ISO 59040:2025 enables businesses to share circular economy data across supply chain
ISO publishes new methodology that enables organisations to exchange standardised product circularity information with all relevant stakeholders, laying the foundation for Digital Product Passports.
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has published ISO 59040:2025, introducing a standardised methodology for sharing circular economy information between organisations through Product Circularity Data Sheets (PCDS).
This framework enables businesses to share verifiable product circularity data while safeguarding confidential information, addressing information gaps within the supply chain.
ISO 59040 defines the requirements for completing a PCDS, applicable to organisations of all types, sizes, and industries when acquiring or supplying products. It also specifies the standardised format for creating PCDS templates based on product characteristics.
Standardised approach to circularity data
Designed to integrate throughout the supply chain, the PCDS functions as a third-party verification tool to ensure the reliability of circularity data. Its key objectives include providing circularity data to all relevant stakeholders, improving efficiency in data exchange, and encouraging better product circularity performance.
According to the standard, organisations must establish and maintain PCDS templates that include mandatory and additional statements covering six key areas:
- Company and product information
- Material inputs
- Circular production
- Durability and extended lifetime
- Circularity at end of product use period
- Circularity benefit
The standard provides specific examples of what a PCDS might contain, such as declarations that “the product contains no known hazardous substances according to the relevant cited reference standards or regulations” or “the product contains 25-50 per cent of post-consumer recycled materials.”
Digital product passports
One of the uses for the data collected through the PCDS that has been suggested is integration into digital product documentation systems, forming a foundation for Digital Product Passports (DPPs).
By establishing a standardised structure for reporting product circularity, PCDS ensures that circularity data remains comparable across industries and supply chains through third-party verification. This methodology could be compatible with emerging EU Digital Product Passport requirements introduced under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.
Discussing how ISO 59040 could be harmonised with DPPs, Jérôme Petry, Convenor of ISO TC 323/WG5, commented: "ISO 59040 is a voluntary international standard laying down a methodology for communicating relevant product circular properties throughout the value chain in a bottom-up system.
"The last step would be to put the information received from all downstream suppliers within an EU-DPP (which would a regulatory requirement for a company putting a product onto the single market). As soon as first elements of DPP’s content will be known, it can be envisaged to add relevant statements in the next revision of ISO 59040.
"What is important is that ISO59040 already enables horizontal requirements which are valid for any kind of product and facilitates interoperability which is a key point in the ESPR."
ISO 59040 implementation challenges
Recognising the potential challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the standard recommends training programmes to help smaller businesses adopt the necessary systems.
The document acknowledges that SMEs may require additional time and resources for implementation and suggests a transition period to ease the adoption process.
ISO 59040 is part of the ISO 59000 family of standards, which are designed to harmonise understanding of the circular economy and support its implementation and measurement across various sectors.
