Monitoring Progress towards a Resource-Efficient and Circular Economy

Annex A. Proposed indicator set - Detailed list

Abstract

This Annex presents a detailed list of the proposed indicators with references to international indicator sets that include the same or similar indicators and comments on the indicators’ definition, measurability and interpretation.

It will serve as a basis for refining the indicator set in future and specifying the definitions, calculation methods and data sources to be used.

Notes:

(a) All indicators are expected to reflect change over time. Core indicators are in red colour.

(b) Indicator types: A 3-tier structure is used based on the indicators’ relevance, measurability and usefulness to track aspects of a circular economy transition.

Core indicator (Core); Complementary indicator (Comp); Contextual indicator (Ctx).

• Core indicators (or their proxy when the core indicator is currently not measurable) are indicators that capture key elements of a CE, respond to main CE policy questions and point at developments or changes that require further analysis and possible action. Core indicators are designed to provide the big picture of the transition to a CE. They represent a common minimum set of indicators for use in OECD and other international work and that countries would be encouraged to produce or adapt to their own circumstances. The number of core indicators (or their proxies) should be limited and not exceed 20-25.

  Both operational and aspirational core indicators are proposed. Operational core indicators are indicators that are highly relevant from a CE point of view, already measurable in a representative number of OECD countries or that OECD countries would be willing and able to report to in the short term or the medium term (e.g., within the next few years). Operational indicators mainly cover basic waste management, material flow and resource efficiency aspects. Aspirational core indicators are indicators that are highly relevant from a CE point of view, but not yet measurable, and that require further methodological and statistical developments. Most indicators needed to reflect the circularity of materials flows are aspirational. They are included as an incentive for countries to develop underlying methodologies and/or to produce the required data. They are also proposed to become part of an international measurement agenda and roadmap. A shortlist of core indicators could further be identified as headline indicators to inform high-level decision-makers and civil society and to support wider communication with the public.

• Complementary indicators: Indicators that accompany or complement the message conveyed by “core” indicators, by providing additional detail (sub-national detail, sectoral detail) or focus (particular materials or activities), or by covering additional aspects. For country application of the framework, other country-specific indicators can be added. For application in international work, complementary indicators that describe country-specific features are particularly useful for country projects and peer reviews. Complementary indicators also include new and innovative indicators that are yet to be defined and developed, and that could become core indicators in future.

• Contextual indicators: indicators that provide background information on socio-economic and environmental variables to facilitate interpretation in the appropriate country context (e.g., GDP, industrial structure, income) and indicators that inform about general drivers of material use and about factors that influence the environmental implications of materials use.

(c) Relevance indicates the level of relevance/usefulness of the proposed indicator for the given topic: High (H); Medium (M); Low and to be reviewed (L).

Relevance is assessed with respect to the following criteria:

• ability to provide a representative picture of the material life-cycle, its interactions with the environment, and society’s responses.

• simplicity, ease of interpretation

• ability to show trends over time, and responsiveness to changes

• ability to provide a basis for international comparisons;

• existence of a threshold or reference value against which to compare it, so that users can assess the significance of the values associated with it.

(d) Measurability indicates the current availability of data and agreed methodologies, except of placeholders.

High (H) = measurable in the short term; basic data available for a majority of OECD members and a few non-members; indicator methodology well defined with consensus about validity.

Medium (M) = measurable in the medium term; the indicator is being developed and should be available in the near future; basic data partially available; goes with further efforts to improve the quality of underlying data (consistency, comparability, timeliness) and their geographical coverage (number of countries covered).

Low (L) = measurable in the longer term; major methodological or data gaps, calling for sustained data collection & conceptual efforts.

(e) Related indicator sets: international indicator set that includes the same or a similar indicator.

OECD: set of material flow and resource productivity indicators (MFRP), core set of environmental indicators (CEI), green growth indicators (GGI); EU revised monitoring framework (EU-MF)1; SDG global indicator set (SDG); UNECE Working Package 3 (WP3) list.

