A circular economy aims to maintain the value of products, materials and resources for as long as possible and minimise the generation of waste. The European Commission published a Communication on the monitoring framework for the circular economy and an accompanying Staff working document. In order to underpin this initiative, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, is launching a new website section dedicated to circular economy reporting all the indicators of the monitoring framework, updated with latest data, as well as supporting visualisation tools.
The Commission monitoring framework is a key tool to measure progress and cover the different phases of the circular economy in the EU and Member States and, as a result, show if the existing policy initiatives are successful in delivering the expected outcomes and identify areas where more action is needed. It is an essential contribution to the EU’s efforts to develop a sustainable, low carbon, resource efficient and competitive economy.
The framework is structured into four broad areas: production and consumption, waste management, secondary raw materials and competitiveness and innovation. Several more specific indicators have been identified for each area. The production and consumption area addresses the EU’s self-sufficiency in raw materials, green public procurement, waste generation and food waste. The waste management indicators focus on the share of waste which is recycled in relation to the whole economy and specific waste streams. The secondary raw materials area measures the contribution of recycled materials to raw materials demand and trade in recyclable raw materials. The competitiveness and innovation area measures private investments, jobs and gross value added, as well as patents related to circular economy sectors.