Circular economy consultancy

A sustainable future is dependent on less consumption and the adoption of a circular economy. That’s why our circular economy services have remained a core focus since we first launched in 2001.

Why we need a circular economy

Our current 'take, make, and waste' model, known as the linear economy, is wreaking havoc on our planet. This unsustainable system drives irreversible climate change, depletes finite resources, degrades natural habitats, and causes widespread biodiversity loss.

To live within planetary boundaries, we must transition to a closed loop and regenerative economy – otherwise known as a circular economy. This means extending the life cycle of materials by reducing consumption, conserving resources, and maximising reuse and recycling.

Latest Report

A Prescription for Change: Rethinking plastics use in healthcare to reduce waste, greenhouse gas emissions and costs

How we work

Transitioning to a circular economy requires significant system changes, including policy and legislative shifts at local, national, and supranational levels. It also demands innovations and adaptations across public and private sectors, as well as behavioural and cultural changes throughout society.

Eunomia works at the leading edge of circular economy thinking and practice. Over the past two decades, our evidence and advice helped shape major EU frameworks such as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), while also guiding private-sector clients through real-world challenges such as navigating compliance, developing innovations, and implementing programmes of change.

Our circular economy consultancy services

01Circular economy policy

Measuring the impact and effectiveness of policies and programmes.

02Foresight and horizon scanning

Exploring emerging issues, risks, and opportunities in circularity.

03Market assessments and due diligence

Providing clarity on new opportunities, risks, and commercial models and pricing strategies.

04Planning and permitting

Helping understand and scope infrastructure needs and supporting planning and permitting processes for infrastructure, such as waste transfer stations and depots.

05Policy design and appraisal

Designing and testing frameworks such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) and economic instruments such as taxes and charges.

06Product Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs)

Examining the environmental impact of a product through a circular economy lens, including LCAs tailored to EPR contexts.

07Recycled-content and design-for-recycling modelling

Helping businesses meet legislative requirements and designing for circularity – for example, for specific products, product categories, and packaging.

08Reuse feasibility and system design

Evaluating reuse and refill models, including large-scale scenario modelling with our ReSim packaging simulator.

09Service design and efficiency reviews

Supporting procurement, commissioning, litter collection, and street cleansing strategies; service optimisation; and collections options analysis – including the impacts of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) , and Simpler Recycling.

10Supply chain and procurement support

Assessing sourcing strategies, sustainable procurement, and supply chain resilience.

11Systems, strategies, and sustainability roadmaps

Developing circular economy strategies, sustainability pathways, and commercial roadmaps.

12Technical and economic assessments

Exploring new processes or designs that support circularity; testing operational feasibility, costs, and benefits; and building robust business cases.

13Waste and resource strategies and policy change implementation

Designing local and national strategies for waste prevention, reuse, and recycling, and supporting waste and recycling service changes.

Whether shaping policy, guiding corporate strategy, or embedding new systems, we help our clients take meaningful, measurable steps toward a circular economy. Our approach is practical, evidence-led, and always grounded in the goal of building a healthier, more sustainable future.

We are working with clients and partners to build a new economy that is circular by design, grounded in natural systems, and powered by low-carbon principles – three interdependent, overlapping, and mutually reinforcing strategies.

Our circular economy consultancy services

Circular economy policy

Influential thought leadership, and the design and evaluation of innovative policies that support a transition to a circular economy.

Circular economy strategy

Combining science-led, technical knowledge with strategic thinking to guide organisations towards more sustainable choices.

Circular economy implementation

Changing how a service is delivered, launching a new service, or altering how a product is made is challenging. We support you from identifying the need for change to implementing and embedding it across your organisation.

Case studies

ScottishPower – Circular economy baseline and opportunities assessment

Eunomia worked with ScottishPower, one of the UK’s largest energy providers, to support the delivery of a vital commitment in its Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan: developing a Circular Economy Baseline and Action Plan to help tackle emissions from the company’s Scope 3 carbon footprint

Glasgow City Council, Zero Waste Scotland – Designing and implementing real-world recycling systems for the host of COP26

We combined our in-depth expertise in designing and implementing real-world recycling solutions with our proprietary waste collection modelling tool Hermes, which allows a wide range of authority specific and collection system variables to be modelled at a level that no other industry tool can match. The findings supported Glasgow City Council and Zero Waste Scotland in their efforts to raise Scotland's recycling rate.

