The Circular Economy and Environmental Foresight: Integrating Artificial Intelligence, Life Cycle Thinking, and Policy Innovation for Sustainable Transitions

Samenvatting

The transition from a linear “take–make–dispose” economy to a circular one has become an essential strategy for sustainable
development. Circular Economy (CE) principles aim to minimize waste, maximize resource efficiency, and extend product life
cycles through redesign, reuse, remanufacture, and recycling. However, implementing CE at scale demands tools that
anticipate systemic consequences, optimize resource flows, and align with long-term sustainability goals. This review explores
how environmental foresight—supported by artificial intelligence (AI), life cycle assessment (LCA), and digital technologies—
can accelerate circular transitions across industrial, urban, and agricultural systems. We analyze emerging methodologies
such as digital twins for material tracking, AI-enabled waste valorization, and predictive modeling for circular policy design.
The review highlights challenges in data standardization, cross-sector collaboration, and governance, emphasizing the need
for adaptive, anticipatory, and inclusive foresight approaches. Finally, we outline future directions where AI, LCA, and circular
economy principles converge to create regenerative production–consumption systems capable of achieving net-zero and
resource-positive futures.