Manage Resource Use and Circular Economy Reporting Under ESRS E5
Circular Economy helps organizations manage the material, resource, product, and waste information required for sustainability reporting.
Within EcoActive, resource inflows, resource outflows, waste, policies, actions, targets, supporting evidence, and disclosures stay connected throughout the reporting process — helping teams manage ESRS E5 information with greater consistency and traceability.
Circular Economy
What Is Circular Economy in Sustainability Reporting?
Circular economy in sustainability reporting focuses on how organizations use resources, keep products and materials in circulation, and manage waste across their activities.
It helps reporting teams answer three core questions:
What resources and materials
enter the organization?
How are products and materials used and designed for circularity?
What happens to products, materials, and waste when they leave the organization?
Under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, these matters are addressed by ESRS E5 — Resource Use and Circular Economy.
Learn more from EFRAG’s ESRS E5 requirements.
RESOURCE INFLOWS
What Comes Into the Organization?
Resource inflows cover the materials and resources entering the organization. Relevant information can include:
- Key materials used
- Material quantities
- Secondary or recycled materials
- Critical or strategic raw materials where relevant
RESOURCE OUTFLOWS
What Leaves the Organization?
Resource outflows cover products, materials, packaging, and waste leaving the organization. Relevant information can include:
- Product durability
- Repairability
- Recyclability
- Packaging
- Waste generated
- Recovery
- Disposal
ESRS E5 | RESOURCE USE AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY
What Does ESRS E5 Require?
The revised ESRS adopted by the European Commission on July 3, 2026 retains ESRS E5 — Resource Use and Circular Economy as the environmental standard covering circularity and resource use. The revised standards will become legally effective after completion of the scrutiny process and publication in the Official Journal.
ESRS E5 covers five core reporting areas:
Policies
Actions and Resources
Targets
Resource Inflows
Resource Outflows
Waste
What Are You Managing Under ESRS E5?
| Reporting Area | Information Managed |
|---|---|
| Resource Inflows | Key materials · Total weight of key materials · Secondary resources · Critical and strategic raw materials where applicable |
| Resource Outflows — Products | Expected durability · Repairability · Designed recyclability of products and packaging |
| Resource Outflows — Waste | Waste streams · Total waste generated · Hazardous and non-hazardous waste · Waste diverted from disposal |
| Policies and Actions | Circular economy policies · Actions · Resources |
| Targets | Resource use and circular economy targets · Progress tracking |
HOW IT WORKS
Circular Economy Reporting: Step by Step
Circular economy reporting is broader than waste reporting. Organizations need to understand how resources move through the business and connect that information with materiality, targets, evidence, and disclosure requirements.
1. Determine Materiality
Identify whether resource use and circular economy are material sustainability matters for the organization. EcoActive’s Double Materiality Assessment helps identify the related impacts, risks, and opportunities that determine which ESRS E5 disclosures are relevant.
2. Identify Resource Inflows
Determine which materials and resources entering the organization are relevant to reporting. Capture information such as:
- Material type
- Quantity
- Source
- Secondary resources / recycled content
- Relevant raw-material classifications
3. Assess Products and Resource Outflows
Identify the products, materials, and packaging relevant to circular economy reporting. Maintain information needed to assess relevant characteristics such as:
- Durability
- Repairability
- Recyclability
- Packaging recyclability
4. Collect Waste Information
Capture waste information across relevant operations. Organize the data by:
- Waste stream
- Hazardous or non-hazardous classification
- Total waste generated
- Waste diverted from disposal
- Reuse, recycling, and other recovery routes
- Disposal routes, where applicable
5. Connect Policies, Actions, and Targets
Link circular economy metrics with the policies and actions intended to improve resource efficiency and circularity. Connect relevant performance indicators with ESG Targets to monitor progress.
6. Validate and Review
Review reported information for:
- Completeness
- Units
- Classifications
- Reporting boundaries
- Methodology
- Source evidence
- Reporting-period consistency
7. Connect Information to Disclosure
Carry approved metrics, policies, actions, targets, and supporting evidence into the relevant disclosure requirements.
This creates a connected reporting path: Resource → Metric → Target/Action → Evidence → Review → Disclosure
How EcoActive Supports Circular Economy Reporting
Circular economy information can be distributed across procurement, operational systems, product teams, waste providers, sustainability teams, and spreadsheets.
EcoActive brings the information required for circular economy disclosure into the wider ESG disclosure management process.
Resource Inflow Management
Organize relevant materials, quantities, classifications, and secondary-resource information across reporting entities and periods.
Resource Outflow Management
Maintain product, packaging, recyclability, and other relevant resource-outflow information in a structured reporting process.
Waste Data Management
Capture and organize waste information across waste streams, recovery routes, disposal methods, locations, and reporting periods.
Materiality Connectivity
Connect circular economy information with Double Materiality and the material impacts, risks, and opportunities identified through the assessment.
Value Chain Connectivity
Resource use and circularity can extend beyond a company’s direct operations. EcoActive’s Value Chain Management capability helps connect relevant upstream and downstream activities with sustainability reporting.
Targets and Performance
Connect circular economy metrics with ESG Targets and use ESG Analytics to monitor performance across reporting periods and entities.
Evidence and Traceability
Maintain source documentation, methodology, supporting evidence, and review activity behind reported circular economy information.
Connected Disclosure
Carry approved information into ESG Disclosure without recreating the reporting package from separate files.
How Circular Economy Connects Across ESG Reporting
| Reporting Area | Circular Economy Connection |
|---|---|
| Double Materiality | Determines whether resource use and circular economy are material |
| Value Chain Management | Identifies resource and material flows across upstream and downstream activities |
| GHG Emissions | Connects relevant resource and waste activities with emissions information |
| ESG Targets | Links circularity and resource-efficiency metrics with targets and actions |
| ESG Analytics | Tracks resource, product, and waste performance across periods and entities |
| Disclosure | Connects ESRS E5 information, narrative, evidence, and reporting requirements |
Why EcoActive for Circular Economy?
01
Built Around Disclosure Requirements
EcoActive manages circular economy information in the context of ESG disclosure — connecting resource inflows, outflows, waste, targets, actions, and evidence with the requirements they support.
02
Connected Across the ESG Lifecycle
Circular economy information connects with materiality, value chain activities, targets, analytics, reviews, and final disclosure within the same reporting environment.
03
Traceable From Source to Disclosure
Maintain the relationship between reported data, methodologies, supporting evidence, reviews, and final disclosure.
EcoActive’s Audit and Review capability helps keep reporting governance and review connected with the underlying information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is circular economy reporting?
Circular economy reporting explains how an organization uses materials and resources, how products are designed and managed for circularity, how waste is handled, and what policies, actions, and targets support improved resource use.
What is ESRS E5?
ESRS E5 is the European Sustainability Reporting Standard covering Resource Use and Circular Economy. It addresses policies, actions, targets, resource inflows, resource outflows, products, and waste where these matters are material.
Does every company reporting under ESRS need to report ESRS E5?
Not automatically. The topical disclosure requirements depend on the outcome of the organization’s materiality assessment and the material impacts, risks, and opportunities identified.
What are resource inflows under ESRS E5?
Resource inflows are the materials and resources entering an organization. Relevant reporting can include key materials, total weight or quantities, secondary resources, and critical and strategic raw materials where applicable.
What are resource outflows under ESRS E5?
Resource outflows include products and related packaging, as well as waste generated by the organization. Relevant information can include product durability, repairability, designed recyclability, waste generated, waste diverted from disposal, and relevant disposal outcomes.
How does circular economy reporting connect with Double Materiality?
Double Materiality helps determine whether resource use and circular economy are material sustainability matters and identifies the impacts, risks, and opportunities that drive the relevant disclosures.
How does EcoActive support Circular Economy?
Circular Economy is a capability within EcoActive’s AI-native Financial and ESG Disclosure Management platform. It connects resource-use information, products, waste, targets, actions, evidence, review, and disclosure within a governed reporting process.
Ready to Connect Circular Economy Information With ESG Disclosure?
into one governed disclosure process.