What are the ISO 59000 circular economy standards?
The ISO 59000 family is the set of circular economy documents produced by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 323. Its three core standards were published in May 2024: ISO 59004 sets the vocabulary and principles, ISO 59010 guides the transformation of business models, and ISO 59020 measures circularity. They are method tools, not legal obligations.
A short definition first: a circular economy keeps resources in use for as long as possible, at their highest value, instead of the linear “take, make, use, dispose” pattern. The ISO 59004 page on iso.org links that linear model to resource depletion, climate change and biodiversity loss.
The three standards, as read on iso.org on 11 November 2026:
Standard | Title | Type | What it gives you | Status on 11 November 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ISO 59004:2024 | Circular economy — Vocabulary, principles and guidance for implementation | Guidance (51 pages) | Key terms and concepts, a vision of the circular economy, principles and possible actions for any type of organisation | Stage 90.92 (to be revised); to be replaced by ISO/WD 59004 (stage 20.60) |
ISO 59010:2024 | Circular economy — Guidance on the transition of business models and value networks | Guidance (36 pages) | Assessing the current value creation model, mapping value chains and value networks, building a circularity strategy | Stage 90.92; to be replaced by ISO/WD 59010 (stage 20.60) |
ISO 59020:2024 | Circular economy — Measuring and assessing circularity performance | Requirements and guidance (78 pages) | A standardised process for collecting and calculating data, mandatory and optional indicators, system boundaries, interpretation | Stage 90.92; to be replaced by ISO/WD 59020 (stage 20.60) |
ISO/TC 323 has published other documents that this guide does not cover in detail: two technical reports (ISO/TR 59031:2026 on the performance-based approach, analysed through case studies, and ISO/TR 59032:2024, a review of existing value networks) and ISO 59040:2025, the product circularity data sheet. Its current projects include ISO/AWI 59001 (circular economy management systems, requirements), ISO/WD 59011 (organising a value network towards circularity) and ISO/AWI 26259 (extended producer responsibility, requirements and guidelines).
What “under revision” means. Stage 90.92 means ISO has decided to revise the standard after its systematic review. The second-edition drafts are at stage 20.60, the close of the comment period on a working draft. No content and no publication date have been announced: the 2024 editions are the ones to apply, and a programme built on them will remain usable.
What does ISO 59004:2024 say about circular economy principles?
ISO 59004:2024 provides the common language: it defines key terms, describes a vision of the circular economy, explains its principles and proposes practical actions for any organisation, whether in government, industry or the non-profit sector. It is the entry point to the family.
According to iso.org, adopting the standard should help an organisation deliver more sustainable solutions, improve stakeholder relationships, meet its voluntary and legal obligations more efficiently, contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and become more resilient to resource scarcity. The standard is linked to the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
The principles themselves, and their exact wording, are in the text of the standard, which ISO sells in English, French and Spanish. We do not paraphrase them here. For a quick reading, the EU’s own definition gives the spirit. The annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560 (the VSME standard), read on EUR-Lex on 11 November 2026, sums up circular economy principles in three points:
- eliminate waste and pollution by designing products and materials that can be fed back into the economy after use;
- circulate products and materials, at their highest value, through maintenance, reuse and refurbishment;
- regenerate nature, by improving natural environments and restoring essential ecological functions.
Why the vocabulary matters. On a factory floor in Morocco or elsewhere in Africa, “recycled”, “recovered”, “reused” and “reclaimed” are often used interchangeably. Your EU customer distinguishes them: production scrap fed back into your own process is not post-consumer recycled content, and a repaired pallet is not a recycled pallet. Aligning internal vocabulary with ISO 59004:2024 prevents wrong questionnaire answers and challengeable claims on packaging.
The link with decarbonisation. iso.org links ISO 59004, ISO 59010 and ISO 59020 to the goal of achieving climate neutrality. Less virgin material often means lower upstream scope 3 emissions; longer product life means less production. But circularity does not automatically translate into tonnes of CO2e avoided: reverse logistics or a regeneration process also emit. The comparison is made with a life cycle assessment under ISO 14040:2006 (formerly ISO 14040:1997) and ISO 14044:2006, with their amendments, or a product carbon footprint under ISO 14067:2018, which is under revision (draft ISO/WD 14067.2 at stage 20.60 on iso.org as of 11 November 2026). See our guide to life cycle assessment under ISO 14040 and 14044.
