Overview
ISO 59010:2024 - Circular economy - Guidance on the transition of business models and value networks provides practical, organization-level guidance for shifting from linear to circular value creation. Applicable to any organization regardless of size, sector or region, the standard helps teams define goals, map existing value chains and networks, select circular actions, and design measurable transition plans. ISO 59010 is part of the ISO 59000 family and complements ISO 59004 (framework) and ISO 59020 (circularity indicators).
Key topics and technical requirements
ISO 59010 structures the transition into clear steps and requirements that practitioners can apply:
- Goal definition and boundary setting
- Define transition objectives and the boundary for circularity efforts (scope of products, services, flows or networks).
- Understanding current value creation and mapping
- Document existing value models, supply chains, and flows across value networks.
- Assessment of circularity performance
- Evaluate current resource use, losses and circularity performance (see ISO 59020 for indicators and metrics).
- Actions that contribute to circular economy
- Consider actions to create added value, retain value (e.g., reuse, remanufacturing), recover value (e.g., recycling), regenerate ecosystems, and enable transition (digital/physical infrastructure, governance).
- Strategy development and economic rationalization
- Identify gaps and opportunities, select strategies aligned with circular economy principles, and assess economic feasibility.
- Transitioning the business model
- Review and redesign business model elements: value proposition, key activities, resources, customer segments, relationships, channels, costs, revenues and partnerships.
- Transitioning value networks
- Establish shared objectives, governance structures, and shared infrastructures to enable inter-organizational circular flows.
- Monitoring and continual improvement
- Implement measurement, review and improvement cycles to track progress and refine the transition.
Practical applications and who should use it
ISO 59010 is designed for practical use by:
- Sustainability managers and corporate strategists seeking to redesign products, services and business models.
- Supply chain and operations teams mapping material and information flows for circularity.
- Product managers and R&D teams developing reuse, repair or remanufacturing strategies.
- Policy makers, industry consortia and value network coordinators creating shared infrastructures or governance for circular supply chains.
- Consultants and auditors advising clients on circular transition roadmaps and performance monitoring.
Typical applications include developing circular business-model roadmaps, mapping value networks to identify retention/recovery opportunities, aligning partners around shared circular objectives, and integrating circularity metrics into management systems.
Related standards
- ISO 59004 - Framework and core concepts for circular economy (complementary, higher-level).
- ISO 59020 - Guidance on circularity indicators and measurement.
- ISO/TR 59032 - Survey examples of business-model and network changes (informative).
Keywords: ISO 59010:2024, circular economy, business models, value networks, transition guidance, value creation, supply chain, resource management, circularity metrics.
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