Mapping circular businesses in the Netherlands

Ecorys, in collaboration with Data Intelligence Partners, is developing an innovative method for the PBL to map circular businesses in the Netherlands in a systematic, reproducible and future-proof manner.

Introduction

The circular economy plays a key role in making the Netherlands more sustainable. To better monitor the progress of the circular transition, Ecorys, in collaboration with Data Intelligence Partners, is identifying the amount of circular businesses in the Netherlands. By combining traditional data sources with artificial intelligence, a more comprehensive picture of circular business activity, innovation and economic impact in the Netherlands is emerging.

Background

Within the Integrated Circular Economy Report (ICER), circular entrepreneurship is a key process for achieving the circular transition. However, existing monitoring methods, based on SBI codes, do not capture all circular activities and innovative business models. As a result, many companies that contribute to circularity remain outside the scope of existing statistics.

To improve this, Ecorys and Data Intelligence Partners are using an assessment method that combines public data with AI techniques. An automated web crawl is used to analyse companies’ websites and assess their actual activities. A Large Language Model (LLM) then classifies companies based on their contribution to circularity and the circular strategies they employ.

Expected findings

As the project is currently still underway, definitive results are not yet available. However, the new method is expected to contribute in several ways to better monitoring of the circular economy. The approach makes it possible to identify circular companies that are not visible within traditional SBI classifications. This provides a more comprehensive overview of both established circular enterprises and innovative frontrunners contributing to the circular transition.