Measuring corporate sustainability: a unified indicator system for circular economy implementation

Abstract

The transition towards Circular Economy (CE) models has intensified the demand for unified measurement systems that integrate sustainability, policy, and corporate reporting. Existing CE tools—such as Circulytics, CTI, and MCI—primarily address environmental efficiency, while social and governance aspects remain underrepresented, limiting comparability and strategic integration. This study develops the Model of Standardised Circularity (MSC), a framework of 44 harmonised indicators derived from the systematic analysis of six internationally recognised CE tools. The MSC aligns environmental, economic, and social indicators with the Circular Economy Goals (CEGs), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), establishing a coherent structure for assessing CE implementation. It introduces maturity levels and value-chain perspectives to enhance applicability across diverse sectors and organisational stages. By embedding social and innovation-related metrics, the framework connects circularity with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies. Results indicate that the MSC achieves 70% coverage of key CE impact areas—outperforming existing tools—and enables consistent reporting and benchmarking. The model therefore provides both theoretical and practical contributions, positioning circularity as a measurable dimension of corporate sustainability and supporting data-driven progress toward the SDGs.