Successful Launch of the Circle Assessment Pilot Project

We are pleased to announce the completion of the first phase of the Circle Assessment pilot project, with our partner ACTIAM, a responsible asset management organisation with support of one of their portfolio companies, Smurfit Kappa, a leading corrugated and paper-based packaging company. Continued investment in a linear economy results in long-term, system-wide impacts and risks. Moving to a circular economy is increasingly recognized as an opportunity to reduce risk and uncover new growth opportunities. However, while a variety of tools exist for measuring and quantifying sustainability topics and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, no tool currently exists that provides a comprehensive framework for circularity and specifically quantify how circular organisations are.To address this, Circle Economy developed the Circle Assessment to establish a global standard to help investors and companies assess where organisations can create value by following the principles of a circular economy. Via an online survey, the Circle Assessment measures organisations against circular objectives and provides recommendations for how to capitalise on opportunities to adopt circular focused business practices. As one of the launching customers of the assessment, ACTIAM desired a more comprehensive assessment for circularity and the ability to dive deeper into the non-financial criteria beyond the ESG scores they use currently. ACTIAM stated that “we are interested in deploying this assessment to multiple companies within our investment portfolio in order to identify leaders in the realm of circularity and reward them accordingly.” ACTIAM approached Smurfit Kappa for the pilot program to enable positive engagement with them on the topic of the circular economy.Smurfit Kappa’s reaction to the completion of the first phase was that “we were happy to support by testing the tool and providing feedback on the tool itself and how companies can interpret circularity in their businesses.”As the data is gathered from more companies within their portfolio, ACTIAM will have the opportunity to identify the key change makers and boost engagement with those investees that need help achieving circular objectives through our Circle Portfolio. This tool will provide investors with an overview of their portfolio and illustrate where each company lies in regards to the circular objectives measured during the Circle Assessment.With both ACTIAM and Smurfit Kappa’s feedback, the Circle Assessment has made significant strides towards becoming a global standard for evaluating a company’s circularity. We plan to engage in additional pilots with companies and partners to further test and refine the tool. If you are interested in learning more about the Circle Assessment or would like to participate in the pilot program, please contact shyaam@circle-economy.com.