A practical guide to getting into circular economy

For the first time, a document proposes a common understanding grid, laying out the terms, principles, and practices that all of the actors agree to work with on the subject of circular economy: voluntary standard CP XP X30-901, published 15 October in the AFNOR collection. “It proposes a 3 x 7 matrix covering the three dimensions of sustainable development (environment, economy, society) and the seven areas of action of the circular economy: sustainable procurement, ecodesign, industrial symbiosis, functional economy, responsible consumption, extension of service life, and the effective management of materials and products at the end of their life cycle. When you launch a circular economy project, you have to consider all these questions,” explains Olivier Cartigny, AFNOR project manager, who led the working group that developed the standard.

The group XP X30-901, which you can still join, brings together about fifty stakeholders: associations, industrialists, service companies, local authorities, institutions including the Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, as part of its road map on the circular economy of April 2018. The document is the outcome of their work, rather than a top-down one, and is a tool to assist in project management: it provides requirements for planning, implementing, evaluating and improving a circular economy project. Like other management system standards (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, etc.), it is based on the principle of continual improvement. It is intended as a guide for the project manager, the sustainable development manager or the manager himself, including local authorities, to ensure that the project will truly achieve a circular economy. “The standard raises the question of changing the business model. It calls into question corporate strategy,” says Corinne Del Cerro, development manager at AFNOR Standardization, in charge of the topic of circular economy.

https://www.afnor.org/en/news/practical-guide-circular-economy/