Navigating the New ISO Circular Economy Standards: A Practical Guide
The circular economy has reached a critical inflection point with the release of the ISO 59000 series standards in May 2024. For sustainability practitioners, business leaders, and organizations committed to circular transformation, these standards represent a watershed moment—providing the universal frameworks, common language, and practical implementation pathways needed to enact meaningful change.
This standardization is a win for the circular movement to scale beyond early adopters and transform mainstream business practices.
Why These Standards Matter Right Now
The timing couldn’t be more significant. With the European Union’s new Ecodesign and Packaging regulations rolling out and similar frameworks emerging globally, businesses face mounting regulatory pressure to redesign their products, services, and operations through a circular lens.
These ISO standards provide the structure and guidance organizations need to navigate this complex landscape confidently. More importantly, they validate what many sustainability pioneers have advocated for years—that systems thinking, thoughtful design and collaborative value creation are the foundations of effective circular transformation.
The ISO 59000 Series
The ISO has released three cornerstone standards that work together as an integrated system for circular economy implementation:
ISO 59004: The Foundation
Terminology, Principles, and Implementation Guidance
This foundational standard establishes the six key principles that underpin all circular economy activities:
- Systems Thinking: Adopting a full lifecycle perspective and considering long-term impacts across environmental, social, and economic dimensions
- Value Creation: Recovering, retaining, and adding value through efficient resource use
- Value Sharing: Collaborating equitably across value networks for collective benefit
- Resource Management: Sustainably managing material stocks and flows through closing, slowing, and narrowing resource loops
- Resource Tracking: Collecting data for transparency and accountability throughout value chains
- Ecosystem Resilience: Protecting and regenerating natural systems while respecting planetary boundaries
Beyond these principles, ISO 59004 provides:
- A universal lexicon of circular economy terminology
- A four-stage implementation framework (Assess → Create → Develop → Build)
- A categorization of circular actions across five key domains
- Guidance for embedding circularity at every organizational level
ISO 59010: The Strategy
Business Model and Value Network Transformation
This standard focuses on the practical business transformation needed to shift from linear to circular operations. It details a five-stage process:
- Setting Goals: Defining circular objectives, understanding current value creation models, mapping flows, and establishing boundaries
- Determining Strategy: Identifying circular opportunities and gaps, aligning strategy with the six principles, and addressing economic rationalization
- Transforming Value Creation: Developing action plans and redesigning business model elements from value proposition to revenue streams
- Transforming Value Networks: Establishing shared objectives, governance, and infrastructure with partners
- Reviewing and Monitoring: Measuring performance and continuously improving
The standard emphasizes that circular transformation isn’t just about internal operations—it requires rethinking your entire value network and relationships with suppliers, customers, and stakeholders.
ISO 59020: The Metrics
Measurement and Evaluation of Circularity
The third standard completes the framework by providing:
- Methodologies for measuring circularity at multiple levels (product, organizational, inter-organizational, regional)
- Specific indicators and formulas for quantifying circular performance
- Data acquisition and management approaches
- Assessment and reporting guidelines
The measurement process follows three essential stages:
- Boundary Setting: Defining systems, goals, scope, and timeframes
- Data Acquisition: Selecting indicators and measuring resource flows
- Assessment and Reporting: Evaluating performance and communicating with stakeholders
Design for Circularity
One of the most exciting aspects of the standards is the prominence given to design thinking as a catalyst for circular transformation. Design for Circularity is positioned as a crucial enabler that must be integrated from the earliest development stages.
The standards highlight four design principles:
- Design for Life Extension: Creating products that last longer through durability, repairability, and standardized components
- Design for Performance: Enabling product-as-service models and sharing platforms
- Design for Material Recovery: Facilitating disassembly, recyclability, and material reuse
- Design for Minimized Losses: Preventing waste through closed-loop systems and resource optimization
As we have written many times here, effective circular design requires a systems perspective—understanding how products and services exist within broader environmental, social, and economic contexts. This means considering not just technical performance but cultural factors, user behaviors, and ecosystem impacts.
Implementing the Standards: Practical Steps Forward
For organizations ready to embrace the circular transition, these standards offer a clear pathway:
- Start with ISO 59004: Familiarize yourself with the core principles and terminology
- Assess Your Current State: Map your value chain, resource flows, and circular baseline
- Set Ambitious Goals: Define what circularity means for your specific context
- Develop a Circular Strategy: Align with the six principles and identify transformation opportunities
- Transform Your Business Model: Redesign key elements of your value creation approach
- Engage Your Value Network: Collaborate with suppliers, customers, and partners
- Measure and Report: Implement robust metrics and transparent reporting
- Continuously Improve: Use data to refine and advance your circular initiatives
INDEED Innovation can guide you through every stage of this implementation journey – from understanding the standards to measuring your circular impact. Our experts provide tailored support to make your transition seamless and effective. Don’t navigate the circular economy alone.
