Software · circular economy, cited
Circular economy software: what UK businesses must measure
Circular economy software tracks the materials a business takes in and what becomes of its products, packaging and waste.
There is no UK circular economy law, so in practice the software is driven by packaging, plastic tax, deposit return and waste rules, and by ESRS E5; this page sets them out and lists 29 vendors in their own words.
What the software does
What does circular economy software measure? Four flows
Circular economy software follows materials through a business: what comes in, what goes out as products and packaging, and what leaves as waste.
Those are the three sub-topics of the revised ESRS E5 — resource inflows, resource outflows related to products and services, and resource outflows related to waste — in the delegated act.
For a UK business the same data also answers specific domestic duties, which is where most of the work lands.
- 1
Inflows
Materials bought, with recycled and renewable content.
- 2
Products
What is designed, sold, reused, repaired or taken back.
- 3
Packaging
Tonnes by material and by producer class, for EPR and tax.
- 4
Waste
Tonnes by stream and route: recycling, recovery, disposal.
Is it law?
Is there a circular economy law in the UK? Not as one Act
There is no UK or England Circular Economy Act; Scotland has the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024, whose strategy and targets provisions came into force on 1 August 2025 under SSI 2025/170.
The European Commission describes an EU Circular Economy Act as “due for adoption in 2026”, and sets a goal of doubling the circular material use rate from about 12% to 24% by 2030, on its circular economy page.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s three principles — eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials at their highest value, and regenerate nature — are a widely used framework, not a legal test.
So a UK product that calls itself circular economy software is judged on the specific duties below.
Circular economy, by status
Scotland · in force
Circular economy, by status
England · upcoming
Circular economy, by status
EU · proposal
Circular economy, by status
Framework
The duties that need the data
Which UK rules need circular data? Four, each with its own threshold
Packaging EPR asks producers for packaging data by material, six-monthly for large producers and annually for small ones, under SI 2024/1332, in the official reporting file.
Plastic Packaging Tax charges components with less than 30% recycled plastic, and from 1 April 2027 attributed recycled plastic under mass balance counts too, under Finance Act 2026 s.105.
The deposit return scheme for drinks containers starts on 1 October 2027 under SI 2025/67.
Workplace recycling in England requires separated streams, with micro-firms exempt until 31 March 2027 under SI 2025/140; the waste record itself is covered on waste management software.
- 1 January 202601
- 1 April 202602
Plastic Packaging Tax rate
£228.82 a tonne for components under 30% recycled content. - 31 March 202703
- 1 April 202704
- 1 October 202705
Your packaging
Is your business in packaging EPR or plastic tax? Check your figures
The tool beside this applies the packaging EPR turnover and tonnage tests and the Plastic Packaging Tax registration threshold to your figures.
Both limbs of each EPR tier must be met: a business with £3 million turnover that supplied 40 tonnes is a small producer, not a large one, under regulation 24.
The Plastic Packaging Tax test runs forward over the next 30 days as well as back over 12 months, under section 55.
The two regimes are separate, and both can fall on the same tonne.
Your packaging duties
Packaging EPR: Small producer
Turnover over £1m and over 25 tonnes, but not both large limbs: annual data reporting.
Plastic Packaging Tax: register
The 10-tonne test also runs forward over the next 30 days, so expected volumes count too.
The two regimes are separate and both can apply to the same tonne.
The pEPR test also depends on your producer class; nothing is stored or sent.
Circularity in reporting
Where does circularity appear in reports? ESRS E5, and UK SRS where material
EU circular material use rate
11.8%European CommissionEU target
24% by 2030Part of the Clean Industrial DealPPT recycled-content test
30%Finance Act 2021 s.47Large EPR producer
£2m and 50 tBoth limbs — SI 2024/1332 reg 24UK groups within the EU rules report circularity against ESRS E5 where it is material; the sub-topics are inflows, outflows related to products and services, and outflows related to waste, in the delegated act.
UK SRS S1 covers all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect a company’s prospects, under ¶3 of the standard, applied by listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 on a comply-or-explain basis from 2027 under PS26/19.
Read the product-level references
A claim that one design is more circular than another is usually a life cycle question, framed by ISO 14040 and carried out under ISO 14044.
Product-level tools are covered on LCA software and product carbon footprint software; construction products on EPD software.
Circularity in reports
ESRS E5 inflows
Circularity in reports
UK SRS S1
The vendors
29 product and material-flow vendors, in their own words
Every vendor this site files under LCA and product footprint, alphabetically, which ranks nothing, each linked to its own site and to its profile here.
