Users’ Perception of the Circular Economy Monitoring Indicators as Proposed by the UNI/TS 11820:2022: Evidence from an Exploratory Survey

Abstract

The measurement of material, energy, water, and waste flows in organizations represents a key challenge in the enhancement of a circular economy and sustainable development. In November 2022, the experimental technical standard “Measurement of Circularity—Methods and Indicators for Measuring Circular Processes in Organizations” (UNI/TS 11820:2022) was introduced, which provides, for the first time, a set of 71 quantitative, qualitative and semi-quantitative indicators for the assessment of the levels of circularity in organizations at the micro- and meso-level. First, the present exploratory research aimed to illustrate the main characteristics of the novel technical standard. Second, through an online-based questionnaire among 105 managers and employees working in various industrial sectors in Italy, the research aimed to investigate their level of awareness and perception of selected circular economy monitoring indicators. Such an analysis will help to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the current version of the technical standard. The research applied descriptive statistics and regression models to estimate the association between the perception of selected circular economy indictors and awareness of the concepts of “circular economy”, “lifecycle thinking”, “sustainable development” and “corporate social responsibility”. Although a limited number of respondents took part in the research, the research explored, for the first time, the main features related to the experimental UNI/TS 11820:2022, proposed an original analysis of users’ perception and awareness in its application, and suggested possible opportunities towards its enhancement from theoretical and managerial perspectives.