What's Inside the WBCSD & UN Global Circularity Protocol?

The global economy is entering what the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) calls a decisive decade for business. 

Despite progress on decarbonisation, material use and waste continue to rise, threatening climate goals, biodiversity and resource security. 

The extraction and processing of materials already accounts for more than half of global GHG emissions and more than 90% of biodiversity and water stress impacts. 

In response, the Global Circularity Protocol for Business (GCP) sets out a science-based framework to help organisations move beyond the linear “take–make–waste” model and embed circularity at the core of their strategies, operations and disclosures.

A global framework to measure and manage circularity

The GCP is a voluntary framework that gives organisations a standardised way to measure, manage and communicate circular performance. 

It is designed for businesses of all sizes and sectors, from multinational corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises and can be applied at product, material, business unit or corporate level. 

The GCP is built around five stages:

• Frame
• Prepare
• Measure
• Manage
• Communicate

These stages aim to guide companies to define their objectives and use case, map value chains and hotspots, set organisational and operational boundaries, select indicators, analyse results and disclose performance. 

It introduces standardised scopes for material flows (A–D) and a material flow based methodology that links circular strategies to outcomes for climate, nature, social equity and financial value.

“The Global Circularity Protocol for Business provides a globally aligned, science-based framework to manage circular performance,” says Peter Bakker, President and CEO of WBCSD, in the report.

“It enables organisations to embed circularity at the heart of strategy while generating credible information for investors, stakeholders and policymakers," he adds.

“At the halfway point to 2030, the gap between ambition and delivery remains wide: while decarbonisation is accelerating, material use and waste continue to rise, undermining both climate and nature goals.

“Net zero cannot be achieved without circularity.”

Circularity as a strategic business advantage

The Protocol positions circularity not just as a compliance exercise but as a source of competitiveness and resilience. 

“At Philips, circularity is a powerful lever to reduce material use and our overall impact on climate and nature, while driving customer value and business success,” says Harald Tepper, Global Lead of Circularity and Director of Sustainability at Philips, in the report.

“Healthcare is a material-intensive industry. 

“Embedding circular practices and innovations can help hospitals with reducing their environmental footprint while improving healthcare resilience and patient outcomes.

“That’s why we collaborated and co-championed the Global Circularity Protocol. 

“GCP1.0 offers a clear and unified approach to set ambitious and adequate goals for circularity – a much needed step towards a sustainable and healthy future.”

By focusing on material flows, it helps businesses reduce exposure to resource volatility, regulatory change and supply chain disruption while identifying opportunities for circular innovation in products, services and business models. 

The 2024 GCP Impact Analysis suggests that widespread adoption could double the pace at which companies reach advanced circularity maturity, deliver cumulative global material reductions of 100–120 billion tonnes by 2050 and avoid an estimated 67–76 gigatonnes of CO₂e between 2026 and 2050. 

These projected gains highlight circularity’s potential to cut costs, unlock new revenue streams and support long-term value creation in a resource constrained world.

“For years, Toyota has been committed to resource efficiency, including easy-to-dismantle design, waste management in the production process and proper treatment of ELVs,” writes Yumi Otsuka, Global Head of Sustainability at Toyota Motor Corporation, in the report. 

“There is no change in our commitment, even now when the circular economy is conceptualised. 

“The GCP, a useful framework to visualise circular initiatives in business, allows Toyota to strategise circular business models through stakeholder dialogue. 

“Toyota alone cannot realise a circular economy future.

“We will intensify our joint efforts to accelerate implementation of and transition to a circular economy.”

A progressive and inclusive journey for all organisations

Recognising that companies start from very different points, the GCP offers a progressive user journey with three levels: initiation, expansion and consolidation. 

At Initiation level, organisations focus on material flows under direct control and begin with at least one core metric on circularity or material use. 

Expansion adds a fuller set of metrics and brings stakeholder consultation into the assessment of impacts, risks and opportunities. 

Consolidation extends to material flows under indirect control, integrates impact metrics such as GHG emissions and biodiversity and links circularity more deeply with risk management and governance. 

This modular structure allows businesses in diverse geographies and sectors, including those in the Global South, to adopt circular practices at a realistic pace while still generating comparable, decision-useful data.

“This milestone marks the delivery of the first global framework to measure, manage and communicate business circularity – accelerating the transition from linear to circular systems,” says Mark McKenna, Global Sustainability Director at Arcadis, writes on LinkedIn.

“It comes during a period of decreasing global circularity, which stands at 6.9% in 2025.”

Interoperability, governance and the road ahead

A defining feature of the Protocol is its interoperability with existing sustainability and reporting frameworks.

It is aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative, ISO circular economy standards, the GHG Protocol, IFRS S1/S2, European Sustainability Reporting Standards and integrated reporting. 

This enables organisations to use one data foundation for circularity across multiple ESG processes, reducing reporting burdens and improving consistency. 

Governance of the GCP is anchored in a multistakeholder structure that includes: business, policy and scientific advisory committees, coordinated by the WBCSD and the United Nations Environment Programme’s One Planet Network. 

Version 1.0 is explicitly framed as a starting point; future iterations aim to add science-based target setting for circularity, a dedicated “clean the loop” module on pollution and toxicity and deeper integration with finance and policy communities. 

Together, these developments are intended to turn circularity from a concept into a measurable, mainstream business reality.