A global framework to measure, manage and communicate business circularity 

The Global Circularity Protocol for Business (GCP) accelerates the transition to a circular economy by providing a global framework for measuring, managing and communicating an organization’s circular performance and its impacts. Developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in collaboration with the UNEP-hosted One Planet Network (OPN), the GCP enables organizations to embed circularity at the heart of strategy and operations – accelerating the transition from linear to circular systems.

The Protocol offers a step-by-step approach to frame, prepare, measure, manage, and communicate progress, enabling organizations to track material flows, assess impacts across climate, nature, equity and business performance, and communicate results through comparable, decision-useful information.

Key features of GCP v1.0

• Global framework: Provides standardized scopes, indicators and methodologies for circular performance and impact assessment.
• Systemic approach: Recognizes circularity as interconnected across corporate, environmental, economic and social systems.
• Interoperable and aligned: Built on WBCSD’s Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) and aligned with GRI, ISO 59020, ESRS, IFRS S1/S2 and the GHG Protocol to ensure consistency across sustainability reporting.
• Flexible user journey: Designed for organizations of all sizes, sectors and geographies, the Protocol can be applied to a material, product or business level to reach various application use cases.
• Progressive user journey: Enables organizations to begin their circularity journey from any starting point and progress through three levels of their circular performance and impact assessment.
• Co-developed through collaboration: Developed by WBCSD and UNPEP-hosted One Planet Network with input from over 150 experts and organizations across business, policy and science, ensuring credibility, inclusiveness and real-world applicability.

GCP v1.0 has been co-developed by WBCSD and UNEP’s One Planet Network, with guidance from the Business, Policy and Science Advisory Committees, and with input from over 150 experts across 80 organizations. This governance has contributed to the scientific rigor, business relevance, and inclusivity across regions, industries, and value chains for the Protocol and its development.

Version 1.0 marks the beginning of a journey. It provides the core concepts, methodologies and indicators organizations need to start assessing and improving circular performance with clarity, transparency and confidence. As adoption grows, future iterations will expand the Protocol’s scope and deepen its integration with financial and ESG reporting frameworks – driving greater harmonization and accelerating the global transition to a regenerative economy.

Read it now to begin improving your organization’s circularity performance and contribute to the systems transformation the world needs.