Page 25 - Environmental_Circular Economy

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Chapter 4 - The environmental

impact of the circular economy

4.1 How to measure the environmental impact of the circular economy?

The positive impact of circular economy on the environment is not as obvious as it can primarily appear.
It is often considered as environmentally friendly by default, as it means an increased resources efficiency
compared to a linear economy. However, researchers (Melanie Haupt & Stefanie Hellweg Science Direct,
s.f.) highlight that the hierarchy of value retention processes does not always result in the highest
environmental benefit. “Closed-loop recycling is not always more beneficial than open-loop recycling, and
remanufacturing is not always environmentally preferable to recycling.”

Researcher have focused on this question, intending to define criteria for the measurement of this
environmental impact and evaluate the effects that can be reached thanks to the implementation of
circular principles. In the research paper “Measuring the environmental sustainability of a circular
economy” (Melanie Haupt & Stefanie Hellweg Science Direct, s.f.), a method is proposed relying on an
indicator called REV, for Retained Environmental Value. This indicator measures the share of environmental
impact from the production of a material or product that is retained in products and materials recovered
from reuse, remanufacturing, or recycling.

As this table shows the REV of different stream products / materials, and while the highest REV means
a more favourable retention process, we can see that washing and reuse of glass is for instance much more
environmentally friendly than a recycling to glass sand.