The registry covers 73 vendors across all categories, read 11 October 2026 and 30 September–1 October 2026.
29 vendors · lca and product footprint
“Altruistiq helps companies with complex value chains go faster and further on sustainability”
“Intelligent AI that measures, reduces, and reports Scope 1–3 and LCA emissions in line with CDP, SBTi, CSRD, and CBAM requirements”
“Our software provides companies and financial institutions with precise accounting of the emissions caused by making, shipping and using critical commodities and products around the globe”
“Climatiq delivers the reliable data, easy-to-use tools, and deep integrations businesses need to understand their carbon impact”
“Cozero helps enterprises steer decarbonization with the same rigor as financial performance, from data collection to investment decisions and regulatory disclosure”
“Dcycle is an ESG software platform founded in 2020 that helps companies collect, manage, and govern sustainability and non-financial data”
“Deepki centralizes your sustainability data, strategy and operations in one place so you can act on carbon, climate risk, and finance”
“Ecochain is an LCA automation software company with one purpose: to make LCAs accessible for manufacturers”
“A connected system built on a global standard for measuring and understanding sustainability performance across supply chains”
“Collect, analyze, and report sustainability, financial, and risk KPIs with 10+ software modules – individually or in line with official standards”
“The climate management platform built on AI, backed by dedicated sustainability experts”
“Measure, report, and reduce your company's emissions on one audit-ready sustainability management platform”
“Makersite’s Product Lifecycle Intelligence software brings together your cost, environment, compliance, and risk data in one place”
“Manglai is a platform to manage all of your environmental impact”
Microsoft Sustainability Manager
“Track and reduce your environmental impact using data and AI”
“Normative is a carbon accounting platform that helps companies calculate, report, and reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions using 349,000 verified emission factors”
One Click LCA describes automated life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental product declarations (EPDs) “across the construction value chain”.
“osapiens is the AI platform for compliance and supplier intelligence to help companies manage risk and become more resilient”
“Measure your full carbon footprint, build your net zero strategy and develop in-house expertise with a single partner”
SAP Sustainability Footprint Management
“Decarbonize your value chain and calculate your corporate and product carbon footprint at scale with ERP-centric, AI-enabled carbon management”
“Seedling is an all-in-one carbon accounting and Net Zero planning platform for businesses of up to 2000 FTEs”
“SimaPro is life cycle assessment software that helps organizations measure, analyze, and reduce environmental impacts using robust datasets, scientific methods, and transparent modeling”
“Sphera unifies risk, safety and sustainability into a single enterprise-wide view — connecting intelligence across operations, products and supply chains”
“Sweep's AI turns sustainability data into measurable business performance”
“Manage sustainability metrics intelligently in medium-sized businesses - through automated processes, AI-powered carbon accounting, and audit-proof ESG reports”
“Terrascope is an enterprise carbon management and decarbonisation platform for companies with complex supply chains”
“Unravel Carbon is the climate platform helping companies with global supply chains make data-driven decisions”
“Carbon accounting is often the first step companies take toward climate disclosure, compliance, and action—and with Watershed, it’s part of your complete enterprise sustainability platform”
“Carbon management software with experts built in, so you can move from measurement to action without spreadsheets or one-off consulting projects”
Alphabetical, which ranks nothing.
Each description is the vendor’s own words from its own site, read 11 October 2026 and 30 September–1 October 2026; prices appear only where the vendor publishes one.
No product here has been tested by this site.
Each of these vendors describes its own strengths on its own pages, linked from the list; ask each how it handles packaging EPR data and recycled-content evidence.
Circular economy software, in one sentence
In the UK the circular economy arrives as packaging, plastic tax and deposit return rules, and the software is only as good as the tonnes it can prove.
Takeaways
What to take from this page
| The fact | What to do |
|---|---|
| There is no UK or England Circular Economy Act | Buy against the specific duties, not the label |
| Packaging EPR and Plastic Packaging Tax are separate | Hold tonnes by material and recycled content once, for both |
| The deposit return scheme starts on 1 October 2027 | Check drinks containers are tracked by unit and material |
| ESRS E5 asks for inflows and two kinds of outflow | Keep products and waste as separate outflows |
Nothing on this page is a rating, ranking or recommendation of any product.
29 vendors, own words
Filed under LCA
29 vendors, own words
Alphabetical
29 vendors, own words
Their own words
29 vendors, own words
73 in the registry
Frequently asked
Circular economy software, answered
What is circular economy software?