Table ‎A.1. Framework themes and proposed indicator set: Detailed list

Framework themes and indicator topics	Proposed indicators (a)	Type (b)	Rel. (c)	Meas. (d)	Related indic. sets (e)	Comments
Material life-cycle and value chain (Production and consumption)
1. The material basis of the economy (level & characteristics of materials supply and their use in the economy)
1.1 Material inputs	Direct material inputs (trends; intensities; mix) a. Production-based domestic material inputs (DMI) b. Demand-based raw material inputs (RMI)	Comp	H	H/M	OECD MFRP; WP3 Core	Double-headed indicator DMI & RMI, with complementary but related messages. Reflects the (raw) material basis of the economy accounting for domestic extraction and imports. To be read with information on the materials mix. DMI and RMI cannot be aggregated at international level without double counting (e.g., EU, OECD regions). Could be a core indicator for use by countries. Intensity and productivity ratios should be calculated using adequate components of GDP.
	Proportion of materials from renewable natural stocks in DMI	Comp	H	H	OECD MFRP	Links to biological material cycles. Could equally be related to RMI.
1.2 Material consumption	Material consumption and productivity (trends; mix) a. Production-based domestic material consumption (DMC) b. Demand-based raw material consumption (RMC) (material footprint) c. Production-based material productivity (GDP/DMC) d. Demand-based raw material productivity (net disposable income/RMC)	Core	H	H/M	SDG 8.4.2/12.2.2 SDG 8.4.1/12 2.1 OECD MFRP, GGI, CEI; EU MF: footprint, productivity; WP3 Core: footprint	Double-headed indicators: DMC & RMC, with complementary but related messages. DMC can be related to future waste, recognising that there is a time lag between material consumption and waste generation. To be read with information on the materials mix. To be complemented with information on unused material flows (see “natural resource implications”). DMC and RMC can be aggregated at international level without double counting (e.g., EU, OECD regions). N.B. work on common international method for demand-based measures is ongoing. Material productivity could be the main core indicator, with DMI/RMI and DMC/RMC being complementary indicators. It characterises the environmental and economic efficiency with which natural resources and materials are used in production and consumption, and informs about the results of policies and measures that promote resource productivity and sustainable materials management in all sectors. Complemented with information on the share of recycled (secondary raw) materials, it informs about the results of policies that promote a circular use of materials. See “circular use rate” below. Measures of material productivity extend productivity measurement and analysis to material resources and complement other single factor productivity measures such as labour productivity and capital productivity. Material intensity indicators could be used in addition to reflect the level of decoupling between material consumption and economic growth. Intensity and productivity ratios should be calculated using adequate components of GDP. In the absence of reliable data on net or gross national income, GDP can be used as a proxy for calculating the demand-based indicator.
	Proportion of materials from renewable natural stocks in DMC	Comp	H	H	OECD MFRP	Links to biological material cycles. Could equally be related to RMC.
	Proportion of recyclable raw materials in DMC	Comp	M	L	OECD MFRP	Links to circular design. Requires a common definition of “recyclable” materials. “Recyclability” is challenging to define. Technical and economic factors play a role.
1.3 Material accumulation	Net addition to stocks	Comp	H	M	OECD MFRP	Reflects the physical growth of the economy. Links to potential future waste and to potential future “urban” mines of raw materials. Requires the further development of material flow accounts.
	Changes in man-made stocks of mineral resources	Comp	M	L
2. The circularity of material flows and the management efficiency of materials and waste (economy-wide; in activity sectors; with reference to R strategies and CE mechanisms)
2.1 Waste generation (materials ending up as waste)	Total waste generation (trends; intensity per GDP, per capita) ‒ Municipal waste generation	Core	H	M	OECD CEI; EU MF, SDG 11.6.1; WP3 Core	Waste generation should ideally cover all primary waste generated to be relevant from a macro-economic CE point of view. If not available, municipal waste could be used as a proxy to get started. Municipal waste is a good indicator to reflect efforts or the lack of efforts by citizens and households. Idem for other waste-related indicators proposed here. Waste generation should ideally distinguish between mineral waste and other waste.
			M	H/M
	Waste generation trends by source, and by waste or material type (% contribution to total; trends) – e.g., Hazardous waste; waste electrical and electronic equipment; packaging waste, plastics; construction & demolition waste; mining and quarrying waste	Comp	H	M	OECD CEI; EU MF	Complements the core indicator with a breakdown by source sector (ISIC/NACE) and by type of waste or material. Particular attention could also be given to waste streams that raise concerns such as hazardous waste, WEEE, plastics, packaging waste, C&D waste, mining and quarrying waste. To be related to indicators on targets and distance to targets to monitor policy outcomes.
