers (including references) should be 4000 to 5000 words.
• Suggestive paper structure:
  • Introduction
  • Literature Review
  • Research Methodology
  • Data Analysis
  • Findings/Results
  • Conclusion/Implications
  • Recommendations (wherever required)
  • Acknowledgements (wherever appropriate)
  • References
  • Appendices (if any
  • Tables / Figures (at appropriate in the text).
• Case studies should be accompanied by teaching notes and references.
• Figures/ diagrams/ graphs to be given relevant titles, preferably in an editable form, and numbered consecutively. The source reference should be indicated at the bottom.
• Tables preferably in an editable form and numbered consecutively. Its 'title' should be placed above the table, and 'source' should be indicated at the bottom. Tables should be numbered and referred to in the text as Table 1, Table 2, etc.
• References should be included at the end of the paper and arranged in alphabetical order. The references must follow the style guide of the American Psychological Association (APA) seventh edition.
• All submissions should report original and previously unpublished research irrespective of the type of research paper you are presenting.
• The Similarity Index of the paper should be less than 15% (including Self-plagiarism), and the paper should be free of AI-generated content.
• Once the paper is submitted, change in Authorship and Affiliation is not permitted.