Why measure circularity?
I’m about to embark on a journey exploring and evaluating circularity metrics. Here’s a few thoughts on why measuring circularity is, well, important.
1. Making the case
Moving from a linear to circular economy is no small feat. It requires new business models and legislation. This means convincing investors and policymakers that these changes are worthwhile.
If you’ve ever met an investor, you will know it’s hard to convince them to part with their money unless you can demonstrate a return.
You’re also more likely to convince policymakers (and politicians) to introduce legislation and programs if you can tell them the likely benefits to the environment (e.g. GHG emission savings) and economy (e.g. # jobs created).
2. Tracking progress
Just like weight loss, the journey to more circular practices won’t happen overnight. It requires a sustained effort.
Organisations that track their performance better understand how their efforts translate into outcomes. If you’re not getting closer to your goals, then you need to change what you’re doing. But without measuring your progress, you may spend a lot more time treading water before realising you need to change course.
3. Celebrating success
By tracking your progress, you will know when you’ve hit your goals. It’s important to pause and celebrate when you’ve reached a milestone. This helps build team morale. Not only that, showcasing your achievements can help you attract further investment in your circular product, policy, or initiative.
Not all measures are good measures
In summary, measuring circularity is beneficial. But a word of caution: not everything that can be measured is worth measuring.
There are thousands of possible metrics for measuring the journey from linear to circular. But not all metrics are relevant to your organisation, or practical/cost-effective to measure.
I will be reviewing and evaluating circularity metrics, considering which measures are helpful, and why.
what does the metric tell you? (and what doesn’t it tell you).
what data does it rely on? Is that data reliable?
how easy or practical/cost-effective is it to measure over time ? (considering time, effort, etc), and
other practical considerations
I look forward to sharing my journey and invite you to hop onto my mailing list if you’d like to receive updates on my findings.