	Total primary waste supply by sector (from waste accounts) (% contribution to total, intensities per value added)	Comp	H	M/L		Indicator derived from waste accounts building on the SEEA with a breakdown by sector (ISIC/NACE) aligned with national accounts, which opens up additional analyses. Requires the elaboration and maintenance of waste accounts in countries.
	Waste generation compared to DMC (or DMI): total, by type of material	Comp	M	M	OECD MFRP	Relates total primary waste generation to the amount of material consumed or used in the economy. Could be applied to product groups. Interpretation: Should take into account stocks, recognising that there is a time lag between material consumption and waste generation.
	Food waste generated ‒ Food loss index (production and supply levels) ‒ Food waste index (retail and consumption levels)	Comp	H	L	SDG 12.3.1, EU MF; WP3 Core	Reducing food waste and food loss has an enormous potential for saving the resources used to produce food. Links to environmental implications. Most relevant indicator to be selected. Methodological guidance exists from Eurostat/EU and from SDG indicator metadata (FAO, UNEP).
	Hazardous waste generated & % treated, by type of treatment	Comp	M	M	SDG 12.4.2	Hazardous waste raises particular management and environmental issues. Links to the implementation of the Basel Convention, OECD decisions and EU Directives.
2.2 Circularity of material flows	Circular material use rate: all materials, material groups, selected materials (% contribution of recycled materials (secondary raw materials) to material consumption)	Core	H	H/M	EU MF; OECD MFR;P WP3 Core	Links data from waste statistics to data from material flow accounts and trade statistics. Can be calculated in different ways depending on the purpose and the data available. [A] To measure a country’s recycling efforts, whether domestically or abroad, it can be calculated as: recycled amounts (waste recycled in domestic recovery plants minus imported waste destined for recycling plus exported waste destined for recycling abroad) over material use (DMC+recycled amounts). [B] To reflect the extent to which recycled materials contribute to satisfying a country’s demand for materials without adding pressure on natural resources, it can be calculated as: recycled amounts (waste recycled in domestic recovery plants plus imported waste destined for recycling minus exported waste destined for recycling abroad) over material use (DMC+recycled amounts). Should ideally be calculated using amounts of materials coming out of recycling processes, net of losses during the recycling process (cf. Japan). Can also be calculated using the amounts of waste being sent to recycling including losses during the recycling process (cf. Eurostat; Circular material use rate — Calculation method — 2018 edition - Products Manuals and Guidelines - Eurostat (europa.eu)). The use of DMC avoids double counting when aggregating at international level (e.g. across EU, OECD regions). At national level, countries may wish to calculate this indicator by relating the amounts recycled to DMI (see the circular input use rate used in Japan)1. Should ideally be calculated using raw material consumption (RMC) when available. Could be expanded to account for reused materials if data availability permits.
	Intermediate consumption of secondary (raw) materials in production processes (processing and manufacturing)	Comp	H	L	EU MF	Complements the circular material use rate. Level of application (tbd): by sector, material type, product groups or company. Could focus on “strategic” raw materials (see also “supply security” below). Feasibility of a harmonised measurement at international level to be explored. Builds on data from material system analysis. See for example “Contribution of recycled materials to raw materials demand - end-of-life recycling input rates (EOL-RIR) (cei_srm010) (europa.eu)”: (Eurostat, 2024[33])
	Renewable content of material inputs into production processes (average %)	Comp	H	L	ISO WD2 59020; WP3 Core	Relates to material substitution and to biological material cycles. Reflects the proportion of virgin renewable materials in material inputs; to be complemented with indicators on the proportion of recycled and reused content in material inputs. Level of application (tbd): by sector, product groups or company. Feasibility of a harmonised measurement at international level to be explored. Data disclosure by companies to be explored. Interpretation to consider the overall environmental footprint of renewable materials vs. non-renewable materials and the sustainability of the management of the natural resource from which they are extracted.
2.3 Products diverted from the waste stream (repair, remanufacture, reuse)	Ratio of products repaired or reused to new products sold, by product type	Comp	H	M/L	WP3 Core	Can be related to product design and manufacture. Data availability and alternative data sources to be explored. Feasibility of a harmonised measurement at international level to be explored.
	Placeholder: Remanufacturing by sector or by branch	Comp	H
2.4 Materials diverted from final disposal through recycling or recovery	National recycling rate: proportion recycled in total waste generated (or collected) ‒ Municipal waste recycling rate	Core	H	M	SDG 12.5.1 ; OECD MFRP, CEI, GGI/ EU MF; WP3 Core	Refers to all waste materials recycled in the country plus quantities exported for recycling out of total waste generated in the country, minus material imported for recycling. Recycling includes material recycling, codigestion/anaerobic digestion and composting/aerobic process if the compost/digestate is used as a recycled product/material; does not include controlled combustion (incineration) or land application. Should distinguish between mineral waste and other waste. Requires a consolidation and strengthening of waste statistics. Municipal waste recycling could be used as proxy and to reflect efforts by citizens and households. To be read together with information on other recovery types and on waste going to final disposal.
	Recycling or recovery rates for selected waste or material types (e.g bio-waste, WEEE, plastics; packaging, construction and demolition waste)	Comp	H	M	OECD MFRP ; EU MF	Complements the national recycling rate. Can be related to indicators on targets and distance to targets below to monitor policy outcomes. Should distinguish between recycling and other recovery operations.
	Incineration with energy recovery	Comp	M	H		Could complement the national recycling rate. Not directly linked to circularity; relevance depends on country context and policy objectives.
	Capacity of waste recovery infrastructure, by type (recycling, incineration with energy recovery, other recovery)	Comp	M	M		Interpretation: Capacity does not reveal whether waste is effectively recycled. To be read with information on actual recovery rates and on related infrastructure investments. Could be qualified as a contextual indicator. To be read with information on the population with access to (i) waste management services (distinguishing between basic waste collection and separate collection services), and (ii) circularity options (i.e. recycling, composting, repair, etc.).
2.5 Materials leaving the economic cycle	Waste going to final disposal (landfill or incineration w/o energy recovery): total; by type of materials	Core	H	H/L	OECD MFRP; WP3 Core	Reflects the amounts of materials leaving the economic cycle. Accounts for domestic waste going to final disposal in the country and abroad. Examples of material types include plastics, organic materials. Requires an appropriate breakdown in waste statistics or accounts.
3. Interactions with trade (see also “opportunities” below)
3.1 Trade in materials	Material exports, material imports (incl. in RMe) Physical trade balance (incl. in RMe)	Comp	M	H	OECD MFRP	Trade in materials can be a driver for CE policies and CE policies can influence trade. Could be qualified as contextual indicators.
	Material intensity of trade flows (trade value indicator)	Comp	M	H	OECD MFRP	Material intensity= net weight/value of goods traded; Trade value indicator = value/net weight of goods traded; (aggregated indicator or per product type or material).
3.2 Trade in CE related materials and products	Trade in waste, secondary materials, secondary raw materials, second-hand goods, end of life products (proportion in imports, in exports)	Comp	M	M	OECD MFRP	Equally relevant for “opportunities”.
Interactions with the environment (environmental effectiveness) (to be supplemented with other environmental indicators as appropriate)
1. Natural resource implications (physical evolution of natural assets)
1.1 Changes in natural resource stocks	Natural resource index: non-renewable assets (energy and mineral resources) / Depletion ratios: by type of material or asset (extraction over existing reserves)	Core	M	M/L	OECD MFRP, GGI	Most relevant indicator and calculation method to be identified. Level of application (tbd): national, global. Data available for mineral and energy sub-soil resources (accounts) for selected “resource rich” countries by type of stock. Could be used as a proxy. See: OECD Statistical Platform (Code: NAT_RES) and (Schreyer and Obst, 2015[34]).
	Domestic extraction from natural stocks (renewable & non-renewable) (trends; mix)	Comp	M	H	OECD MFRP	To be derived from economy-wide material flow accounts. To be expanded with information on unused extraction (see below).
	Changes in natural stocks (global) of mineral resources	Ctx	M	M		Provides global context.
	Intensity of use of renewable freshwater resources: water stress (abstraction over available renewable stocks)	Core	H	M	OECD CEI, GGI; SDG 6.4.2; WP3 Core	Reflects the (potential) pressure on renewable freshwater resources from abstraction during material extraction, processing and use (total freshwater abstraction). To be derived from water statistics and accounts. Should distinguish between freshwater abstraction during the production of goods and services (material extraction, processing, manufacturing) and freshwater abstraction during the consumption (use) of materials.
	Intensity of use of forest resources (proportion of removals over growth)	Comp	H	M	OECD CEI	To be derived from forest resource accounts or from forest inventories.
1.2 Other natural resource impacts	Water abstracted for material extraction and processing	Comp	M	M		To be read with (i) water stress reflecting total freshwater abstraction from material extraction, processing and use, and (ii) water discharges and safe treatment. Sector scope to be confirmed and aligned with other similar indicators (GHG, air, water pollution).
	Water footprint of selected products or sectors	Comp	M	M
	Natural resource residuals: Unused extraction (by material group)	Comp	M	L		Refers to unused domestic extraction. Complements domestic extraction used. Could be related to information on potential impacts on habitats and ecosystems.
2. Environmental quality implications (effects of material extraction, processing, use, and end-of-life management on environmental conditions and human health)