TOMRA – Designing a reuse system at city level for the takeaway food industry

We modelled a reuse packaging system for the takeaway industry, demonstrating the benefits of moving away from single-use packaging. We then did cost analysis based on city-level implementation. Our study helped to drive circularity in the packaging in the fast food industry to reduce both waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

European Commission – Establishing best practice policy for extended producer responsibility across the EU

By establishing what best practice looks like for extended producer responsibility in the EU, we helped advance the circular economy and expand expertise on EPR.

Podback – Making coffee pod recycling a reality

We helped implement the first voluntary extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme in the UK, in partnership with Podback. We designed a kerbside collection service for coffee pods and brokered partnerships with local authorities – all during a global pandemic and cost of living crisis.

Handelens Miljøfond, Minderoo Foundation, TOMRA, Zero Waste Europe – Managing materials for 1.5°C

Eunomia researched, developed, and published a white paper[1] and report[2] proposing a new EU regulatory framework to accelerate Europe’s transition to a circular economy.

WWF & Reloop – Global treaty to end plastic pollution

Eunomia delivered three studies to inform negotiations for a new global treaty to tackle plastic pollution. For WWF, we conducted a deep dive into some core components of the treaty, exploring pollution risks, control measures, and reuse applications. In a separate study, we supported Reloop to draft a position paper that set out priority elements for the treaty.

DESNZ & Defra – Unlocking resource efficiency

Eunomia, working in consortium with WSP and the University of Leeds, led a programme of research to identify resource efficiency measures for UK industrial sectors and understand their associated challenges and opportunities. The findings are being used to update modelled emissions savings potential for resource efficiency, feeding into the Government’s modelling of carbon budget delivery pathways and informing the development of its Government’s Circular Economy Strategy.

TOMRA, Zero Waste Europe, Reloop – Assessing climate impact: reusable systems vs single-use takeaway packaging

Eunomia modelled the greenhouse gas emissions from reusable takeaway food containers compared to single-use equivalents. We found that, for most types used in Europe, reusing them through a safe, efficient system could generate greater environmental benefits than recycling or discarding single-use takeaway packaging.

Ball Corporation – The 50 states of recycling

Eunomia collaborated with Ball Corporation, a leading manufacturer of aluminium packaging, to conduct a comparative assessment of packaging recycling rates in all 50 states of the US, building on our first-of-its-kind 2021 study.

Our experts

Joe Papineschi

Chairperson

Sarah Edwards

North America Director

Andy Grant

Technical Director

Emma Tilbrook

Managing Consultant

Peter Jones

Managing Consultant

Chris Sherrington

Head of Environmental Policy

Our Clients

Testimonials

Great team of experts. Helped us select priorities in a complicated unknown field.

Avery Denison

Working with Eunomia was incredibly easy. All members of the Eunomia team were happy to help with any questions we had and helped to ensure all relevant data was being captured to ensure a full carbon footprint was established for ourselves.

Inver House

Overall excellent experience - on an ambitious scope of work and a legislatively mandated short timeline. The process and report exceeded expectations.

Washington Department of Ecology

A really great experience. Staff were very understanding of our unique environment managing waste on the Isles of Scilly. They listened, were professional but friendly and provided great advice to us. The final report was excellent and has helped us enormously as we grapple with the complexities of our commercial waste service on the islands.

Council of the Isles of Scilly

Great experts, solution driven, very good knowledge of policy, technology and market related issues of circular economy - especially in the US market

Uber Eats

Knowledgeable and friendly staff - very trustworthy, ask good questions to ensure they understand what client wants

Environment Agency

Great team, very easy to work with and completed the work to a high standard, despite time pressure and changes to deadlines etc.

Joint Nature Conservation Committee

A perfect combination of professionalism and enthusiasm: Clarity and timeliness throughout the process. Everyone I worked with was professional, knowledgeable and brought infectious enthusiasm about their work, which inspired us.

National Children's Bureau

It was a seamless process. The team grasped the context quickly and were receptive to feedback and delivered on time. The team were very pleasant to work with.

Flora & Fauna

Very thorough and supportive, guiding us through the waste contract renewal, and the waste partnership itself. Much appreciated support.

Destination Bristol

A great team and a great experience. Professional and open relationships and communication.

University of the Western Cape

The Eunomia project team was a pleasure to work with, and helped create functional documents under a tight timeframe and some strict guiding language.

CDPHE