How does ISO 59010:2024 help transform a business model?
ISO 59010:2024 moves from principles to strategy: it guides an organisation that wants to shift its value creation model and value networks from linear to circular, both inside the company and with its partners.
According to iso.org, it complements ISO 59004 with more detailed guidance on assessing the current value creation model, mapping value chains and value networks, and developing circularity strategies. The standard’s FAQ on iso.org summarises the approach in four steps, which we use as a working framework:
- Assess current value networks: who supplies what, who takes back what, where products end up after use and where production waste goes.
- Define strategic circular economy goals, linked to customer expectations and regulatory constraints.
- Build action plans to improve circularity, with owners and deadlines.
- Set metrics to measure performance and impact, which leads naturally to ISO 59020:2024.
The key word is network. Many circular levers cannot be decided alone: taking back transport packaging needs an agreement with the customer, using recycled material needs a reliable recycler, refurbishing parts needs a return loop. iso.org notes that the standard is particularly relevant to sectors with significant resource use and environmental impact.
Some illustrations for companies in Morocco, as examples only:
- a plastic crate manufacturer in Tangier that leases its crates to fruit packing stations instead of selling them, then takes them back, washes and repairs them;
- an automotive supplier in Kenitra that agrees with its customer on a return loop for reusable transport packaging between the plant and Europe;
- a fish cannery in Agadir that finds an outlet for its by-products instead of treating them as waste;
- a paper and board converter that adjusts its formats to cut offcuts and feeds them back into its own process.
None of these changes requires ISO 59010; the standard helps you design them as a coherent business model, with your partners, rather than as a list of isolated actions. It connects with your decarbonisation strategy: see our decarbonisation strategy service and our guide to industrial decarbonisation in Morocco.
How do you measure circularity with ISO 59020:2024?
ISO 59020:2024 sets requirements and guidance for measuring and assessing circularity performance through a standardised process: you define the system boundaries, select the indicators, mandatory and optional, collect and calculate the data, then interpret the results.
According to iso.org, it aims at consistent and verifiable results at several levels: regional, inter-organisational, organisational and product. It can be combined with other social, environmental or economic sustainability assessments. It is the only one of the three standards that contains requirements.
The exact list of mandatory and optional indicators is in the text of the standard; we do not reproduce it. The data you will need, however, overlap with what your customers already ask for under EU reporting rules. The simplified ESRS (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563) and the VSME standard (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560) group the circular economy into three families of flows: resource inflows, resource outflows related to products and services, and waste. The table below turns them into a data collection grid for a plant:
Flow family | Plant data | Where to find them | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
Resource inflows | Mass of materials purchased by type; recycled, reused or renewable share; packaging received | Purchasing, supplier data sheets, recycled content certificates | ISO 59020 measurement, VSME B7 (material flow), PPWR (recycled content) |
Products and services out | Mass sold; intended service life; reparability; packaging recyclability | Product specifications, customer requirements, PPWR recyclability grade | ISO 59020 measurement, customers’ ESRS E5, PPWR documentation |
Waste | Mass by type, hazardous or not; share sent for recycling or reuse; destination | Waste consignment notes, hazardous waste register, invoices from licensed collectors | VSME B7, Moroccan Law No. 28-00, ISO 59020 measurement |
Internal loops | Scrap fed back into the process; transport packaging reused | Production, logistics | Avoids counting the same material twice |
What your customers actually ask. Disclosure B7 of the VSME standard, “Resource use, circular economy and waste management”, asks the company to state whether it applies circular economy principles and, if so, how (paragraph 38). It also discloses (paragraph 39) the total weight of waste generated, split between hazardous and non-hazardous, the share of waste diverted to recycling or reuse, and, in sectors with significant material flows (manufacturing, construction, packaging and others), the annual mass flow of materials used. These items are voluntary for companies with 10 employees or fewer. Large customers subject to the ESRS report under ESRS E5 “Resource use and circular economy” where the topic is material. See our guide to the VSME standard for Moroccan suppliers and our CSRD, VSME and ESG questionnaires service.
Two frequent mistakes. Counting in volume or units instead of mass, which makes rates incomparable from one year to the next. And adding up contractors’ “recycling rates” without checking what really happens to the material: a skip labelled “recovered” may partly end up in landfill. The waste traceability required by Moroccan law is the best evidence you have.
How does the circular economy link to PPWR and exported packaging?