2.1 Impacts on climate	GHG emissions from production activities (trends, intensities) ‒ Total GHG emissions	Core	H	M H	WP3 Core, EU MF	To be derived from air emission accounts (SEEA). Refers to emissions from the production of goods and services. Total emissions from GHG inventories could be used as a proxy.
	Proportion of emissions from waste management or waste sector	Comp	M	M	WP3	Complements the core indicator by showing the contribution of waste management to GHG emissions. Could further be supplemented with “proportion of emissions from resource intensive sector” and “proportion of emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry”.
	Carbon footprint (CO2)	Comp	H	M	WP3 Core	Complements the indicators on GHG emissions. To be read together with the material footprint indicator. Sector scope to be confirmed (all or focus on the production of good and services as for GHG emissions above).
	Carbon footprint of priority materials or products, of selected sectors	Comp	M	L	OECD MFRP	Complements the C footprint indicator. The materials, products, sectors to be covered need to be selected. To build on material systems analysis and life-cycle assessments.
2.2 Impacts on air quality	Air pollutant emissions from production activities (trends, intensities)	Comp	M	M		To be derived from air emission accounts (SEEA). Refers to emissions from the production of goods and services. The pollutants to be covered need to be selected (e.g. PM2.5).
2.3 Impacts on water and soil quality	Pollutant discharges from production activities to water bodies & proportion safely treated ‒ Total discharges to water bodies & % safely treated	Core	H	M	OECD CEI; WP3 Core: safe treat.	Discharges from material extraction and processing and their safe treatment. The pollutants to be covered need to be identified (e.g. heavy metals, nutrients). Sector scope to be confirmed and aligned with other similar indicators (GHG, air, water abstraction). Link to SDG 6.3.1. Total discharges to water bodies & % safely treated could be used as proxy.
	Proportion of waste improperly managed (proxy for waste leakage) Number of uncontrolled open landfills	Comp	M	M		Important indicators for countries confronted with basic waste management issues. Could otherwise be qualified as contextual indicators.
	Placeholder: Soil contamination	Comp	M			Soil contamination due to material extraction & processing and end-of-life management.
2.4 Impacts on biodiversity	Placeholders: Impacts from material extraction, processing, use and end-of-life management on land, habitats and species	Comp	H	M		Possible indicators: land cover change with focus on the spatial occupation of the built environment; change in forest cover; land footprint. Indicator reflecting the impacts of marine plastics would also be relevant. Developing and measuring such indicators would require a consensus on the methodologies to use (e.g. life cycle based assessments).
2.5 Impacts on human health	Placeholder	Core	H			Most relevant impacts and core indicator to be identified. To be read with information on the baseline socio-economic distribution of environmental goods and bads, when available.
	Population exposure to air pollution; related premature deaths and welfare costs	Comp	M	M		To be derived from EO sources. See the WHO Global Burden of Disease project. See the OECD datasets on environmental health and risks.
	Placeholder: Water-related health impacts	Comp	M			See WHO Global Burden of Disease project. Most relevant indicator to be identified.
	Placeholder: population groups living in the vicinity of waste management sites and production sites	Comp	M			Most relevant indicator and calculation method to be identified. Links to well-being and environmental justice.
Responses and actions (policies, measures, framework conditions)						(most indicators proposed here require further work and research)
1. Support circular use of materials, promote recycling markets and optimise design
1.1 Measures supporting circular business models and encouraging reuse, repair, remanufacturing (incl. industrial ecology/ symbiosis & sharing models)	Taxes & government support for circular business models	Core	H	M	OECD, Eurostat, WP3 Core	Most relevant core indicator and calculation method to be identified. Requires a definition of circular business models in the context of tax systems. CE relevant subsidies and other government support (including tax reliefs and exemptions) to be identified. Measurement boundaries to be specified. Could be derived from accounts on 'Environmental subsidies and similar transfers' building on the SEEA (e.g. Eurostat), from inventories of government support, from databases on policy instruments (e.g. OECD PINE database) and from environmentally related tax revenue accounts building on the SEEA and other tax revenue accounts.
	‒ VAT relief and tax credits for refurbished/repaired items ‒ Tax benefits for businesses for the purchase/use of repaired, refurbished, remanufactured items ‒ Trade tariffs: Import/export taxes for re-used & refurbished equipment compared to taxes on new equipment ‒ Subsidies and other transfers supporting a CE
	Circular Public Procurement (CPP) or Green Public procurement (GPP): total; by type of good (proportion in total public procurement)	Comp	H	L	EU MF, WP3 Core	CPP could be a core indicator. GPP to be considered as a proxy. Links to SDG 12.7.1: Degree of sustainable public procurement policies and action plan implementation. PP accounts for a large share of consumption and can drive the circular economy transition and innovation.
