Here’s the missing manual for circular business practices
With pressure mounting to prevent waste and hit lagging emissions targets, the first science-based framework for circular business practices has launched. The Global Circularity Protocol (GCP) emerged Nov. 11 during COP30 in Belém, Brazil, supported by scores of large corporations.
The protocol, issued by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the One Planet Network, is an attempt at a single, interoperable structure to scale circularity. They position it as akin to the GHG Protocol for the circular economy.
Reaching net zero climate emissions isn’t possible without designing out waste and reusing, recirculating and recycling far more materials, the backers insist. For example, if widely adopted by business, the framework would save 100–120 billion tons of cumulative materials through 2050, according to President and CEO Peter Bakker of the WBCSD, based in Geneva. In addition, it would avoid the equivalent of more than a year of global carbon dioxide emissions.
“The Global Circularity Protocol for Business sets a new benchmark for corporate performance and accountability,” Bakker said in a press statement. “The GCP packs a serious punch.”
The protocol’s development over the past three years has enlisted 150 experts across 80 organizations. WBCSD member corporations involved include Apple, Cisco, Google, IKEA, Panasonic and Trane. Non-corporate partners include the African Circular Economy Alliance, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
“The GCP represents a significant step forward in aligning businesses around measurable, scalable circularity action,” stated Tove Andersen, president and CEO of TOMRA, a Norwegian technology company that is among those driving the development of the protocol. “By creating a shared framework for progress, the GCP will accelerate the shift from intention to impact – driving systemic change and informing policies that advance a circular economy.”
Mandates coming
The GCP comes as regulatory pressures are rising to hold business accountable for waste at scale. The European Union is implementing its Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which imposes eco-design requirements for high-emitting industries and bans companies from destroying unsold clothing and shoes.
Extended producer responsibility laws are rising for packaging and fashion in Europe and in the U.S., led by California and with proposals active in several other states.
The EU Circular Economy Act is expected to be proposed next year, addressing structural barriers to circularity. Europe is requiring a central registry for digital product passports by July 2026, which could potentially simplify tracing materials and product flows.
What’s inside the playbook
The 236-page playbook for the protocol walks businesses through the following steps to embed circulartity throughout their operations and supply chains:
Define the scope: Frame the main use case for circularity, such as to steer the company internally, mitigate resource risks or satisfy external reporting. Define whether to focus on products, materials or business units. Identity stakeholders and gauge their readiness. The output: a purpose statement and roadmap for creating data systems to measure circularity.
Map circularity “hotspots”: Identify how the organization will align with GHG or CSRD standards. Trace how materials flow across the value chain, from the raw commodity to a product’s end of use. Conduct a double materiality review over risks, opportunities and major impacts. The output: a map of material flows and a ranked list of “levers” for circularity, such as design, reuse, repair or recycling.
Quantify circular performance: Measure the inflows and outflows of recycled, renewable and recovered materials. Consider factors such as the material intensity per product. Assess how circular materials compare against virgin ones. Align metrics with established standards. The output: baseline metrics for using circular materials and creating value from them.
Manage the findings: Find quick wins or inefficiencies in initial findings. Set targets and progress indicators connecting circular metrics to financial and sustainability goals. Then assign teams governance roles. The output: a circularity strategy and action roadmap that links to business planning, investment and risk management.
Disclose and engage: Use the protocol’s framework to report results. Tailor reports for investors, regulators, customers and suppliers. Then, secure third-party assurance for credibility. The output: standardized circularity reporting, ready-made for ESG filings and supply chain transparency.
Next steps
Finally, just as the GHG Protocol evolved over time, the GCP is a work in progress. Areas of refinement include helping companies expand product-level pilots to circular efforts at scale. Setting a science-based target methodology for circularity across sectors is another goal.
“The ambition is to both refine organization-level assessments and provide the connective tissue between business action, financing, policy development and system-level transformation,” the report noted.
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