Making the Circular Economy Count

Given a narrowing window of opportunity for systemic change, policymakers need to measure the progress towards a circular economy on a national level to effectively steer the transition from a linear to a circular economy.

The report, funded by the SUN Foundation and published by acatech, the German National Academy of Science and Engineering and SYSTEMIQ , evaluates the current state of research and practice on circular economy (CE) metrics. A draft has now been shared.

The report will enable policymakers to:

• review the existing CE metrics;
• evaluate the national transition progress, using a set of metrics based on key dimensions of the circular economy; and
• understand why national monitoring should be complemented by standardized reporting mechanisms to evaluate resource flows at company level.

The report finds that a practical, feasible set of CE metrics can be applied to support national policymakers in steering the transition – and in evaluating whether we have made the right decisions to support future CE development.