	Investments in infrastructure supporting circular business models, beyond waste management (e.g. repair facilities).	Comp	H	L		Most relevant indicator, data sources and calculation methods to be identified. To be read with information on % of population with access to circularity options (e.g. repair services)
	Population with access to circularity options (e.g. repair services) (proportion in total population)	Ctx	H	L		To be complemented with information on the proportion of population with access to waste management services.
1.2 Measures encouraging eco-design	Design for extending lifespans (i.e. durability, repairability, upgradeability): Requirements for minimum lifespan, warranties, software upgrades Requirements for accessibility to spare parts	Comp	H	M		Most relevant indicator and calculation methods to be identified. It remains to be seen whether this topic can be measured in the form of an indicator or whether it should be qualified as “other relevant information to be considered”.
	Design for recycling, dismantling & material circularity: Bans/Guidelines on hazardous substances Taxes on difficult-to-recycle items Availability of guidance documents on design for recycling	Comp	H	M		Most relevant indicator and calculation methods to be identified. It remains to be seen whether this topic can be measured in the form of an indicator or whether it should be qualified as “other relevant information to be considered”.
1.3 Measures encouraging efficient use of materials and economically efficient waste recovery	Reform of subsidies encouraging unsustainable use or extraction of materials, e.g., taxes on virgin materials	Comp	H	M		Could be expanded to cover economic instruments encouraging linearity.
	Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes: Availability of EPR schemes in different product sectors: distance between reported performance and set target	Comp	M	M		Product sectors could include: automobiles, batteries, tyres, packaging, pharmaceuticals, textiles, etc.
						Distance could be zero if legally binding performance target is not available. Could be used as a core indicator by countries.
	Deposit-refund systems (DRS) & Pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) schemes: Availability of DRS in different product sectors (scope of beverage containers, for reuse & recycling) Availability of PAYT schemes	Comp	M	H/M		Best way to calculate and present these indicators to be identified. To be complemented with stringency indicators e.g. the disposal cost difference between different waste types. Could be qualified as “other relevant information to be considered”.
2. Improve the efficiency of waste management and close leakage pathways
2.1 Measures to improve waste management	Investments in waste management infrastructure, waste collection and sorting: government, businesses	Core	H	M	EU MF; WP3 Core	To be derived from environmental expenditure accounts (SEEA). If data availability permits, could be expanded with information on investments in (i) repair, reuse & waste prevention infrastructure; (ii) energy recovery of waste; (iii) sound disposal of waste
	Population with access to waste management services: basic waste collection; separate collection (proportion in total population)	Ctx	M	H		Important information for countries confronted with basic waste management issues. To be complemented with information on the proportion of population with access to circularity options (i.e. recycling, composting, repair services, etc.)
2.2. Measures to encourage waste reduction	Bans, taxes on frequently littered items or single-use items (e.g. plastics)	Comp	H	H		Best way to calculate these indicators to be identified.
	Tax rate per tonne landfilled or incinerated	Comp	H	H		Could be derived from the OECD PINE database. Important indicator for countries with waste management challenges.
	Landfill bans	Comp	H	H		Important indicator for countries with waste management challenges.
3. Boost innovation and orient technological change
3.1 Measures supporting R&D	Government and business R&D expenditure on CE technologies (recycling, secondary raw materials, …): budget allocations	Core	H	M/L		Allocating data on R&D budgets to circular projects/topics is not easy. The measurement boundaries need to be specified.
3.2 Technology development and international diffusion	Patented inventions for (1) recycling and secondary raw materials; and (2) reuse and repair models as: ‒ % of total technologies, by inventor’s residence ‒ % of foreign inventors, by patent office	Comp	M	M/L	OECD ; EU MF ; WP3 Core	Innovative technologies related to the CE can boost countries’ global competitiveness. Patents however only give only a limited view on what is being invented. Little data are available on patents for repair and reuse models. Indicators equally relevant for “opportunities”.
		Comp	M	M/L
4. Target setting and planning
4.1 Targets & distance to targets	Placeholder: Distance to targets	Comp				Most relevant indicators to be identified. Indicators on targets take on their full meaning when linked to associated material life cycle indicators (“waste generation” & “recycling” indicators) and when revealing how distance to targets changes over time; they are particularly relevant when used in a national context. Interpretation needs to consider that targets vary across countries and depend on national circumstances and levels of ambition. Could be core indicators for countries. N.B. Monitoring recycled content targets and reuse targets is challenging. To be applied to selected products (plastics, food, packaging, …).
