The circular economy is an economic model that plays a key role in the implementation of the ecological transition and the objectives of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

 

An important step in the path towards a circular economy came with the publication of the technical specification UNI/TS 11820 “Measurement of circularity – Methods and indicators for measuring circular processes in organizations”. The methodology was developed by the UNI 057 Technical Commission which is working on the development of standards on the Circular Economy in which the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security has also actively participated. Manufacturing companies must be able to certify the circularity of the products they place on the market, defining overall sustainability, to allow the consumer to make an informed choice.

 

The UNI/TS 11820 technical specification, together with the ISO 59020 standard, provide an effective tool for the assessment of circularity at an international level for companies and other organizations, contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda, in line with the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) rating.

 

The UNI/TS 11820 technical specification defines a set of circular economy indicators designed to measure, using a base 100 measurement system, the level of circularity of an organization or group of organizations, including Public Administrations. The requirements contained in the specification are applicable to all organizations, regardless of their type or size, the products supplied or the services provided. In detail, UNI/TS 11820 defines how to collect useful information for measuring circularity and provides a set of useful indicators for verifying the effectiveness of the organization’s own strategies.

 

The indicators are applicable at MICRO level (single organization, local authority) and MESO level (group of organizations, inter-organizations, industrial or territorial clusters, industrial areas and districts, production and supply chains of materials, territories, regions, metropolitan areas, provinces). They are divided into 6 categories that include material resources and components, energy and water resources, waste and emissions, logistics, product and service, human resources, assets, policies and sustainability.

NTT specialists, members of the UNI 057 “Circular Economy” technical committee, apply the UNI/TS 11820 standard for measuring circularity.

 

Organizations that decide to evaluate their circularity can obtain several advantages, including:

 

Immediate receipt of the numerical and graphic representation of the level of circularity

 

Dissemination of the circularity result on the market in a credible and reliable way

 

Pursuit of concrete actions and achievement of measurable results

 

Support for the development of the strategic circular economy model

 

Improvement of the positioning of the organization or group of organizations on the market

 

Obtaining guarantees of credibility on the activity carried out thanks to independent third-party verifications

 

Once the level of circularity has been calculated, the organization can evaluate the conformity of the level achieved with respect to what is provided for in the technical specification, through the following activities:

 

Self-assessment by the organization itself

 

Assessment by the customer of the organization interested in this level of circularity

 

Assessment by an independent body, accredited according to UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17029 and UNI EN ISO 14065, as verification of an assertion of circularity

 

The verification declaration is valid for a maximum of one year from the date of issue.