A circularity measurement toolkit for manufacturing SMEs.

Abstract

The development and adoption of the concept of circular economy in the last two decades have been remarkable. However, despite its widespread adoption, little progress has been made regarding its measurement, especially in manufacturing SMEs. This paper, therefore, proposes a Circularity Measurement Toolkit (CMT) which enables the assessment of the degree of circularity in manufacturing SMEs. A conceptual CMT framework, which provided the basis for the proposed tool and that defined the different types of circular practices and a classification or levels of circularity was developed from an extensive literature reviewed. To ensure the structure’s accuracy of the proposed CMT in terms of requirements to be measured, the monitoring process and actions involved, the tool was verified through a Delphi-study. Furthermore, its practicality was validated through a case study approach in a manufacturing SME. This paper contributes by filling a gap in the CE measurement field through the proposal of the CMT. Besides providing an evaluation of the degree of circularity in the practices of manufacturing SMEs, companies can also employ the proposed CMT to identify corrective actions or future efforts for the adoption of CE practices.