Measuring Circularity Within Metals Value Chains: Opportunities and Challenges
4 June 2025
Improving circularity in the mining industry and global systems is critical to achieving a net-zero, nature-positive future underpinned by responsibly sourced materials. Real progress demands robust metrics to measure, manage, and advance circularity—both at mining operations and across their broader value chains.
To support this transition, ICMM and the International Copper Association (ICA) partnered with Circle Economy Consulting to explore how circularity can be meaningfully assessed in the mining and metals sector. This paper identifies potential indicators and highlights the importance, opportunities, and challenges of measuring circularity effectively.
- Establishing ways to measure circular practices enables the mining industry to support the global shift towards circularity, align with sustainability goals, and engage meaningfully in policy development. By tracking circularity through robust metrics, companies can maximise operational value, reduce waste and environmental impacts, and contribute more effectively to the responsible production and management of metals within urban stocks.
- There is no one-size-fits-all solution for assessing circularity in metals value chains. Different aspects – such as product versus process circularity – require distinct indicators, and the diversity of business models calls for adaptable key performance indicators (KPIs). Effective metrics must:
- Address both process and product circularity.
- Consider impacts and opportunities across the entire value chain.
- Be tailored by companies to reflect their specific business models, operating contexts, and locations.
- While this work marks an important step forward, further research is needed to refine, test, and develop the proposed indicators. Continued collaboration across the sector will be essential to building a shared, practical framework for measuring and improving circularity in mining and metals.
