Open Access Statement

The Journal of Circular Economy Innovations is a fully open access journal—meaning all articles are freely available to the public without subscription or paywall barriers. The journal’s open access statement emphasizes that accessibility and practical application are core values, and every published article can be read, shared, and reused under open access terms.

Editors and reviewers are compensated, and the journal aims to offer a fast and constructive peer review process, further supporting openness and accessibility for both readers and contributors. This policy is designed to promote knowledge sharing, foster innovation, and maximise the impact of research in the field of circular economy. The Journal of Circular Economy Innovations is fully open access, with all articles freely available to the public without any paywall or subscription requirement. Every article published by the journal can be read, shared, and used for practical application, supporting academics, practitioners, and the public alike. This open access policy is central to the journal's mission of accelerating progress and knowledge sharing in the circular economy field.

 
 

Articles in the Journal of Circular Economy Innovations are published under a Creative Commons licence—specifically, the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. This means anyone is free to copy, redistribute, and reuse the works, even for commercial purposes, as long as proper credit is given to the authors and the source. This is a less restrictive licence than the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) licence.

If the aim is to elaborate on a hypothetical scenario or for journals that use the CC BY-NC-ND license, it would mean:

  • The articles can be downloaded, shared, and redistributed for non-commercial purposes.

  • No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted—articles must remain unchanged and in whole.

  • Full attribution must always be provided to the original authors and source.

  • Commercial reuse or modification is strictly prohibited under this licence.

For JCEI, the publishing approach maximises openness and reuse—allowing users broader rights so long as attribution is observed, fostering research impact and accessibility. If a journal uses the CC BY-NC-ND licence, readers benefit from free access while authors retain some control over reuse scenarios, limiting commercial exploitation and derivative work. The Journal of Circular Economy Innovations currently applies the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to all published articles, which allows for broad reuse, including commercial, as long as the original authors and source are properly credited.

If articles were instead published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) licence, the open access statement would be more restrictive. Under CC BY-NC-ND:

  • Anyone can copy and redistribute the work in any medium or format, provided that proper attribution is given to the authors and the journal.

  • The articles may not be used for commercial purposes—this includes sale, commercial distribution, or commercial adaptation.

  • No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted; sharing must be of the original work in full, without any modifications, translations, adaptations, or extracts.

  • Authors retain copyright but grant these rights to anyone, subject to the conditions above, making content freely and legally accessible for non-commercial educational, research, or informational use.

This model preserves free and universal public access while protecting author rights against unapproved commercial exploitation and ensuring the integrity of the original scholarly work. It is an effective approach for journals and authors who prioritise knowledge sharing while wishing to limit modification and commercial use. JCEI’s current CC BY license, however, provides even wider reuse possibilities to maximise impact and reach.