Advancing Circular Economy and ESG Integration in Saudi Higher Education Facility Management: A Case Study of Sulaiman Al Rajhi University

circular-economy interventions in energy, water, waste, procurement and assets to measurable, GRI-aligned environmental, social and governance indicators for higher-education facility management. Design/methodology/approach – The study combines Circular Canvas mapping, GIGA-mapping and HD1 design thinking with a quantitative indicator engine. It is applied to Campus 1 of Sulaiman Al-Rajhi University, Saudi Arabia (105,000 m²; 2,340 users), using 2023 operational data. Three intervention scenarios (S1–S3) are compared with business as usual (S0), and financial uncertainty is tested by Monte Carlo simulation (n = 10,000). Findings – The full-integration scenario (S3) reduces electricity use by 17%, potable-water demand by 20% and total waste by 15%, while achieving 60% waste diversion and raising the governance indicators to CPR = 0.50 and ACI = 0.30. Net annual operating benefit is approximately SAR 497,000 at a SAR 0.21/kWh planning tariff and SAR 446,000 at the published SAR 0.18/kWh rate, supporting maximum justified capital investment of approximately SAR 3.1–3.7 million (SAR 2.7–3.3 million at the published rate) over 10 years at 6–10% discount rates. Practical implications – The model provides university facility managers with a transparent method for prioritising circular interventions, linking operational data to ESG reporting and distinguishing resource-saving investments from governance and digital measures justified by compliance and asset-life benefits. Originality/value – The study integrates campus circularity, ESG indicators, disaggregated intervention costing and uncertainty analysis in a single decision-support framework tailored to a Saudi higher-education case.