Knowledge Library

A widely used metric for assessing how effectively materials are kept in use across a product's life cycle. Single score from 0% (linear) to 100% (fully circular).

A thoughtful weekly newsletter from one of the leading voices in the circular economy, exploring the intersection of business strategy, leadership, and systemic change. Blends practical insights with reflections on the human side of sustainability transitions.

One of the most popular circular economy newsletters, curating the latest success stories, industry trends, job opportunities, and key events from around the world into a concise weekly digest.

A simple exercise — spend 10 minutes a day tracking what is being thrown away, given away, or left unused, noting what it was, how much, and what it cost. Builds a baseline before any strategy.

Understand systemic drivers and disruptive trends for circular economy. Explore approaches to assess sustainability and circularity, analyse circular business strategies, design own innovation journey, and evaluate readiness.

Module 1: linear economy effects and circular opportunities. Module 2: practical tools (Circularity Compass, Value Hill). Module 3: models (Product-as-a-Service, Sharing). Module 4: real-world case studies.

Course on the measurement and assessment of key performance indicators (KPIs) in circular economy efforts.

A 1-hour webinar offering a brief introduction to the circular economy by a Swedish expert with 20+ years of experience in the field.

Join the Western Balkans Circular Economy Hub network of businesses, organisations and professionals across the region. Monthly members meetings, exclusive offers.

Macedonia's circular economy priorities, opportunities and strategic direction — practical insights for aligning the company with the transition.

Identifies the most critical challenges companies face when transitioning to service-based business models, and a method for how to succeed.

Introduction to circular economy with particular emphasis on application in small and medium enterprises. In Serbian — accessible to Macedonian audiences.

An accessible overview of the circular economy policies a manufacturer exporting to the EU needs to know about.

Helps marketers navigate the challenges and opportunities of shifting to a circular economy and use it as a brand-value lever.

Current state of textile waste management in North Macedonia — challenges, opportunities for recycling and reuse, upcoming policy obligations.

How AI can offer substantial improvements in product design, operations, and infrastructure optimisation as part of the circular transition.

A book intended for business owners who want to understand and apply the principles of circular economy through specific business models.

A comprehensive suite of canvases — audit canvases (assess current state), ideation canvases (strategy), stakeholder canvases (engagement), KPI canvases (monitor).

A good first read before exploring any of the deeper design tools.

Helps reinforce the brand through a circular innovation strategy and find the right messaging.

A worksheet that helps a team think about how products and materials can flow back into useful cycles instead of becoming waste.

Helps a design team make smarter material choices by asking the right questions about what materials go into products and their impact on the wider system.

A workshop worksheet that walks a design team through the redesign of a product around safe and circular criteria.

A platform for maximising profit per unit of time, giving manufacturing leaders full operational visibility. The service begins with a free on-site efficiency assessment, benchmarking, and evaluation of improvement potential. Companies identified as having the potential to increase efficiency by at least 10% are offered access to the platform through a monthly subscription model, with no upfront capital investment required for connectivity.

Beginner-level understanding of the circular economy, including its history, benefits, and the importance of shifting away from the linear economic model. Includes case studies from the Western Balkans. Beginner level — 4 hours to complete.

Leading free tool for simplified Life Cycle Assessment — used by SMEs, universities and consultants.

Useful goal-setting framework. Identifies five universal goals that a company can adapt as a starting structure for SMART targets.

The most credible business-led framework for measuring circularity at company level. Closely aligned with ISO 59020 and ESRS E5.

An accessible institutional explainer in plain language, useful as a first reading to share with employees who have never encountered circular economy before.

ESRS E5 covers circular economy under EU sustainability reporting. From 2025, large companies are required to report against it; smaller manufacturers exporting to the EU will be asked by their customers to provide ESRS-aligned data.

International standards for circular economy: terminology, frameworks, measurement and assessment, transition guidance.

A searchable case study database of circular economy good practices — by sector, by topic, by region.

Free, hour-long expert sessions on practical circular topics. Useful as ready-made training material to discuss in a team meeting.

Western Balkans regional initiative to collect 100 best examples from companies across all six WB countries that have successfully implemented circular solutions.

ESPR entered into force in July 2024 and will set circular design requirements for almost all products sold in the EU.

Identifies which product categories the EU is regulating first under ESPR. Companies that make these products should align their design improvements with the timelines.

DPP will be mandatory for many product categories under ESPR from 2027 onwards. Requires structured data on materials, repair, end-of-life and supply chain.

The most widely used recyclability evaluation methodology for plastic packaging and components in Europe. Particularly relevant for plastics manufacturers.

Sectoral agenda for the plastics industry covering circular targets, regulatory direction and business priorities to 2030.

Filterable collection of toolkits, articles, case studies and reports on circular fashion. Useful for textile manufacturers.

Filterable collection of toolkits, articles, case studies and reports on circular plastics.

Sedex and EcoVadis are the most widely used third-party supplier sustainability assessment platforms.

International standard for energy management. Even without formal certification, the framework gives a structured way to set targets, monitor performance, ensure continuous improvement.

