---
title: "SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production research"
description: "From 2017 to 2026 (so far), SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production) was addressed by 11,826 papers in the tracked journals, most of them in operations research (4,464), economics (4,099) and management (1,366). It is #10 of the 17 goals by papers from 2023 to 2025 (5,116)."
url: https://scholar4ai.com/sdgs/12-responsible-consumption-and-production
markdown_url: https://scholar4ai.com/sdgs/12-responsible-consumption-and-production.md
license: CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
share_text: "From 2017 to 2026 (so far), SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production) was addressed by 11,826 papers in the tracked journals, most of them in operations research (4,464), economics (4,099) and management (1,366). (as of 2026-10-31)"
data_url: https://scholar4ai.com/data/rankings.json
updated: 2026-10-31T17:45:59+09:00
window: 2026-10-02 to 2026-10-31
source: OpenAlex (CC0)
---

# SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

Papers in the tracked journals on UN Sustainable Development Goal 12, Responsible consumption and production. OpenAlex assigns a paper to each UN Sustainable Development Goal that its classifier scores above 0.4 from the paper's text; a paper can belong to several goals or to none.

All 17 goals: https://scholar4ai.com/rankings/sdgs.md

## Key findings

- From 2017 to 2026 (so far), SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production) was addressed by 11,826 papers in the tracked journals, most of them in operations research (4,464), economics (4,099) and management (1,366).
- It is #10 of the 17 goals by papers from 2023 to 2025 (5,116).
- 1,788 of them were published in 2025, against 614 in 2017.
- Since 2023, the institutions with the most of these papers were Hong Kong Polytechnic University (134), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (83) and University of Tehran (75).
- The journals publishing most of them were Resources Policy (662), Computers & Industrial Engineering (484) and Annals of Operations Research (331).
- The most-cited of them is “Circular Economy: The Concept and its Limitations” (Ecological Economics, 2017), with 3,955 citations.

## Papers per year

*Papers per publication year and category*

| Category | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (so far) |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| [Operations Research](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/operations-research.md) | 220 | 276 | 294 | 299 | 412 | 524 | 574 | 579 | 691 | 595 |
| [Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/economics.md) | 284 | 285 | 271 | 279 | 338 | 446 | 607 | 644 | 488 | 457 |
| [Management](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/management.md) | 69 | 54 | 63 | 89 | 135 | 170 | 175 | 196 | 222 | 193 |
| [Marketing](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/marketing.md) | 13 | 15 | 30 | 46 | 43 | 45 | 54 | 70 | 72 | 75 |
| [AI](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/ai.md) | 6 | 21 | 8 | 22 | 36 | 81 | 88 | 66 | 76 | 56 |
| [Finance](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/finance.md) | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 35 | 95 | 147 | 129 |
| [Information Systems](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/information-systems.md) | 10 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 32 | 21 | 28 | 62 | 53 | 31 |
| [Tourism and Hospitality](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/tourism-and-hospitality.md) | 8 | 12 | 8 | 24 | 11 | 17 | 9 | 24 | 26 | 28 |
| [Accounting](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/accounting.md) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 13 |
| [Health Economics and Policy](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/health-economics-and-policy.md) | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| [Higher Education and Research](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/higher-education-and-research.md) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| [Statistics](https://scholar4ai.com/categories/statistics.md) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All categories | 614 | 678 | 697 | 785 | 1,022 | 1,327 | 1,579 | 1,749 | 1,788 | 1,587 |

## Where the papers come from

*Journals with the most papers, since 2023*

| # | Journal | Papers |
|---:|---|---:|
| 1 | [Resources Policy](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/resources-policy.md) | 662 |
| 2 | [Computers & Industrial Engineering](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/computers-industrial-engineering.md) | 484 |
| 3 | [Annals of Operations Research](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/annals-of-operations-research.md) | 331 |
| 4 | [International Journal of Production Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/international-journal-of-production-economics.md) | 281 |
| 5 | [Ecological Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/ecological-economics.md) | 241 |
| 6 | [Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/cleaner-logistics-and-supply-chain.md) | 223 |
| 7 | [Energy Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/energy-economics.md) | 216 |
| 8 | [Expert Systems with Applications](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/expert-systems-with-applications.md) | 206 |
| 9 | [Transportation Research Part E Logistics and Transportation Review](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/transportation-research-part-e-logistics-and-transportation-review.md) | 201 |
| 10 | [Technological Forecasting and Social Change](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/technological-forecasting-and-social-change.md) | 184 |

*Institutions with the most papers, since 2023*

| # | Institution | Papers |
|---:|---|---:|
| 1 | [Hong Kong Polytechnic University](https://scholar4ai.com/institutions/hong-kong-polytechnic-university.md) | 134 |
| 2 | [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique](https://scholar4ai.com/institutions/centre-national-de-la-recherche-scientifique.md) | 83 |
| 3 | University of Tehran | 75 |
| 4 | Lebanese American University | 65 |
| 5 | [Xi'an Jiaotong University](https://scholar4ai.com/institutions/xi-an-jiaotong-university.md) | 65 |
| 6 | Capital University of Economics and Business | 56 |
| 7 | [Beijing Institute of Technology](https://scholar4ai.com/institutions/beijing-institute-of-technology.md) | 54 |
| 8 | [Shanghai Jiao Tong University](https://scholar4ai.com/institutions/shanghai-jiao-tong-university.md) | 54 |
| 9 | [Xiamen University](https://scholar4ai.com/institutions/xiamen-university.md) | 53 |
| 10 | [Southwestern University of Finance and Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/institutions/southwestern-university-of-finance-and-economics.md) | 51 |

