Tracking resource efficiency and circular economy performance — CERE-indicators for small and medium-sized companies

Alexandra Vogt, Ingela Tietze (), Philipp Preiss and Claus Lang-Koetz
Additional contact information
Alexandra Vogt: Pforzheim University
Ingela Tietze: Pforzheim University
Philipp Preiss: Pforzheim University
Claus Lang-Koetz: Pforzheim University

Sustainability Nexus Forum, 2025, vol. 33, issue 1, No 6, 17 pages

Abstract: Abstract The energy and raw material transition pose substantial challenges, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the chemical and process industry, this transformation is especially demanding due to the need to transform complex production systems on top of inter- and intra-organizational processes towards sustainability, where a nexus perspective — linking energy, materials, and organizational systems — is essential. To address these challenges effectively, it is essential to employ tools that facilitate the systematic identification and selection of measures aimed at enhancing circular economy and resource efficiency practices within organizations. Indicators play a critical role in this context as they are a prerequisite for quantifying processes, assessing performance, and increasing transparency. They provide a foundation for strategic decision making and align measures to company goals. Accordingly, circular economy and resource efficiency indicators are indispensable for unlocking sustainability potentials within companies. This paper presents a set of (Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency) CERE indicators for SMEs in the chemical industry, with the objective of identifying suitable measures, consolidating results, and establishing a long-term key performance indicator (KPI) system to enhance resource efficiency and promote a circular economy. To address these targets, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify relevant sets of indicators associated the circular economy and resource efficiency. These sets were then assessed against defined requirements to determine the most suitable ones. The overarching CERE indicator set was developed, allowing for an overall assessment in organizations. While the developed set of CERE indicators has been demonstrated to be practical, the research highlights persistent structural gaps, particularly in the context of circular economy management within companies. These gaps still need to be overcome.

Keywords: Resource efficiency; Circular economy; Sustainability; Chemical industry; Indicators; Decision making support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00550-025-00564-2 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sumafo:v:33:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s00550-025-00564-2

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.springer ... onmental/journal/550

DOI: 10.1007/s00550-025-00564-2

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability Nexus Forum is currently edited by Prof. Dr. Edeltraud Günther, Prof. Dr. Mario Schmidt and Prof. Dr. Uwe Schneidewind

More articles in Sustainability Nexus Forum from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().