ESRS E1 (climate), E2 (pollution), E3 (water), E5 (resource use) — EU's mandatory reporting standards covering operational sustainability.

PPWR entered into force in February 2025 and affects every manufacturer with packaging — incoming or outgoing.

Accessible introduction to circular business models with concrete examples — useful when starting to explore alternatives to outright product sales.

The strategic document that drives most EU regulation a Macedonian manufacturer will face when exporting to the EU.

Helps organisations rethink their business model or projects and create long-lasting impacts. Embraces systems thinking.

A tool to analyse the company's market or industry and gather key information about resources, end users, competitors, technologies, legal policies — to identify new opportunities.

Official EU portal on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: regulation text, guidance for importers and non-EU producers, default values, and the verification rules. Steel, iron and aluminium are in scope from 1 January 2026.

Global multi-stakeholder standard for responsible steel production — covers ESG, recycled content, embedded carbon and chain of custody. Increasingly required by EU steel buyers.

Introduction to the standard metal product certificates (Mill Test Certificate, EN 10204 type 3.1/3.2 inspection certificates) used to declare chemical composition, mechanical properties and recycled content.

Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals — the textile sector's leading chemistry framework. Used by major EU brand customers (Tesco, Inditex, H&M, OTTO). Identifies substances that should not be used in textile manufacturing.

The EU's framework strategy for the textile sector — covers ESPR for textiles, Digital Product Passport, recycled content thresholds, destruction bans, and Extended Producer Responsibility.

Authorised collective operator under the Macedonian Law on Management of Special Waste Streams for textile take-back, collection and recycling obligations. Local entry point for textile producers.

Authorised collective operator under under the Macedonian Law on Management of Special Waste Streams for textile take-back and recovery — alternative to Teksomak. Local entry point for textile producers.

Leading textile certification framework. STeP covers sustainable production, MADE IN GREEN covers traceability, STANDARD 100 covers chemical safety. Often required by EU buyers.

Standard for products containing recycled materials (textile, plastics). Verifies recycled content, chain of custody, social and environmental practices, chemical restrictions.

Under ESPR, destruction of unsold consumer textiles is banned for large companies from 19 July 2026, and for medium-sized companies from 19 July 2030.

Industry-standard sustainability self-assessment for textile, apparel and footwear. Higg FEM (facility module) and Higg MSI (materials sustainability index) are widely used by EU buyers.

European plastics industry association. Guidance, position papers, sector data on circular plastics, recycled content, and regulation.

Certifies the traceability and content of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. Increasingly required for verified compliance with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

Leading certification for circular and bio-based plastics, including chemically recycled feedstock. Mass-balance methodology useful for technical applications.

EU directive restricting specific single-use plastic products (straws, cutlery, cotton bud sticks, food containers, etc.). In force since 2021.

European recycling capacity by polymer, regional infrastructure, technology readiness, quality standards. Critical for plastics converters planning significant PCR (post-consumer recycled) use.

The European Commission's own free online tool to estimate how much electricity a rooftop solar installation would generate, month by month.

A short animated video by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation — the world's leading circular economy organisation — explaining in plain, visual language what circular economy is and why it matters.

A practical platform for companies building DPP-ready supply chains. Collects verified sustainability data beyond tier 1 suppliers, automates mass balance bookkeeping, and generates ESPR-compliant digital product passports. Relevant for formalising supplier partnerships around circular materials and preparing for upcoming DPP deadlines.

A practical step-by-step guide to identifying and implementing industrial symbiosis — where one company's by-product or waste stream becomes another's raw material input. Covers how to map resource flows, find potential partners, and build exchanges that reduce costs and virgin material use.

Official European Commission page covering the EU Plastics Strategy and its goals for making all plastic packaging reusable or recyclable by 2030, reducing plastic waste and the use of single-use plastics, and restricting intentionally added microplastics. Relevant context for understanding the regulatory direction for the plastics sector.

Official database maintained by the European Chemicals Agency listing all substances subject to authorisation or restriction under EU REACH regulation. Use it to check whether any additives, stabilisers, plasticisers or flame retardants used in your production appear on the list. Updated regularly as new substances are added.

EU voluntary commitment platform for plastics circularity, bringing together producers, converters, recyclers, brand owners and member states. At this level, joining the Alliance signals credible circular leadership and opens doors for policy engagement and partnership opportunities.

European association representing non-ferrous metals producers, transformers and recyclers. Publishes practical guidance on recycled content, scrap quality, CBAM and circular economy transition relevant to aluminium, copper and other non-ferrous metalworking companies.

European association representing non-ferrous metal producers, processors, and recyclers. It publishes practical guidance on recycled content, waste quality, CBAM, and circular economy transition pathways relevant to aluminium, copper, and other non-ferrous metal operations. A valuable resource for benchmarking industry practices, staying ahead of regulatory developments, and understanding the sector positions likely to shape EU legislation in the coming years.

Detailed study by the European Parliamentary Research Service on DPP implementation specifically for textiles. Covers data requirements, infrastructure, supply chain implications and timeline. Essential reading for companies beginning DPP preparation.