ISO 59020:2024 is the first international standard that establishes quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure how circular your organisation, products or services are. It is designed for any company that wants to substantiate its transition to the circular economy with verifiable data — not empty declarations.
The circular economy is no longer a voluntary aspiration: Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and the EU legislative package for 2026 impose concrete obligations on recyclability, recycled content and extended producer responsibility. In this environment, measuring circularity rigorously and in an auditable manner becomes a business necessity, not merely a sustainability best practice.
ISO 59020:2024 provides the methodological framework to collect, calculate and communicate mandatory and optional circularity indicators: material consumption and disposal, energy and water flows, and associated economic metrics. Unlike proprietary metrics such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Material Circularity Indicator, ISO 59020 is backed by the international standardisation system, making it comparable, auditable and recognised by buyers, investors and public authorities.
At Summum Calidad we support small and mid-sized companies in implementing the measurement system the standard requires: defining the study system, selecting indicators applicable to the sector, structured data collection, calculation of the circularity rate and preparation of the performance report. We have been working alongside organisations in Castilla y León and the Canary Islands since 2007, with around 200 ISO certifications accompanied; we know that the key is not the document itself, but ensuring the indicators genuinely reflect your company's actual operations.
We identify the scope of the study (whole organisation, product line or specific service), map existing material, energy and water flows, and determine which mandatory and optional ISO 59020 indicators are most relevant to your sector and objectives.
We design data-capture templates compatible with ISO 59020, train the responsible staff and oversee the first collection cycle. We review the traceability of each data point and flag the information gaps that must be addressed before calculation.
We apply the standard's methodology to calculate the circularity rate and complementary indicators. We draft the performance report in the format required for internal communication, tenders, sustainability reports or third-party verification.
We prepare your team for the verification audit by an accredited body (AENOR, Bureau Veritas, SGS or another). We coordinate the documentation, respond to non-conformities and ensure the organisation obtains the declaration or certificate it needs.
The operational detail: what we deliver as part of the work and what we keep alive afterwards.
Material flow map
Documented inventory of material inputs and outputs by process, forming the basis for calculating the standard's indicators.
ISO 59020 indicator selection and calculation
Mandatory resource-consumption and recovery-rate indicators, plus optional indicators tailored to the sector (water, energy, recovered economic value).
Circularity performance report
Structured document with results, methodology, data sources and a declaration of conformity with ISO 59020:2024, ready for external verification.
Circularity improvement plan
Prioritised roadmap with actions to increase the circularity rate over the next 12–24 months, linked to the calculated indicators.
Integration with other management systems
Methodological connection with ISO 14001 (environmental management) and ISO 50001 (energy) indicators already in place, avoiding duplication in data collection.
Internal team training
Practical training sessions for the sustainability or quality team that will maintain the measurement system independently in subsequent cycles.
Circularity measurement is strengthened when combined with carbon footprint calculation, ISO 14001 environmental management, ESG-CSRD reporting and, for organisations that already use AI to process production data, with the analytical capabilities of Summum IA.
ISO 14001 manages environmental aspects; ISO 59020 measures circularity: both systems share material flow data and reinforce each other.
View service → calidadCarbon footprint calculation and circularity measurement use compatible material and energy inventories; implementing them together reduces the data-collection effort.
View service → consultoríaISO 59020 indicators feed directly into the circular economy section of the CSRD sustainability report; Summum Consultoría integrates both frameworks into a single reporting process.
View service →ISO 59020 establishes the measurement and evaluation framework; it does not define a certifiable management system like ISO 14001 or ISO 9001. Its main output is a performance report that can be verified by a third party. Formal certification can be issued by an accredited body (AENOR, Bureau Veritas, SGS…) if it verifies that the applied methodology meets the standard's requirements. At Summum Calidad we prepare all the documentation and support you through that verification; we do not certify.
The standard applies to any type of organisation, regardless of size, sector or geographic location. It is particularly relevant for industrial companies with significant material flows, packaging manufacturers subject to Regulation (EU) 2025/40, organisations reporting under the CSRD and companies that tender with clients or public authorities that require circularity indicators.
It depends on the complexity of material flows and the maturity of existing data systems. In organisations with ERP or environmental management systems already in operation, a first complete measurement-and-report cycle can be achieved in 3–5 months. In companies starting from scratch on material traceability, the process typically extends to 6–9 months.
Yes. The quantitative ISO 59020 indicators on material flows, recovery rates and recycled content are compatible with GRI 301 (Materials) and with the resource and circular economy disclosure requirements of ESRS E5. Using them in a coordinated way avoids duplicating data-collection efforts and strengthens the coherence of the sustainability report.
The ISO 59000 family addresses the circular economy from different angles: ISO 59004 defines terms and principles, ISO 59010 guides business model transition, ISO 59020 covers performance measurement and ISO 59040:2025 covers the product circularity data sheet (PCDS). They are complementary standards: ISO 59020 is the central measurement piece that underpins all the others.