ETC CE Report 2026/2 Quantification of the Environmental Benefits of Circular Economy Actions

19 May 2026

An Vercalsteren, Maarten Christis, Pieter Fonteyn, Daan Vandervelde, Philip Nuss

This ETC CE report provides the detailed analysis underpinning the EEA Briefing ‘The environmental and climate benefits of a circular economy (European Environment Agency’.

This report builds on previous work carried out by the ETC-CE to assess the potential benefits of circular economy (CE) interventions. An earlier report on this topic focused on the environmental benefits of doubling the circular material use rate (CMUR) (ETC-CE Report 2025/03). A key finding of that study was the need for more refined assumptions and a structured methodological approach to effectively quantify the environmental benefits of CE interventions.

One of the main challenges in this area is the variation in CE definitions across studies, which influences both results and conclusions. Therefore, the first part of this report focuses on defining the core and broader scope of the circular economy and on identifying key CE interventions within this framework.

In addition, the assumptions embedded in CE modelling approaches can significantly affect the results. The second part of the report therefore develops a methodological approach to quantify the potential effects of CE interventions on Europe’s economic structure and, consequently, on the environmental impacts associated with European consumption.

Overall, this study aims to improve the robustness of CE impact modelling in order to better inform future policy and research, and to quantify the potential reductions in environmental impacts resulting from CE interventions.