Framework
The framework groups the elements of the circular economy into modules. Select a tile to see the theory and the matching loopflow.garden case.
Data
Tech
Theory - module description
Data · D1
The backbone of the framework: a range of circularity KPIs and conventional KPIs in one shared schema. This is where the current situation can be compared quantitatively with future developments.
Primary actionable items
Further methods
ISO 59020:2024 "Circular economy - Measuring and assessing circularity performance" is the measurement standard within the ISO family on the circular economy. It specifies how a delimited system determines its circularity performance at a given reference date: set system boundaries, quantify resource flows, calculate indicators, verify the calculation, report - and repeat periodically. It distinguishes four system levels, from the region down to the individual product; loopflow works at the product level. It is complemented by ISO 59004 (terminology and principles), ISO 59010 (transforming business models) and ISO 59040 (Product Circularity Data Sheet).
For the data framework this results in a clear division into two parts. Mandatory are a small number of narrowly defined indicators on resource inflow and outflow: the shares of reused, recycled and renewable materials as well as actual reuse, recycling and biological restoration. Everything else - service life, repairability, energy, water, economic viability - is supplementary. We adopt this division deliberately: the core is collected for every product so that figures remain comparable across product generations; the supplementary part only where it actually influences a decision.
Compared with the original loopflow KPI list, this means a sharpening rather than an expansion: material consumption and material origin as well as end-of-life and take-back form the mandatory core. Design for repair, modularity, logistics, certificates and user integration are retained but move into the supplementary layer - they are steering variables, not accounting variables. The conventional KPIs (cost, dimensions, weight, unit numbers) run alongside unchanged, because without them no trade-off becomes visible.
To be checked: The standard is subject to a fee (CHF 225). The indicator names in the illustration come from the freely available draft standard and from a presentation by the responsible ISO committee, not from the purchased text of the standard. Before any binding use, for instance in a funding application, they must be checked against the original. A revision of the standard (Edition 2) is in progress.
Practice - loopflow.garden case
This is how we implement the selected element on our own product line, loopflow.garden.
D1
The data framework for the ONE Form has been designed: master data, bill of materials, material, processes, end-of-life. Assumptions are kept in a separate assumptions log - see the example data below.
Example data
This is what the principle "data, not claims" looks like in practice: an extract from the circular data framework of the ONE Form, the basic component of loopflow.garden. Every value carries its source - and where data is missing, that is stated just as openly.
| Field | Value | Source / status |
|---|---|---|
| Material details | recycled PETG, weather-resistant, food-safe | verified |
| Material origin | production waste from nobufil, Krems (post-industrial recyclate) | verified |
| Production location | 1070 Vienna, 3D print (test phase) | verified |
| Dimensions | 10 × 10 × 16.18 cm, proportion by the golden ratio | verified |
| Wall thickness | 1.5 mm (material minimisation) | verified |
| Material quantity | 141.63 g total (of which 104.09 g form and the rest support material) | verified |
| Sales price, test phase | €8 (3D print) | verified |
| Target sales price, series | €1.99 (injection moulding) | verified |
| R-strategy positioning | R1 Redesign (plant pot) + R2 Reduce (mathematically optimised form, wall thickness) + R3 Reuse (modularity) + R8 Recycle (material) | verified |
| Loop type | technical loop (PETG) | assumption |
| CO₂e per unit | will only be published once the emission factor source is documented | data gap |
Extract from the Module 1 data framework (system boundary cradle-to-cradle). The full impact documentation is being built here on loopflow.eu, step by step along the modules.
Feedback
The framework is currently in beta and is still being expanded. We welcome feedback, and suggestions for improvement on the individual topics in particular. Please just enter them here: