Upskilling, job creation and the green economy
Build a More Circular Business
A circular economy keeps products and materials in use for longer, reduces waste and helps businesses get more value from the resources they already use.
The aim is simple:
Buy less → Use for longer → Reuse → Repair → Share → Refill → Recycle only when something can no longer be used
Recycling is important, but circularity starts much earlier. Measuring only recycling rates can miss whether a business is actually reducing resource consumption and keeping products in use for longer. [bitc.org.uk]
1. Understand what your business uses and throws away
Choose a recent complete year as your starting point.
Baseline year: ____________________
Look at the main products and materials your business buys, uses and disposes of.
| What are you measuring? | Where can I find this? | Your baseline |
|---|---|---|
| Products and materials purchased | Purchasing records, invoices or accounts | £_____ / _____ items / _____ kg |
| Packaging purchased or received | Purchasing and delivery records | _____ kg |
| Single-use items purchased | Purchasing records | _____ items |
| Items repaired rather than replaced | Maintenance or repair records | _____ items |
| Second-hand/refurbished items purchased | Purchasing records | _____ items |
| Items reused internally | Stock/asset records | _____ items |
| Items donated, sold or passed on for reuse | Disposal/asset records | _____ items / _____ kg |
| Total waste produced | Waste contractor invoices or records | _____ kg/tonnes |
| Residual/general waste | Waste contractor invoices or records | _____ kg/tonnes |
| Material sent for recycling | Waste contractor records | _____ kg/tonnes |
| Food waste | Waste contractor records | _____ kg/tonnes |
Don't have all of this information? Start with what you can measure reliably and improve your records over time.
2. Find your biggest opportunities
Look at what your business regularly buys and throws away.
Ask:
- Could we avoid buying it?
- Could we use less of it?
- Could we reuse or refill it?
- Could we repair it rather than replace it?
- Could we share, rent or lease it instead of owning it?
- Could we buy it refurbished or second-hand?
- Could we choose something more durable or repairable?
- Could a supplier take it back for reuse or remanufacture?
- Could someone else reuse what we no longer need?
- If it cannot be reused, can it actually be recycled?
3. Choose your circular economy actions
| Area | What could you do? | What will your business do? | By when? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avoid unnecessary purchases | Review frequently purchased products and remove items that are not needed | __________________ | ______ |
| Single-use products | Replace disposable items with reusable or refillable alternatives | __________________ | ______ |
| Packaging | Reduce packaging, buy in bulk, introduce refill systems or work with suppliers on reusable packaging | __________________ | ______ |
| Equipment & furniture | Repair, refurbish, reuse or buy second-hand before purchasing new | __________________ | ______ |
| IT & electrical equipment | Extend useful life, repair or purchase refurbished equipment where appropriate | __________________ | ______ |
| Materials | Reduce material use and choose reused, recycled or recyclable materials | __________________ | ______ |
| Food | Reduce surplus and food waste and redistribute usable surplus where appropriate | __________________ | ______ |
| Sharing & leasing | Share, hire or lease equipment that is only occasionally required | __________________ | ______ |
| Reuse | Find another use internally for unwanted products, equipment or materials | __________________ | ______ |
| Donations & redistribution | Sell, donate or redistribute usable items rather than disposing of them | __________________ | ______ |
| Suppliers | Ask suppliers about durability, repair, recycled content, packaging and take-back schemes | __________________ | ______ |
| Waste | Improve separation and recycling for materials that cannot be kept in use | __________________ | ______ |
4. Measure the difference
Record your starting point before taking action and measure it again afterwards.
| What are you improving? | Before | After | Your improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Products/materials purchased | _____ items/kg | _____ items/kg | _____ fewer |
| Single-use items purchased | _____ items | _____ items | _____ avoided |
| Packaging used | _____ kg | _____ kg | _____ kg avoided |
| Products repaired | _____ items | _____ items | + _____ repaired |
| Items reused internally | _____ items | _____ items | + _____ reused |
| Second-hand/refurbished items purchased | _____ items | _____ items | + _____ |
| Items donated/sold for reuse | _____ items/kg | _____ items/kg | + _____ reused |
| Total waste produced | _____ kg | _____ kg | _____ kg reduction |
| Residual/general waste | _____ kg | _____ kg | _____ kg reduction |
| Food waste | _____ kg | _____ kg | _____ kg reduction |
| Materials recycled | _____ kg | _____ kg | _____ kg |
| Spend on new products/materials | £_____ | £_____ | £_____ saved |
5. Calculate your improvement
Waste reduction
Waste before − waste after = waste avoided
Example:
10,000 kg − 7,500 kg = 2,500 kg waste avoided
Percentage reduction in waste
Waste avoided ÷ waste before × 100 = % reduction
Example:
2,500 ÷ 10,000 × 100 = 25% reduction
Single-use items avoided
Items used before − items used after = items avoided
Example:
12,000 cups − 2,000 cups = 10,000 single-use cups avoided
Products kept in use
Repaired + reused + refurbished + donated/sold for reuse = products kept in use
Example:
60 repaired + 25 reused + 10 refurbished + 15 donated = 110 items kept in use
Money saved
Previous annual spend − current annual spend = saving
Example:
£12,000 − £9,500 = £2,500 saved
6. Track your key circular economy indicators
You do not need dozens of indicators. Choose the measures most relevant to your business and track them each year.
Core measures
Total waste: ______ kg/year
Residual/general waste: ______ kg/year
Waste avoided: ______ kg/year
Single-use items avoided: ______ items/year
Items repaired or refurbished: ______ items/year
Items reused or redistributed: ______ items/year
Second-hand/refurbished purchases: ______ items/year
Packaging avoided: ______ kg/year
Cost savings: £______ /year
Optional percentage measures
Waste reduction: ______ %
Reduction in new products/materials purchased: ______ %
Reduction in single-use items: ______ %
Increase in products repaired/reused: ______ %
7. Create your Circular Economy Plan
| What do we want to improve? | What will we do? | How will we measure it? | Starting point | Target | By when? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| __________ | __________ | __________ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| __________ | __________ | __________ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| __________ | __________ | __________ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| __________ | __________ | __________ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
8. Choose your first three actions
Action 1
We will: __________________________________________
We will measure: __________________________________
Starting point: __________
Target: __________
By: __________
Action 2
We will: __________________________________________
We will measure: __________________________________
Starting point: __________
Target: __________
By: __________
Action 3
We will: __________________________________________
We will measure: __________________________________
Starting point: __________
Target: __________
By: __________
9. Review your progress every year
At least once a year:
- Recalculate how much waste your business produces.
- Compare resource use with your baseline year.
- Record how many products and materials have been avoided, repaired, reused or redistributed.
- Review purchases and identify further opportunities to buy less or buy differently.
- Review your suppliers and packaging.
- Record any financial savings.
- Update your Circular Economy Plan.
- Set your next actions.
Look for these signs of progress
Purchasing of new materials: ↓
Single-use products: ↓
Packaging: ↓
Waste produced: ↓
Residual/general waste: ↓
Products repaired: ↑
Products reused: ↑
Use of refurbished/second-hand products: ↑
Products redistributed rather than discarded: ↑
Money saved through resource efficiency: ↑
About this tool
This tool is designed to give businesses a simple starting point for reducing resource use and waste and keeping products and materials in use for longer.
Circular economy performance is broader than recycling alone. Business in the Community notes that traditional measures such as waste generated and recycling rates do not, on their own, capture true circularity. [bitc.org.uk]
The UK Government's current residual-waste policy aims to reduce residual waste in England and identifies repair, reuse and recycling as part of the move towards a more resource-efficient economy. [gov.uk]
Skills, Education & the Green Economy
Developing environmental knowledge and skills supports the transition to a lower-carbon, more resilient and resource-efficient economy. The Department for Education's Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy includes climate education, green skills and careers, net zero, climate resilience, biodiversity, operations and supply chains. [gov.uk]
Climate Action Plans for education settings
The Department for Education's strategy stated that by 2025 all education settings should have a nominated Sustainability Lead and a Climate Action Plan. This includes non-domestic early years settings, schools, multi-academy trusts, colleges and universities. The requirement is now also included in DfE Estate Management Standards. [gov.uk]
A range of national programmes can help education settings develop plans, build skills and involve young people in environmental action.
Let's Go Zero
Let's Go Zero supports schools, colleges and nurseries to reduce emissions and develop climate action plans.
Climate Action Advisors operate across England and offer free, tailored support. They can help education settings understand their carbon emissions, develop climate action plans and find relevant resources and funding opportunities. [letsgozero.org], [letsgozero.org]
Climate Ambassadors & Sustainability Support for Education
Department for Education support includes Sustainability Support for Education and the Climate Ambassadors programme. Support is available to help education settings identify actions, develop climate action plans and access relevant tools and resources. [gov.uk], [sustainabi...ion.org.uk]
Eco-Schools
Eco-Schools provides a seven-step framework for environmental action in education settings, covering an environmental review, action planning, involving the wider community, monitoring and evaluation, and an Eco-Code. Settings completing the programme can work towards the Eco-Schools Green Flag. [eco-schools.org.uk], [eco-schools.org.uk]
National Education Nature Park
The National Education Nature Park enables nurseries, schools and colleges to improve their sites for nature while involving children and young people in environmental action. The accompanying Climate Action Awards support the development of skills and knowledge in biodiversity and sustainability. [nhm.ac.uk]
What could we measure locally?
To demonstrate participation, skills development and progress over time, useful measures include:
| Measure | Annual result |
|---|---|
| Education settings with a Sustainability Lead | ______ |
| Education settings with a Climate Action Plan | ______ |
| Education settings receiving climate-action support | ______ |
| Schools participating in Eco-Schools | ______ |
| Eco-Schools Green Flags achieved | ______ |
| Education settings participating in the National Education Nature Park | ______ |
| Environmental training / skills sessions supported | ______ |
| People participating in environmental skills or training activities | ______ |
| Businesses supported with green skills / resource efficiency | ______ |
These measures provide a concise way to evidence activity in climate skills, environmental education and development of the green economy alongside the wider business-support programme.