The PPWR turns several circular economy principles into legal duties for all packaging placed on the EU market, including packaging shipped from Morocco. The ISO 59000 standards do not amount to compliance with the regulation, but they measure and manage the same flows.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste has applied since 12 August 2026, with staggered obligations. The most “circular” provisions, re-read on EUR-Lex on 11 November 2026:
PPWR article | Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|
Article 6 (recyclability) | All packaging placed on the market must be recyclable. Recyclability is expressed as performance grades A (95% or more), B (80% or more) or C (70% or more); below 70%, packaging is considered technically non-recyclable | Design for recycling: 1 January 2030, or 24 months after the delegated acts the Commission must adopt by 1 January 2028, whichever is later |
Article 6(3) | Only grades A or B remain allowed | 1 January 2038 |
Article 6 (recycled at scale) | Packaging must also actually be recycled at scale | 1 January 2035, or five years after the implementing acts, whichever is later |
Article 7 (recycled content) | Minimum share of post-consumer recycled plastic in the plastic part of packaging, by packaging type | 1 January 2030 (or three years after the implementing act on the calculation method), then higher rates on 1 January 2040 |
Article 29 (reuse) | At least 40% reusable packaging for transport packaging used within the EU (pallets, crates, boxes, drums and similar), with a 70% aim for 2040 | 1 January 2030 |
Roles (manufacturer, supplier, importer), evidence and deadlines are covered in our PPWR guide for non-EU exporters and in PPWR: what applies since 12 August 2026. Our PPWR packaging page describes our support.
Where ISO 59020 helps. The recycled content rates of Article 7 are calculated as an average per manufacturing plant and per year: exactly the kind of material balance a circularity measurement structures. A recyclability grade, on the other hand, is won at the design stage, and ISO 59010 helps bring the recycler and the customer into that decision.
The Moroccan point not to miss. Moroccan Law No. 28-00 on waste management and disposal, read in the consolidated version published by the General Secretariat of the Government on 30 July 2025 (only the versions published in the Official Bulletin are authoritative), contains three rules that matter here:
- among its objectives (Article 1), the recovery of waste through reuse, recycling or any other operation aimed at obtaining reusable materials or energy;
- products designed, manufactured and imported must have characteristics that reduce, over their life cycle, the quantity and harmfulness of the waste they generate (Article 4);
- the use of products made from recycled waste in the manufacture of products intended for direct contact with food is prohibited (Article 5).
For a Moroccan food packaging manufacturer whose EU customer asks for recycled PET, Article 5 is the first question, before the EU rules of Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/2376: see our article on recycled plastic in food contact. Have the application of Article 5 to your project, including production intended for export, confirmed by the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development before you invest.
What can you tell customers about your circularity?
Only what you can prove, part by part. A “recyclable”, “recycled” or “circular” claim on a product sold to EU consumers is governed by Directive (EU) 2024/825, and its wording by ISO 14021:2026 (formerly ISO 14021:2016).
Since 27 September 2026, EU Member States have applied the provisions of Directive (EU) 2024/825, which adds to the list of commercial practices banned in all circumstances, among others, generic environmental claims without recognised excellent environmental performance, and claims about the entire product when they concern only one aspect of it. “Recyclable packaging” on a jar whose lid is not recyclable falls into the second case. ISO 14021:2026, published in June 2026, frames self-declared claims such as “recycled content” or “recyclable”; a claim that complies with the standard may still be banned by the directive.
Our position: state measured facts (“30% recycled PET in the bottle body, excluding cap and label”) rather than general qualities (“circular packaging”). Details are in our guide to ISO 14021 environmental claims and our article on Directive 2024/825.
Where should a company start with the circular economy?
With a one-year material balance, before any target. Your environmental management system and your carbon inventory already provide much of the data; the ISO 59000 standards tell you how to organise it.
A company certified to ISO 14001:2026 (formerly ISO 14001:2015) has already identified its environmental aspects, including waste and materials: see our ISO 14001 page. A company that has prepared its GHG inventory under ISO 14064-1:2018 (under revision, draft ISO/WD 14064-1.2 at stage 20.60 on iso.org as of 11 November 2026) knows its material purchases and its waste, which feed the upstream and downstream categories of its scope 3. They now need to be connected.
The starting checklist:
For packaging manufacturers, our packaging sector page shows how these topics fit with packaging safety schemes; for food processors, see our food and beverage sector page.