	‒ Resource productivity targets	Comp	H	H	WP3 Core
	‒ Recycled content targets, by type of product	Comp	H	M/L
	‒ Recycling targets, by type of waste	Comp	H	H
	‒ Reuse targets, by type of product	Comp	H	L
	‒ Waste reduction/prevention targets by waste type	Comp	H	H
	‒ Landfill targets, distance to targets by waste type	Comp	M	H		Important indicator for countries with waste management challenges.
4.2 CE strategies & plans	Placeholder	Comp	M			Most relevant indicator and calculation method to be identified. It remains to be seen whether this topic can be measured in the form of an indicator or whether it should be qualified as “other relevant information to be considered”. Plans and strategies to be considered include those fostering a CE, industrial upgrading, competitiveness and productivity, innovation.
5. Strengthen financial flows
5.1 Domestic financial flows	Business investment in CE activities	Core	H	M	EU MF. WP3 Core	To be derived from environmental expenditure accounts and accounts on environmental goods and services (SEEA), national accounts and structural business statistics. Could be linked to indicators on jobs and value added in the CE sector (cf EU MF) and to indicators on subsidies and other transfers supporting CE sectors to open up additional analyses. Data availability is best for investment in reuse and recycling activities and in EU countries. Other activities such as renting and leasing could be added in future; current statistics are not granular enough to provide a means of distinguishing activities that clearly contribute to a circular economy transition from those that do not.
	Revenue from CE related taxes	Comp	H	H/M		Could be derived from the OECD PINE database or from environmentally related tax revenue accounts building on the SEEA. Requires a consensus on the measurement boundaries.
	Government budgets allocated to CE objectives	Comp	H	M		Country-specific indicator. Could be derived from green budgeting initiatives in countries.
5.2 International financial flows	CE related Official Development Assistance (ODA)	Comp	M	L		Data on financial flows related to waste management exist. CE related flows are more difficult to identify. The measurement boundaries need to be specified.
	CE related Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)	Comp	M	L
6. Inform, educate and train
6.1 Information instruments	Placeholders Eco-labelling; product labelling & certificates Requirement to provide repair guidelines Requirement to provide: ‒ information on expected lifespan; dismantling guidelines & material content lists for recyclers	Comp	M	M/L		Most relevant indicators and calculation methods to be defined; data sources to be identified. It remains to be seen whether this topic can be measured in the form of an indicator or whether it should be qualified as “other relevant information to be considered”.
6.2 Education and training	Placeholder: Integration of CE issues in school curricula and professional training	Core	H			Most relevant indicators and calculation methods to be defined; data sources to be identified.
Socio-economic opportunities for a just transition (economic efficiency and social equity)
1. Market developments and new business models
1.1 CE entrepreneurship, goods & services (incl. uptake of new circular business models, industrial ecology/symbiosis initiatives)	Gross value added of CE sectors (% contribution to GDP and change over time)	Core	H	H/L	EU MF; WP3 Core	Reflects the contribution of a circular economy to the creation of growth. To be derived from national accounts or Environmental goods and services sector (SEEA). Trend in indicator value is more important than absolute values. Data availability is best for CE sectors delineated as waste and recycling. Should be expanded to include repair services and second-hand markets as data availability progresses. Could be complemented with information on power production from renewable sources (cf SDG 7.b.1/12.a.1 and WP3 Core)
	CE start-ups and trademarks CE certification of companies	Comp	M	L		Indicators to be defined. Data sources to be identified.
1.2 Employment markets and jobs	Jobs in CE sectors (proportion in total employment and change over time)	Core	H	H/L	EU MF, WP3 Core	Reflects the contribution of a circular economy to the creation of jobs. Trend in indicator value is more important than absolute values. Requires a consensus on the measurement boundaries (sectors and job types to be covered). To be derived from accounts on the environmental goods and services sector (EGSS) available in EU countries. CE sectors delineated as waste and recycling. To be expanded as data availability progresses to include other CE activities, including repair services, second-hand markets and sharing economy. (cf also the EU taxonomy of sustainable activities).
	Jobs in sharing economy, reuse and repair activities (number and change over time)	Comp	H	L		Complements the core indicator by providing additional detail on the sharing economy, repair and reuse activities. Trend in indicator value is more important than absolute values. Data on repair activities may be more available than data on jobs in the sharing economy or in reuse services. Alternative data sources are needed.
1.3 Recycling markets	Markets for recycled materials	Comp	H	L		Indicator to be defined. To focus on materials of particular importance from an environmental and economic point of view (e.g. construction, plastics, metals)
