Many firms struggle to translate their circular strategies into concrete action, despite growing pressure to reduce resource dependence and to strengthen resilience against disruptions in the logistics chain. PhD candidate Arjen Wierikx shows that while circularity is increasingly present on the strategic agenda, implementation efforts within organisations often lags behind. To help such companies move forward, he developed a measurement tool for (self-)diagnosis.
The research, conducted by Wierikx at the department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences , is based on more than 3,000 organizational assessments. The results reveal a consistent pattern: companies are relatively strong in setting circular ambitions, but face major challenges in scaling initiatives and embedding circularity into day-to-day business operations.
According to Wierikx, the problem is not a lack of sustainability goals, but a lack of organizational readiness. "Many firms have embraced circular thinking at a strategic level, but struggle to operationalize it," says Wierikx. "The transition requires new capabilities, new forms of collaboration, and continuous organizational learning."
Circular Maturity Tool
As part of the research, Wierikx developed the Circular Maturity Tool (CMT), a practical, data-driven instrument that helps organizations assess and strengthen the capabilities needed for circular transformation. The tool measures dimensions such as strategy, innovation, operations, collaboration, and organizational culture.
Rather than focusing only on environmental outcomes, the tool examines what happens inside organizations and how firms organize themselves to make circularity achievable in practice.
the measuring instrument
The Circular Maturity Tool measures ten organizational dimensions, divided across four domains: People & Culture, Operations, Strategy & Approach, and Value Chain Collaboration. Each dimension receives a maturity score ranging from 0 (none) to 5 (regenerative). The center of the diagram shows an example of a possible scoring distribution. The outer ring displays the so-called R-ladder, a widely used framework within the circular economy that ranks strategies from waste prevention and reuse to recycling and material recovery. The scores on the ten dimensions are mapped against performance across these different levels of circularity.
From sustainability to entrepreneurial risk
The findings suggest that the circular economy is increasingly becoming an economic and strategic issue, rather than solely an environmental one. Firms that fail to develop circular capabilities risk becoming more vulnerable to resource scarcity, supply chain disruptions, and changing market demands.
The Circular Maturity Tool was developed in close collaboration with Route Circulair and other practitioners, and is intended to help organizations take targeted, actionable steps in their circular transition.
Put in practice
The insights from the research are already being applied in practice. The study helped form the basis of the annual impact report De Staat van Circulair Ondernemen (The State of Circular Entrepreneurship), which provides insight into the progress of circular business activity in the Netherlands. Last March, the 2026 edition was presented to Queen Máxima at the Circular Entrepreneurship Congress in Utrecht.
Wierikx's dissertation, titled The Circular Shift: A Design Science Approach to Developing a Circular Capability Maturity Tool for Firms, was supervised by dr. Néomie Raassens and dr. Alex Alblas of Eindhoven University of Technology, and dr. ing. Pascal Ravesteijn of HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. The doctoral defense , including the layman's talk, will take place on Tuesday, May 26 at TU/e. Beyond his PhD research, Wierikx works as a lecturer and coach at the intersection of logistics, ICT and change management at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht.
