Abstract Industries face significant pressures to enact eco-friendly practices in their supply chain due to the constraints of natural resources and growing ecological awareness among customers. Reverse logistics (RL) has been considered as a systematic approach for industries to improve their environmental impacts and to ensure sustainability in business. Industries are enthusiastic to adopt RL activities in their businesses, but they also face challenges such as insufficient knowledge and resources regarding RL implementation. Therefore, we seek to evaluate the critical success factors (CSFs) linked to the implementation of RL in manufacturing industries in India. In this work, a structural model is proposed by using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methods to evaluate the CSFs in RL adoption. The AHP methodology assists in establishing the priorities of the CSFs, while the DEMATEL approach categorizes the causal relationships among them. The findings of this work shows that the Global competitiveness main factor is highly prioritized, and thus, needs to be focused greatly in order to increase the effectiveness of RL adoption in business. The relative priority of the remaining main factors through AHP analysis is given as Regulatory factors - HR and organizational factors -Economic factors - Strategic factors. The findings also indicate that Global competitiveness; Regulatory; HR and organizational main factors are classified under cause group, while Economic and Strategic main factors belong to effect group. This model will help business analysts and supply chain managers formulate both short-term and long-term, flexible decision strategies for successfully managing and implementing RL adoption in the supply chain scenarios.