2. Trade developments
2.1 Trade in CE related goods and services	Trade in recovered (secondary) materials (volume, proportion in imports & exports)	Comp	M	M/L		Trade in recovered, recycled and recyclable materials reflects the importance of the domestic market and global participation in a circular economy. Requires a common definition of “recyclable” materials. “Recyclability” is challenging to define. Technical and economic factors play a role. To be read with “interactions with trade” under “material life cycle” above. To be expanded to a broader set of CE-related goods and services as data availability progresses.
	Trade in recycled (secondary raw) materials (volume, proportion in imports & exports)	Comp	M	M/L	OECD MFRP
	Trade in recyclable raw materials (proportion in imports & exports)	Comp	M	L	EU MF
2.2 Supply security	Domestic material autonomy: aggregate, by material group a. proportion of domestic extraction in DMI or DMC b. proportion of domestic extraction in RMI or RMC	Comp	H	H	OECD MFRP, EU MF, WP3 Core	Double-headed indicator. To be read with “interactions with trade” under “material life cycle”. Material autonomy can in some countries be an important driver for moving towards a CE. A CE can create opportunities for reducing reliance on external markets and increasing the resilience to imports of critical raw materials which is especially of concern for resource importing countries.2 Could otherwise be qualified as a contextual indicator.
	Supply security of “strategic” raw materials: by material or material group	Comp	H	M	OECD MFRP, EU MF	A CE helps address the supply risks for raw materials, in particular “strategic” materials (raw and processed or semi-processed). Materials to be considered may vary across countries and regions. Could be a core indicator if common strategic raw materials are identified. What to classify as “strategic” materials needs to be specified. Needs to consider economic & environmental factors. Different methodologies exist to assess material criticality (e.g. (Coulomb et al., 2015[35]; Graedel et al., 2012[36])). See also (European Commission, 2024[37])
	Food security Energy security	Comp	H	M		A CE helps also satisfy human consumption needs and address supply risks. Both food and energy could be considered as strategic materials (see above).
3. Skills, awareness and behaviour
3.1 Skills	Placeholders CE literacy ; CE skills	Comp	H			Most relevant indicators to be identified. Could among others cover: innovation competencies to support the transition to a CE (in secondary schools, in higher education); education in upskilling and reskilling.
3.2 Awareness	Public opinion on CE issues and actions	Comp	M	L
3.3 Behaviour	Placeholder: Change in household, consumer, firm behaviour	Core	H			Indicators on behaviour can help identify the right policy measures to achieve a successful transition.
4. Inclusiveness of the transition
	Placeholder: Distributional aspects & socio-economic inequality of CE policies	Core	M			Requires further work and research. Is closely related to “environmental justice”; Would reflect how different territories and population groups (young people, women, vulnerable communities, etc.) are affected or benefit from CE policies and actions or endure impacts from inaction. To be broken down by population groups and by location when possible. Could also reflect whether a disproportionate share of communities endure impacts as a result of materials use (i.e. population living close to landfills/incinerators, population living close to production facilities. To be complemented with more general inequality indicators (see below). To be read with information on the baseline socio-economic distribution of environmental goods and bads when available.
Socio-economic and environmental context
1. Factors that drive demand for materials
1.1 Socio-demographic factors	Population growth and structure Household size	Ctx	M	H
1.2 Economic factors	GDP growth and structure (trends, value added by sector)	Ctx	M	H
	Income levels: GDP per capita	Ctx	M	H		Could be broken down by population groups and by location when possible. Could be supplemented with debt-to-income ratio, poverty index, energy poverty, employment rates, etc.
	Income inequality (Gini index); wealth inequality	Ctx	M	H/M
	Human development index (HDI)	Ctx	M	H
	Final consumption expenditure: government, household	Ctx	M	H
1.3 Sectoral drivers	Construction e.g., floor space per capita, value added of construction sector	Ctx	H	M/L
	Other
2. Factors that influence the environmental implications of material use
2.1 Environmental drivers	Energy supply and consumption: trends and intensities	Ctx	H	H		Could be considered core or complementary indicators in countries whose CE policies address the efficiency and circularity of energy and water.
	Water use efficiency in production activities and in final consumption	Ctx	H	M
	Protected areas	Ctx	M	H/M
	Other

1. Circular input use rate (Japan): Share of recycled materials (secondary raw materials) in material inputs, for selected materials or material groups, i.e. recycled amounts/(DMI+recycled amounts).

2. The OECD Global Materials Resources Outlook to 2060 provides information on materials criticality (OECD, 2019[2]).

Note

← 1.  See the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a revised monitoring framework for the circular economy (European Commission, 2023[16]). See also Eurostat’s general overview of the EU CE Monitoring Framework (Eurostat, 2024[55]).