On May 22, 2024, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) launched its latest standards for the circular economy, creating quite a buzz in our community. These aren’t just guidelines; they’re a comprehensive toolkit set to help businesses of all sizes and sectors fully embrace circular economy principles. This is a big step forward in our journey towards sustainability!
Circular economy: ISO 59004:2024
Vocabulary, principles and guidance for implementation
ISO 59004 is a part of the ISO 59000 family of standards, specifically designed to foster a shift towards a circular economy.
This standard provides comprehensive guidance applicable to any type of organization. It includes defining key terms and concepts, outlining a vision for a circular economy, elucidating core principles, and offering practical guidance for actionable steps towards sustainability.
The standard aims to support organizations in contributing to the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development by facilitating a transition to a circular use of resources.
Circular economy: ISO 59010:2024
Guidance on the transition of business models and value networks
ISO 59010 provides guidance for organizations wishing to transition their value creation models and networks from a linear to a circular framework.
This standard focuses on business-oriented strategies to implement circular economy practices at both organizational and inter-organizational levels.
It complements ISO 59004 by offering more detailed guidance on assessing current value creation models, mapping value chains and value networks, and developing strategies for circularity.
ISO 59010 is designed to help organizations make this transition effectively, contributing to sustainable business practices and a resilient global economy.
Circular economy ISO 59020:2024
Measuring and assessing circularity performance
ISO 59020 sets forth requirements and guidance for organizations to measure and assess their circularity performance within defined economic systems.
This document aims to standardize the process by which organizations collect and calculate data using mandatory and optional circularity indicators, ensuring consistent and verifiable results.
It provides a structured framework for setting system boundaries, selecting appropriate indicators, and interpreting data to evaluate the circularity performance at multiple levels—from regional and inter-organizational to organizational and product-specific levels.
International Standards help companies ensure that their products align with principles like durability, reusability, upgradability, or repairability. They foster consumer trust in shared, recycled, repaired or upcycled goods and components as well as relevant services, and enable collaboration between economic partners.
What is Circular Economy?
The circular economy is a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated. In a circular economy, products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting. The circular economy tackles climate change and other global challenges, like biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution, by decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources.
~ Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation
