Innovations in circular and resource-efficient environmental management in higher education institutions: a systematic review

Purpose This study aims to systematically review circular and resource-efficient environmental management innovations in higher education institutions and to develop an integrated framework explaining how such innovations can be institutionally embedded and scaled across campus operations. Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly expected to operationalise circular economy (CE) principles through campus environmental management; however, the available evidence remains fragmented and weakly linked to institutional scaling pathways. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) following PRISMA guidance, covering 2015–2025. The synthesis coded evidence across operational subsystems, governance and management mechanisms, digital enablement and institutional integration/maturity. Findings The findings indicate a strong concentration of interventions in waste and materials and food systems, while institutional embedding remains limited. Digitalisation is weakly represented and is primarily monitoring-oriented, suggesting constrained development of data-driven governance and optimisation practices. Integration maturity is dominated by modelling and pilot-scale contributions, whereas campus-wide strategies remain scarce. Originality/value Based on these synthesis patterns, this study proposes an integrated environmental management framework linking strategic mandate, governance embedding, innovation pathways, capability building, digital tools and measurement-driven improvement to support scalable CE implementation in HEIs.