Measuring Circularity: Tools and Methodologies

Exploring the Principles and Their Application to Atlas Concorde Pack

The circular economy goes beyond the traditional linear ‘take, make, dispose’ model by promoting a more efficient and sustainable use of resources. This approach makes it possible to optimise materials, reduce waste and improve product life cycle management.

Measuring circularity is essential to understand the environmental impacts of a product and identify potential areas for improvement.

To assess circularity, we must consider two main references. The first is ISO 14021, the international standard for ‘Environmental labels and declarations - Self-declared environmental claims’, and the second is Eurostat EU 27 – 2022, the database collected by the statistical office of the European Union.

The ISO 14021 standard defines the requirements for self-declared environmental declarations, including product declarations, symbols and graphics. It’s in this standard that we find the definitions of the aspects necessary to assess the circularity of a product. According to the standard, a recycled material is any material that has been reprocessed from recovered material into a new product or component. A renewable resource, on the other hand, is a material that is derived from biomass and can be continually replenished.

Another key aspect is the disassemblability of the product, and according to the ISO 14021 standard, a product is considered "designed for disassembly" if it possesses a characteristic that allows it to be taken apart at the end of its useful life in such a way that components and parts can be reused, recycled, recovered for energy, or disposed to landfill.

For what concerns the end of life of the product, Recyclability means that a product, its packaging or associated components can be diverted from the waste stream through available collection and treatment systems, allowing them to be reused as raw materials. Furthermore, energy recovery refers to the process of collecting and converting waste materials into useful energy, reducing environmental impact and optimising the use of resources.

In addition to these characteristics, when assessing the circularity of a product it is also important to consider how many of its components have a third-party environmental certificate, guaranteeing compliance with recognised sustainability standards.

For end-of-life considerations, the analysis is based on end-of-life scenarios based on official Eurostat EU 27 - 2022 data, ensuring accuracy and reliability in assessing the fate of materials once they reach the end of their useful life. This allows an accurate assessment of how products are disposed of, whether they are recycled, sent for energy recovery, or disposed to landfill.

Using these two key references, we were able to accurately assess the circularity of our innovative packaging solution, Atlas Concorde Pack.

Atlas Concorde Pack is a patented cardboard packaging system ensuring protection and convenience. Its wraparound structure preserves ceramic slabs during transport, while three integrated handles simplify installation. Additionally, it enhances safety and logistical efficiency, and led to significant advancements in cicularity.

Results of the analysis on Atlas Concorde Pack

The analysis highlighted significant progress in circularity:

✅ 79% of packaging materials come from renewable sources

✅ +95 percentage points increase in materials with third-party environmental certification

✅ The recycling rate nearly doubled, reaching 60.92%

✅ 99% of the packaging is disassemblable, facilitating material separation and recovery

All circularity measurement parameters comply with ISO 14021, while the end-of-life scenario is based on official Eurostat EU 27 – 2022 data, ensuring accuracy and adherence to international standards.

Logistics Efficiency and Waste Reduction

In addition to the circularity benefits, Atlas Concorde Pack has improved transport efficiency and reduced material usage:

📉 -11% reduction in packaging weight per transported unit

📦 -37% reduction in packaging weight per single slab, increasing transport capacity from 7 to 10 slabs per unit.