After two years of work, hundreds of indicators, and dozens of sectors covered, a completed EU project now offers a bold toolkit for measuring progress toward a circular economy (CE). Here’s how it could reshape environmental, energy, and industrial policies across Europe in the coming decade.
Measuring circular progress: how the EU turns sustainability ambitions into real results
A massive data drive
The project began by identifying 730 potential indicators to help monitor circular economy efforts. These were integrated into a digital platform called the Circular Economy Indicators Tool, aiming to mesh with existing frameworks like the Circular Economy Monitoring Framework.
From this pool, 60 top indicators were selected and tested in 19 case studies across high-impact sectors such as electronics, plastics, bioeconomy, construction, textiles, food, packaging, vehicles, and batteries. These are areas that use huge amounts of resources and generate significant waste — making their transformation vital for the EU’s climate neutrality goals.
A unified toolkit for decision‑makers
The outcome is more than just a set of data — it’s a comprehensive taxonomy of over 700 indicators, structured to support users across contexts: from local governments to industries and households. Developed by a consortium led by Ricardo plc, the system enables users to pick relevant indicators based on goal, sector, region, or depth of analysis.
It’s flexible, scalable, and tailored for policymakers, NGOs, businesses, and researchers alike.
From data to policy
Through pilot tests, the project revealed gaps in current monitoring systems and provided concrete policy recommendations. Indicators cover areas such as material efficiency, product lifecycle circularity, recycling rates, greenhouse gas emissions, and use of primary resources.
It also brings socio-economic metrics into the mix — like job creation in the circular economy and novel business models based on services instead of ownership (so-called product-service systems).
Every indicator was field-tested in real-world settings, resulting in actionable insights for future regulations, sector strategies, and funding mechanisms.
Eleven key policy areas
The final report highlights 11 priority areas, including food systems, construction and demolition waste, biomass production, and plastic circularity. Each is analyzed using the new taxonomy, enabling comparisons across EU countries and regions.
This alignment supports better coordination between EU-wide, national, and local policies and funding programs, helping avoid duplication and waste.
Crucially, the toolkit is designed to align with major EU frameworks like the European Green Deal and the Zero Pollution Action Plan.
Open access and community adaptation
One of the toolkit’s greatest strengths is its openness. Anyone — local governments, NGOs, businesses, or researchers — can use and customize the indicators based on their needs. This transparency supports not only more accountable environmental policies but also empowers citizens and communities to actively engage in circular transformation.
By doing so, CE becomes more than an academic concept or lofty EU slogan — it evolves into a practical, measurable process that can be tracked, optimized, and adapted in real time.
In short, this project takes circular economy from vision to verification. It offers a powerful compass for the EU’s sustainability roadmap and provides tools to transform ambition into measurable progress — across sectors, scales, and borders.
- bioeconomy
- circular economy
- circular economy indicators
- climate neutrality
- construction waste
- digital tools
- environmental monitoring
- EU policy
- EU transformation
- European Green Deal
- green economy
- green transition
- plastics
- policymaking
- recycling
- resource efficiency
- sustainability
- sustainable innovation
- textiles
- waste reduction
- zero pollution
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