In a world where environmental imperatives are reshaping global commerce, the language we use matters.

Businesses increasingly face a patchwork of regulatory frameworks, sustainability commitments and evolving customer expectations, all of which hinge on a shared understanding of environmental terminology. The International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) Ecoterms® on Circular Economy has emerged as a timely and practical response to this challenge, offering clarity where ambiguity once prevailed.

Published in early 2026, ICC Ecoterms® on Circular Economy is the first in a series of business-to-business resources designed to provide clear, common definitions for 16 widely used circular-economy terms in global trade.

Rather than imposing legal obligations, as is the case with ICC's better-known Incoterms® Rules, Ecoterms® function as a lingua franca for environmental concepts that are now central to commercial contracts, supply chain communications and regulatory compliance.

At its core, the circular economy seeks to transition away from the traditional linear model of "take, make, dispose" towards a system that maximises resource efficiency and minimises waste. Yet, despite broad agreement on the goals of circularity, different sectors and jurisdictions have interpreted terms like "reuse", "recycling", "eco-design" and "secondary raw material" in inconsistent ways.

These inconsistencies create risks: misunderstandings between buyers and suppliers, contractual disputes, and difficulties in meeting compliance obligations under varied regulatory regimes. Ecoterms® address this by codifying 16 central terms into a shared business reference.

The definitions span categories from core concepts such as circular economy, life cycle and eco-design, to end-of-use processes like remanufacturing, refurbishing and repurposing, and material flows including waste, by-product, secondary raw material and waste recovery. They also cover specific applications, for example, in areas such as compostable materials, recyclable batteries and construction and demolition waste.

What makes this initiative especially valuable for businesses is its practical orientation. Rather than remaining an abstract academic exercise, Ecoterms® are intended to be used in concrete commercial and operational settings.

Compliance teams can employ the definitions to ensure that regulatory requirements are communicated unambiguously across operations. Procurement and sales functions can adopt the terms to standardise contractual language with suppliers and customers across borders and sectors. Policy advocates and industry associations can leverage the terms in dialogues with lawmakers to encourage regulatory frameworks that reflect commercial realities.

Importantly, Ecoterms® do not supersede local legal or regulatory requirements. Where jurisdiction-specific rules define terms in particular ways, those definitions prevail. But within the broader context of international trade and cross-border value chains, Ecoterms® offer a neutral reference point to reduce confusion and foster shared understanding.

In essence, ICC Ecoterms® on Circular Economy builds on the ICC's long tradition of setting business standards that facilitate global commerce, much like Incoterms® have done for transport and logistics for decades. By advancing a common language around sustainability, the ICC is helping businesses not only comply with regulations but also innovate with confidence, collaborate more effectively, and scale circular business models across complex global value chains.

As companies worldwide seek to embed sustainability into their core operations, tools like ICC Ecoterms® on Circular Economy will become more than just reference guides, they will be essential building blocks in the architecture of future-ready commerce.

Further information: https://iccwbo.org/news-publications/business-solutions/icc-ecoterms-on-circular-economy/

This article presents the views of the author and not necessarily those of ICC.