Industrial ecology is the circular economy business model at the inter-organisational level. To manage the transition to the circular economy, it is necessary to be able to measure progress. In my master’s thesis I demonstrated that, while various indicators can be used to measure circularity, 6 indicators are mandatory. Calculating them requires measuring the quantities — in tonnes — of reused, recycled, and renewable materials. In the Estonian economic environment, however, it is not possible to obtain these data. This is a problem in the sectors that the EU Circular Economy Act designates as priorities. For Estonia, the most important of these is the construction and real estate sector.
Specifically, the new Construction Products Regulation assigns new content to performance and conformity declarations and adds the obligation to produce a digital product passport. Whereas previously, obtaining CE marking for a construction product required declaring only energy efficiency, under the new regulation all environmental essential characteristics and 16 product-specific environmental aspects must be declared. Put simply — whereas until now only energy efficiency, carbon footprint, and waste volumes have been required, measurement must now also extend to reusability, modularity, ease of renovation, recycling capacity, and the separability of different materials. And if you ask why all of this is necessary, the answer is: otherwise you cannot get a digital product passport.
In June 2025 I defended my master’s thesis in industrial ecology at the Faculty of Engineering of Tallinn University of Technology, on the topic Circular Village: A Circular Economy Business Model in Real Estate Development. As this is the first analysis of a circular economy business model and circularity quantification in Estonia, the thesis includes an extensive conceptual framework analysis. All connections to the EU legislative initiatives that determine the need for circularity measurement are also laid out.
The master’s thesis is available here: