Assessing Circular Economy Maturity and Circularity in Austria’s Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering Sectors

The necessity of a sustainable economy has propelled the introduction and promotion of the concept of the circular economy worldwide. At both international and national levels, circular economy strategies, such as the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and the Austrian Circular Economy Strategy, have established ambitious objectives aimed at increasing circularity to reduce resource consumption. In this context, the transformation of industries into circular economy models is gaining increasing significance. Given the limited understanding of the current state within the manufacturing industry concerning the circular economy, this study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the maturity and circularity levels within the Austrian mechanical and vehicle engineering sectors. The primary objective is to establish a foundational platform for a targeted transformation of this industry towards an economically successful circular economy. This study employs a specifically designed model for capturing maturity and circularity levels, which comprehensively assesses 10 different business domains using 66 distinct questions. 216 out of a total of 1854 companies within the industry actively participated in this survey. The findings offer profound insights into knowledge regarding the circular economy, its integration into corporate strategy, the adoption of circular business models and R-strategies, as well as environmental management practices.