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Austria's leading training, certification and assessment organization Quality Austria, together with its Swiss counterpart SQS, developed an objective assessment model for assessing the circularity. The approach is completely new: For the first time, Circular Globe does not examine individual products for their recyclability, but rather the entire system of a company. The circular economy is currently also a fixed point in the Federal Government's “Comeback Plan” and is constantly being promoted with vigor at EU level.
"Circular Globe is used to measure the degree of circular maturity of organizations according to objective criteria and is suitable for companies of all types and sizes," explains Konrad Scheiber, CEO of Quality Austria. The basic idea for the label comes from the Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems (SQS). The catalog of criteria for the evaluation of the companies was drawn up in a cross-border cooperation with the experts from Quality Austria. The Circular Globe model, which is now being presented to the public for the first time in both countries, is later to be rolled out on a pan-European level and pursues a completely new approach: It is not individual products that are checked for circularity, but the entire company using a systemic approach.
Making the departure from the throwaway society visible
"With the development of Circular Globe we would like to make a positive contribution to supporting all courageous companies in turning away from the throwaway society," explains more precisely Felix Mueller, CEO of SQS. The two partner organizations from Austria and Switzerland, as accredited certification bodies, feel particularly committed to the values of independence and objectivity. SQS is the leading Swiss organization for certification and assessment services and was founded in 1983. Quality Austria was founded in 2004 by four quality management associations (ÖQS, ÖVQ, ÖQA, AFQM) and is also continuously doing pioneering work in Austria.
Progress is reviewed annually
Circular economy generally takes a far-reaching approach. On the one hand, existing products should remain in use for as long as possible through repairs, refurbishing, resale, etc. On the other hand, the materials used should already be designed during product design in such a way that they can be returned to the product cycle again and again through recycling. In order to receive the Circular Globe Label, interested companies in Austria have to go through a two-stage assessment by the experts from Quality Austria. Subsequently, the companies are issued appropriate labels depending on the degree of maturity and scope of the concept. The progress is recorded in annual interim assessments and, once the three-year period has expired, is again examined in detail and checked.
Companies interested in the Circular Globe Model can encourage their employees to participate in the series of courses Circular Globe Transformation Coach - Certification Course familiarize yourself with the topic.
Photo: from left to right: Konrad Scheiber (CEO, Quality Austria) Felix Müller (CEO, SQS - Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems) © pexels.com / FWStudio / Quality Austria / SQS
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