The National Standardization body of France AFNOR has submitted a proposal to ISO to establish a new technical committee (TC) “Circular economy”.
Priority will be given to the developments standards in the field of Circular economy to develop requirements, frameworks, guidance and supporting tools related to the implementation of circular economy projects, to establish concepts related to the circular economy, to agree on common terminology (e.g. definitions and principles) and to provide practical guidance on the principles and practices of circular economy management. The Technical Committee will develop implementation documents from any organization or group interested in the implementation of circular economy projects, incl. commercial organizations, public service organizations and non-profit organizations.
The TC will contribute to sustainable development and especially to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The proposed work programme if this new field of activity, if accepted, is the following:
1. Management System Standard for circular economy (Type A)
A Management System Standard will set a series of requirements that can be used by an organization to demonstrate the progress towards achieving the implementation of a circular economy project. This standard will specify the requirements for a management system for taking into account the different issues of circular economy that can be addressed by an organization to improve its environmental, economic and social performance. This standard is intended for use by organizations wishing to manage their circular economy projects in a systematic way that contributes to sustainable development.
2. Standard on implementation guidance (Type B)
The Standard will provide practical implementation guidance for organizations wishing to establish a circular economy Management System for a project that meets the requirements of the standard above. This standard will be designed for all type of organisation.
3. Standard for supporting tools
A Management System related Standard will give further information and guidance with supporting tools, e.g. terminology, performance indicators, maturity matrix and assessment. This will help organizations identify the appropriate set of metrics to be used in order to measure the progress made in the implementation of the project.
The progress made for the issues of circular economy are measured in the light of sustainable development.
4. Guidelines on the issues of circular economy projects
A standard (or a technical specification) will give guidance and advice on the specific issues of circular economy that are not yet dealt with in an existing Technical Committee. Examples of such issues are: industrial symbiosis, economy of functionality.
Subjects that are already in the scope of existing TCs such as Ecodesign in ISO/TC 207 (or ISO 20400 on sustainable procurement) are not covered in this proposal.
5. Collection of examples of implementation of circular economy projects
A technical report will gather concrete examples of circular economy projects implemented in accordance with the reference framework given by the Management standard.
In case of national interest, BDS can approve the creation of ISO/TC on Circular economy. If the establishment of ISO/TC is accepted by the national standards bodies – members of ISO, Bulgaria can obtain P- or O-membership in the work of the newly established committee.
The national stakeholders can provide their position on the proposal for this new field of ISO technical activity by 04.09.2018
For more information here