Software that tracks the materials a business takes in and what happens to its products and waste afterwards: recycled content, packaging, reuse, take-back and disposal routes.
In the UK its practical job is to hold the data that packaging EPR, Plastic Packaging Tax, the deposit return scheme and waste duties require, and the material flows that ESRS E5 asks companies within the EU rules to report.
Is there a circular economy law in the UK?
No UK-wide or England law.
Scotland has the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024, whose strategy and targets provisions came into force on 1 August 2025.
England’s Circular Economy Growth Plan was still described as upcoming by the Environment Agency in July 2026.
What does the EU’s Circular Economy Act require?
Nothing yet.
The European Commission describes it as due for adoption in 2026; it is a proposal, not law.
The EU target is to double the circular material use rate from about 12% to 24% by 2030.
What is the definition of a circular economy?
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation describes three principles driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution; circulate products and materials at their highest value; and regenerate nature, underpinned by renewable energy and materials. It is a framework, and no UK statute adopts it.
Which UK rules need circular economy data?
Packaging EPR (SI 2024/1332) needs packaging tonnage by material; Plastic Packaging Tax needs recycled content for each plastic component; the deposit return scheme for drinks containers starts on 1 October 2027; and workplace recycling in England requires separated waste streams. Each has its own threshold and regulator.
Who is a large packaging producer?
A producer whose turnover was more than £2 million and who supplied more than 50 tonnes of packaging in the relevant year; a small producer is above £1 million and 25 tonnes.
Both limbs must be met in each tier (SI 2024/1332 reg 24).
When must a business register for Plastic Packaging Tax?
When it has manufactured or imported 10 tonnes or more of finished plastic packaging components in the previous 12 months, or expects to in the next 30 days (Finance Act 2021 s.55).
Components with less than 30% recycled plastic are taxed, at £228.82 a tonne from 1 April 2026.
What does ESRS E5 ask?
The revised ESRS E5, Resource Use and Circular Economy, covers resource inflows, resource outflows related to products and services, and resource outflows related to waste, and it now includes marine resources.
Is packaging EPR the same as Plastic Packaging Tax?
No. They are separate regimes with different thresholds, registers and regulators, and both can apply to the same tonne of plastic packaging.
Does circular economy software need life cycle assessment?
For product decisions, often.
Comparing a reusable design with a single-use one is an LCA question under ISO 14040 and 14044, which is why the vendors listed here are the registry’s LCA and product-footprint vendors.
Has this site tested any circular economy software?
No. The vendor list quotes what each vendor says about itself, alphabetically, and nothing on the page is a rating.
Sources
Primary sources
Every duty and figure on this page traces to the source listed here.
Vendor descriptions are cited on each vendor’s profile.
- legislation.gov.ukCircular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 (asp 13)
Scotland only; there is no UK or England Act.
- legislation.gov.ukSSI 2025/170 — Commencement No. 2
The strategy and targets provisions in force 1 August 2025.
- European CommissionCircular economy
Circular material use rate 11.8%; target 24% by 2030; the Act due for adoption in 2026.
- Ellen MacArthur FoundationCircular economy introduction — overview
Three principles driven by design. A framework, not law.
- legislation.gov.ukProducer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/1332
Packaging EPR, amended from 1 January 2026.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2024/1332, regulation 24
Large and small producer tests: turnover and tonnage, both limbs.
- DefraReport packaging data: create your reporting file
The official file and schema.
- legislation.gov.ukFinance Act 2021, section 44
Plastic Packaging Tax.
- legislation.gov.ukFinance Act 2021, section 55
Registration at 10 tonnes, forward over 30 days or back over 12 months.
- legislation.gov.ukFinance Act 2026, section 105
The mass-balance amendment, in force 1 April 2027.
- legislation.gov.ukDeposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/67
The scheme from 1 October 2027.
- legislation.gov.ukThe Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/140
Workplace recycling; micro-firms from 31 March 2027.
- EUR-LexCommission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563, Annex I — ESRS E5
Resource inflows; outflows related to products and services; outflows related to waste.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 General Requirements (PDF), ¶3
All sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 — final rules on UK SRS reporting by listed companies
Comply or explain for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
- ISOISO 14040:2006 — Life cycle assessment: principles and framework
The basis of product-level circularity measurement.
- ISOISO 14044:2006 — Life cycle assessment: requirements and guidelines
Requirements for an LCA study.