Climate action is out. At least on the current political agenda. At the same time, the Circular Economy seems to be experiencing a genuine surge in interest. Why? We explore the potential locked inside circular business models and why companies should engage with this topic sooner rather than later.
The Circular Economy as a lever for decarbonisation.
The 21st century confronts humanity with enormous ecological challenges. The global material footprint grew by 70 % between 2000 and 2017 alone. Researchers expect it to double again over the next 30–40 years. Even today, half of all greenhouse gas emissions and 90 % of biodiversity loss and water stress are attributable to the extraction and processing of resources. Recycled raw materials currently account for only 6 % of materials used worldwide. (Source: Austrian Circular Economy Strategy 2022).
These figures make one thing clear: climate protection and resource conservation are two sides of the same coin. Circular Economy measures alone have the potential to reduce global GHG emissions by more than 50 % while simultaneously saving money and resources.
Reducing resource consumption is therefore one of the central levers for sustainable development. But it demands more than efficiency gains — it requires a fundamental transformation: away from the linear 'take–make–use–waste' economy, towards a Circular Economy in which materials, products, and components remain in use for as long as possible. For this to succeed, however, new mindsets, new business models, and intelligent digital tools are needed.
Circular models strengthen the economy
The topic of Circular Economy is one of the strategic priorities of European sustainability policy. Despite the deregulatory intent of the Omnibus Regulation, the EU is firmly committed to its circular agenda. The aim is to reduce dependence on raw-material imports from Asia and the United States, to strengthen security of supply, and to make the European economy more resilient and competitive.
The Circular Economy is also seen as a major growth driver for the European economy. The total circular economy market was estimated at USD 556 billion in 2023, with projections exceeding USD 1,300 billion by 2030. (Source: nextmsc.com).
In particular, Austria plays a significant role in the Circular Economy. Numerous world market leaders in recycling technologies — in plastics processing, metal recovery, and waste logistics, for example — are headquartered here. This strong industrial base, combined with research expertise and environmental policy ambition, makes Austria an important driver of Europe's circular transformation.
The Austrian Circular Economy Strategy (2022) defines the Circular Economy through ten core R-principles that serve as a guide for businesses and policymakers: Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose, Recycle, and Recover.
These principles describe the priority sequence of a circular economy — from avoidance and redesign through reuse and repair to material or energy recovery.
Current barriers for companies
When it comes to implementing the Circular Economy in practice, companies face several fundamental barriers today:
1. Lack of understanding within organisations
Many companies do not know where their circular potential lies. The 10-R principles (Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose, Recycle, Recover) have barely been operationalised in practice. How can processes, products, or business models be assessed against these stages, and which steps offer the greatest lever for CO₂ reduction? These questions remain unanswered.
2. Fragmented data landscapes
Data is scattered across ERP, maintenance, or sustainability systems. There is no integrated analytical logic that brings information together and links it to concrete circular potential using AI methods.
3. Lack of quantitative decision-support tools
Current tools focus on life cycle assessments or recycling rates. But they do not reveal which organisational, technical, or business-model measures — such as refurbishment, Product-as-a-Service, or take-back systems — would have the greatest impact on resource efficiency or emissions reduction. As a result, the Circular Economy in practice is often reduced to recycling — that is, to the lower levels of the R-hierarchy. Companies lack an intelligent, scalable instrument that makes circular opportunities visible, assessable, and actionable.
Digitalisation and the Circular Economy
The EU Circular Economy Action Plan (2020) therefore explicitly calls for the use of digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make sustainable products the norm and to eliminate waste. The Austrian Circular Economy Strategy (2022) also emphasises that the opportunities offered by digitalisation have barely been tapped so far.
NetCero works precisely at the intersection of data, AI, and circular transformation.
One of our core focus areas for 2026 is therefore the "AI Circular Economy Potential Check" — which enables companies of all sizes and sectors to systematically identify, prioritise, and monitor circular potential across the entire value chain. The solution maps the Austrian 10-R principles as its assessment framework and translates them into concrete organisational, technological, and business-model-related indicators and measures.
With this, we aim to make a significant contribution to embedding the Circular Economy in businesses — and, at the same time, to help address the climate and resource crisis.
