This study empirically investigates the impact of circular economy practices on economic and environmental sustainability performance, examining the mediating effect of green finance through the lens of ecological modernization theory. A structured questionnaire was employed to gather data from two hundred MSMEs. This study employed a sequential structured equation modelling -artificial neural network (SEM-ANN) model to understand the complex relationships and relative importance of the predictors in influencing the endogenous construct. The findings revealed that CEP and GF have a significant positive influence on Economic sustainability performance (ECSP) and Environmental sustainability performance (ENSP). In addition to that, the findings also confirmed the partial complementary mediating impact of GF in enhancing the ECSP and ENSP of the MSMEs sector. Addressing the limited primary data-supported investigations, the current study fills the existing research gaps in the CEP, GF, and sustainability literature and delivers valuable insights for academic theory and managerial applications.

Keywords: Circular economy practices (CEP), Green finance (GF), Economic sustainability performance (ECSP) and Environmental sustainability performance (ENSP), Ecological modernization theory (EMT).