*Countries with the most papers, since 2023*

| # | Country | Papers |
|---:|---|---:|
| 1 | China | 2,604 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 663 |
| 3 | United States | 633 |
| 4 | India | 535 |
| 5 | Italy | 452 |
| 6 | France | 411 |
| 7 | Australia | 318 |
| 8 | Germany | 311 |
| 9 | Turkey | 262 |
| 10 | Iran | 257 |

*Keywords with the most papers, since 2023*

| # | Keyword | Papers |
|---:|---|---:|
| 1 | [CO2 emissions](https://scholar4ai.com/keywords/co2-emissions.md) | 666 |
| 2 | circular economy | 647 |
| 3 | [China](https://scholar4ai.com/keywords/china.md) | 408 |
| 4 | environmental sustainability | 340 |
| 5 | sustainable development | 308 |
| 6 | [green innovation](https://scholar4ai.com/keywords/green-innovation.md) | 307 |
| 7 | environmental regulation | 306 |
| 8 | supply chain sustainability | 292 |
| 9 | multi-objective optimization | 234 |
| 10 | supply chain resilience | 231 |

## Most-cited papers

*Most-cited papers since 2017*

| # | Citations | Per month | Title | Journal | Published | Authors |
|---:|---:|---:|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3,955 | 35.4 | [Circular Economy: The Concept and its Limitations](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.06.041) | [Ecological Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/ecological-economics.md) | 2017-07-12 | Jaana Korhonen, Antero Honkasalo, Jyri Seppälä |
| 2 | 1,900 | 18.6 | [Barriers to the Circular Economy: Evidence From the European Union (EU)](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.04.028) | [Ecological Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/ecological-economics.md) | 2018-04-30 | Julian Kirchherr, Laura Piscicelli, Ruben Bour et al. |
| 3 | 1,828 | 16.3 | [The rise of 3-D printing: The advantages of additive manufacturing over traditional manufacturing](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.05.011) | [Business Horizons](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/business-horizons.md) | 2017-06-28 | Mohsen Attaran |
| 4 | 1,488 | 19.5 | [Blockchain technology and the sustainable supply chain: Theoretically exploring adoption barriers](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107831) | [International Journal of Production Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/international-journal-of-production-economics.md) | 2020-06-20 | Mahtab Kouhizadeh, Sara Saberi, Joseph Sarkis |
| 5 | 1,439 | 17.4 | [Sustainable supplier selection in healthcare industries using a new MCDM method: Measurement of alternatives and ranking according to COmpromise solution (MARCOS)](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2019.106231) | [Computers & Industrial Engineering](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/computers-industrial-engineering.md) | 2019-12-16 | Željko Stević, Dragan Stevan Pamucar, Adis Puška et al. |
| 6 | 1,428 | 18.3 | [Industry 4.0 technologies assessment: A sustainability perspective](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107776) | [International Journal of Production Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/international-journal-of-production-economics.md) | 2020-05-06 | Chunguang April Bai, Patrick Dallasega, Guido Orzes et al. |
| 7 | 1,380 | 14.8 | [Green process innovation, green product innovation, and corporate financial performance: A content analysis method](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.01.010) | [Journal of Business Research](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/journal-of-business-research.md) | 2019-01-15 | Xuemei Xie, Jiage Huo, Zou Hailiang |
| 8 | 1,357 | 17.6 | [Viable supply chain model: integrating agility, resilience and sustainability perspectives—lessons from and thinking beyond the COVID-19 pandemic](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-020-03640-6) | [Annals of Operations Research](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/annals-of-operations-research.md) | 2020-05-22 | Dmitry Ivanov |
| 9 | 1,317 | 11.2 | [Determinants of Consumers' Green Purchase Behavior in a Developing Nation: Applying and Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.12.019) | [Ecological Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/ecological-economics.md) | 2017-01-21 | Rambalak Yadav, Govind Swaroop Pathak |
| 10 | 1,166 | 10.6 | [Lost in Transition? Drivers and Barriers in the Eco-innovation Road to the Circular Economy](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.08.001) | [Ecological Economics](https://scholar4ai.com/journals/ecological-economics.md) | 2017-09-06 | Ana de Jesús, Sandro Mendonça |

## Cite this page

Scholar4AI. (2026). SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production. Journal Research Rankings. Retrieved October 31, 2026, from https://scholar4ai.com/sdgs/12-responsible-consumption-and-production

```bibtex
@misc{scholar4ai-sdgs-12-responsible-consumption-and-production,
  author = {{Scholar4AI}},
  title = {SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://scholar4ai.com/sdgs/12-responsible-consumption-and-production}},
  urldate = {2026-10-31},
  note = {Journal Research Rankings; data from OpenAlex (CC0); licensed CC BY-NC 4.0}
}
```

License: CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).