What’s Next for the Circular Standards?
The ISO 59000 series will continue expanding with additional standards in development:
“Adherence to ISO 59004 enables organizations to create and share more value within society while ensuring the quality and resilience of ecosystems, ultimately supporting a sustainable future.” — ISO
- ISO 59040: Product Circularity Data Sheet
- ISO 59014: Sustainability and Traceability of Secondary Materials Recovery
- ISO TR 59031: Performance-Based Approaches
- ISO TR 59032: Business Model Implementation Review
These upcoming standards will further enhance the circular economy framework with specialized guidance for specific aspects of implementation.
Closing Words
The release of these standards marks a moment in the circular economy journey—transitioning from an aspirational concept to a structured business practice with measurable outcomes. They provide the missing link between circular ambition and practical implementation.
For sustainability professionals, these standards offer a robust framework to advance organizational circularity with credibility and impact. For business leaders, they provide a roadmap to navigate the circular transition while creating new value. For the planet, they represent hope that we can transform our relationship with resources to operate within planetary boundaries.
The tools are now in our hands—it’s time to put them to work. 🙂
This article provides an overview of the ISO 59000 series. For detailed implementation guidance, consult our team of circular economy experts.
FAQ: ISO Circular Economy Standards
The ISO 59000 series consists of three main standards released in May 2024: ISO 59004 (Terminology, Principles, and Implementation Guidance), ISO 59010 (Business Models and Value Networks), and ISO 59020 (Measurement and Evaluation of Circularity). These standards provide frameworks, methodologies, and metrics for organizations transitioning to circular business models.
Begin with ISO 59004 to understand the principles and terminology, then assess your current state by mapping value chains and resource flows. Set clear circularity goals, develop a strategy aligned with the six principles, transform your business model, engage your value network, implement measurement systems, and continuously improve based on data.
The ISO 59000 standards are voluntary, but they align with emerging regulations, particularly in the EU. Adopting these standards can help organizations prepare for current and future compliance requirements while gaining the business benefits of circular practices.
Several related standards are in development, including ISO 59040 (Product Circularity Data Sheet), ISO 59014 (Sustainability and Traceability of Secondary Materials Recovery), ISO TR 59031 (Performance-based Approaches), and ISO TR 59032 (Business Model Implementation Review).
The ISO 59004 standard creates a universal lexicon by defining terminology critical to implementing circular economy principles. Some important terms include:
Value Creation Model: How an organization makes money and adds value to society, which must be transformed when moving from linear to circular approaches.
Value Creation Network: The supply chain ecosystem within which a company exists and operates, requiring collaborative transformation for circularity.
Resource Inflows: Resources flowing into a business system, categorized by type and whether they are renewable or non-renewable (excludes water and energy which are tracked separately).
Resource Outflows: What exits a business system, including products, waste, byproducts, and secondary materials.
System Boundary: The framework defining the scope of a system, which can be physical (like a factory site) or intangible (like a cultural practice).
Stocks and Flows: The inputs and outputs and how they move through a system, a concept borrowed from systems dynamics.
Resource Management Actions: Expanded beyond the traditional “R” framework to include: refuse, rethink, circular sourcing, reduce, repair, reuse, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose, cascade, recycle, recover energy, and re-mine.
These definitions help standardize circular economy implementation by providing common language across organizations and industries.
The ISO circular economy standards emphasize several critical elements:
Data Collection and Analysis: The standards highlight the necessity of robust data collection for measuring resource flows, including materials, energy, and water, with specific indicators and formulas for appropriate assessment and reporting.
Systems Thinking as Foundation: The standards position systems thinking as the first key principle, emphasizing its crucial role in understanding the complex interdependencies in circular systems.
Collaboration Across Value Networks: Effective circular economy implementation requires active collaboration with suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders to improve transparency and identify opportunities.
Life Cycle Approach: A comprehensive life cycle perspective is emphasized throughout the design process and business model transformation.
Measurement and Verification: The standards stress that claims must be based on measurable and quantifiable improvements with scientific assessment methods.
Transparency in Reporting: Organizations should document and report on circularity performance based on assessment outcomes, consulting with interested parties.
Design as a Critical Enabler: Design for Circularity is positioned as a significant part of circular business strategy, highlighting that early-stage design decisions determine most of a product’s environmental impact.
Economic Rationalization: Circular approaches must make economic sense while delivering environmental and social benefits, addressing the triple bottom line of sustainability.
