What Circular economy indicators really measure? An overview of circular economy principles and sustainable development goals

While many Circular Economy (CE) indicators communicate that they measure sustainability, they do not consider the sustainability tripod. Thus, any decision to adopt a CE strategy must be carefully reasoned about its potential sustainability performance, in addition to requiring CE indicators based on the chosen strategies to support professionals and decision-makers. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze circularity indicators that can assess the three pillars of sustainability at the nano and micro levels to indicate gaps. We propose a three-step method for eight circular indicators aligned with sustainability: characterization by Sources, Type, Cycles, CE Strategy, Business Strategy, Methodology, and Multiple lifecycles; analysis based on three CE principles and by the direct contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The main results establish a scarcity connection of indicators with preserving and enhancing natural capital and SDGs 6 and 15; none address the CE strategies Refuse and Rethink, and one focuses on Repurpose.

Automated summary

This study analyzes the three pillars of sustainability and proposes eight circular indicators aligned with sustainable development goals. It also identifies gaps in the existing indicators.