(120e) Micron: A Quantitative, Holistic and Robust Circular Economy Assessment Framework at the Micro Level

Circular Economy (CE) aims to solve resource, waste, and emission challenges confronting society by creating a production-to-consumption total supply chain that is restorative, regenerative, and environmentally benign (a). A method for evaluating and comparing the circularity of different companies or scenarios is vital for effective decision making (b). A variety of metrics has been developed for measuring different aspects of CE, however the focus is mainly on the macro and meso levels (c-f). This is attributed to some of the intrinsic characteristics of circularity assessment at micro level, where CE indicators frequently concentrate on just a subset of CE principles or have a narrow focus to specific products and materials, therefore missing the bigger picture and leading to sub-optimal results (g).

This work aims to address this research gap by introducing “MICRON" (MIcro CirculaR ecOnomy iNdex), a GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) based, quantitative web-tool that takes into consideration all goals of CE holistically. First, principal categories are designed based on the goals and key characteristics of CE. Then, clearly specified indicators and readily measurable metrics are selected for each of these principal categories. The weighted average of metrics in each principal category constitutes the Categorical Circularity Indexes, while their linear average constitutes the Overall Circularity Index of each company. Using the proposed web-tool, companies are able to track their transition towards CE, conduct temporal analysis, compare and benchmark their performance against their peers and industry's standards. The applicability and the capabilities of the developed CE methodology is demonstrated through case studies in the Energy & Utilities, Manufacturing and Automotive sectors, where Categorical and Overall Circularity Indices are calculated over a period from 4 up to 10 years. The results demonstrate a clear trend towards circularity, however the implementation of CE is still premature and there are tremendous opportunities for improvement.

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