Latest Circular Economy Glossary of Terms Updates

On Wednesday, 19 June 2024, The Circular Economy Glossary of Terms, Version 11 was published with the following updates:

• Circular Economy Indicators — adding this definition was particularly difficult as there is little consistency on how we should measure an organisation’s transition to the circular economy. After much consideration, I decided The OECD Inventory of Circular Economy Indicators provided the best all-round perspective of the indicators we should review when we consider measuring the transition to the circular economy.

The OECD inventory gathers input, process and output indicators employed by governments at different levels, in particular, to monitor and evaluate the progress of existing circular economy strategies. The inventory provides an overview of circular economy measurement frameworks. It helps identify measurement gaps and can be a source of inspiration for governments wishing to develop or use indicators to improve circular economy-related policies.

Indicators related to the circular economy can be classified according to different criteria. The SUMMA Circular Economy Research Centre from Flanders, Belgium provides context. How should indicators be applied? Here we introduce the practical application of indicators according to the macro, meso and micro levels of activities and actions.

A transition to a circular economy may not be looked at from a material perspective only but should include other environmental impacts such as climate change. Indicators monitoring environmental impacts exist and can easily be combined and integrated into a set of indicators for monitoring the circular economy.

Finally, a research paper attempts to answer the question “Circular Economy Indicators: What Do They Measure?” Inspired by the Circular Rs hierarchical ladder (Potting et al. 2018), the researchers identified six common groups. The first five groups acknowledge strategies for preservation, and the last group considers the reference scenario measurement. For the sake of simplicity, they are called Circular Economy strategies.

• Circular Maturity Model — A maturity model is a framework for measuring an organisation’s maturity, or that of a business function within an organization with maturity being defined as a measurement of the ability of an organization for continuous improvement in a particular discipline.

The Circular Economy Maturity Model provides five levels of maturity, starting from Inactive through to Proactive.

• Material Passport — Two examples of Material Passports are included.

(1) Battery Material Passport: A global reporting framework to govern rules around measurement, auditing, and reporting of ESG parameters across the battery value chain, etc.

(2) Built Environment Material Passport: A digital identity card that details the component parts of a building, including production and performance information for the purpose of future reuse, as well as calculating the overall carbon footprint.

• Water — Embodied — The amount of water which goes into making something is known as embodied water, although it also goes by a whole lot of other names — embedded water, virtual water, hidden water and the water footprint. Embodied water is not just for food — just about everything we purchase uses water in its production.
• Water — Operational — The operational (or direct) water footprint of a business is the volume of freshwater consumed or polluted due to its own operations.
• ESG

The Glossary is structured with materials as the primary term. For example, Low Carbon Concrete is listed as Concrete — Low Carbon.

These latest suggestions were sent to Circular Economy Asia Inc. by researchers from the Centre for Smart Modern Construction located at Western Sydney University, New South Wales, Australia. If you have any suggestions for terms I may have missed, please feel free to contact me.

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Yes, it is that time again to raise funds so Circular Economy Asia can move to the next phase. On 05 July, I shall be heading back to Australia to close one door before I can start the next chapter. The really good news is that I have established enough foundation to ensure Circular Economy Asia can grow when I return to Asia.

Please visit: https://gogetfunding.com/resolution/ for more information.

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If you would like to download a copy, click here: The Circular Economy Glossary of Terms

Ms Adrienna Zsakay is the Founder and CEO of Circular Economy Asia Inc , and this article represents her opinions on the circular economy. Circular Economy Pick of the Week is brought to you by Circular World™ Media — a brand owned by Circular Economy Asia Inc.

References

The number 42 is, in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”, calculated by an enormous supercomputer named Deep Thought over a period of 7.5 million years. Unfortunately, no one knows what the question is.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.