Improving competitiveness and economic growth in the Republic of Serbia through the concept of circular economy

The circular economy is a closed circular system in which material and energy losses are converted into resources that may be used for alternative objectives. Inextricably connected with sustainable development, it is primarily concerned with reducing material and energy losses. The optimal course of action would be to eradicate these losses and repurpose materials. Therefore, biodegradable items are used and commodities are disposed, reused and recycled. The primary aim of this study is to examine the impact of energy generation and non-energy materials on the gross domestic product (GDP) of Serbia and other OECD member states. The objective is to ascertain which energy or material production sector is more significant in GDP to enhance competitiveness. The findings reveal the present state of economic growth and the areas that need improvement to foster more business competitiveness. The Adaptive Neural Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) as it is well-suited for statistical analysis of highly nonlinear data. The most significant determinant of GDP in Serbia is the proportion of domestic material consumption devoted to the consumption of non-metallic minerals. Among OECD members, however, metal consumption as a proportion of domestic total material consumption is the most significant predictor of GDP. Additionally, the findings indicate that the ideal combination for forecasting GDP using two parameters is the sum of non-energy material output and total municipal trash generation. The findings may exemplify optimal strategies for incorporating the circular economy principle into operations to enhance corporate competitiveness, mitigate energy and material waste, and minimize adverse environmental effects.