MONITORING CIRCULAR ECONOMY AT THE MICRO-LEVEL

Abstract

There has been an increased interest in the circular economy (abbr. CE) at the global level in recent years, which is an adequate alternative to the existing linear economic model which follows „take-make- dispose“ step-by-step plan. The CE's primary goal is to reduce the extraction of natural resources and the generated amount of waste by achieving the economic, environmental and social components of sustainable development. However, the problem arises when it is necessary to monitor the progress towards the CE since there are no commonly accepted methods for measuring the CE. To ensure the successful replacement of the current linear economic model with a CE model, it is required to develop the ability to monitor and report on the CE, which implies the development of indicators at macro, meso and micro-levels. These circularity indicators are an obstacle in monitoring the circular economy since there are no accurately developed uniform indicators which can be used in every country or business organization. Therefore, this paper reviews the indicators that can be used to monitor the CE at micro-level in the Republic of Serbia because business organization are identified as key actors in transitioning to CE.