Support for the Implementation of the Circular Economy Strategy

The Austrian Circular Economy Strategy (KLWSAT) was adopted and published in December 2022. Since then, the BMLUK has been working on its implementation in coordination with stakeholders. Specific next steps have been defined for individual areas of impact.

Concerning "Developing Standards for the Circular Economy" (subsection of section 3.1), the following next implementation steps were planned: "Advancing standardization for the circular economy at the national and international levels and using it to shape the framework conditions." At the level of the international standards organization ISO, TC 323 Circular Economy was established, which is essential for developing international standards relevant to the circular economy.

In 2024, the Austrian Society for Environment and Technology (ÖGUT) published the short report "The Austrian Circular Economy Strategy in the Context of the ISO Standards for Circular Economy". This provides a brief overview of the content of the first three published international circular economy standards (ISO 59004:2024, ISO 59010:2024, ISO 59020:2024) and shows interested institutions how they can use the ISO standards as guidance and support in implementing circular products and business models.
In 2025, an overview of national and international bodies with circular economy-related activities will be compiled, focusing on topics relevant to the Ecodesign Regulation.

Concerning "Development of Monitoring and Progress Reports" (Section 2.6), ÖGUT supported the development of an indicator system for monitoring and evaluation and the preparation of progress reports.

Suitable indicators are an important basis for monitoring and evaluation on the path to a circular economy. ÖGUT, with the involvement of experts, has developed a proposal for an indicator system for implementation. The Circular Economy Strategy was developed with the aim of identifying a system of approximately 15–20 key indicators, taking into account their representativeness and the effort required for data collection.

Based on this, a proposal for a monitoring concept for the Austrian Circular Economy Strategy was developed. This concept maps ecological, economic, and structural impacts and incorporates the transformation priorities defined in the Circular Economy Strategy as well as the priorities of the Bioeconomy Strategy.

A progress report on the implementation of the Circular Economy Strategy was already submitted in 2024, with ÖGUT providing technical support for the final editing. The 2024 progress report is already available online. For the 2025 progress report, ÖGUT was responsible for compiling and editing expert input from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection (BMLUK) (as well as other federal ministries and the Federal Environment Agency) and for developing text elements on the seven transformation priorities.