Available Circular Economy Features
Missing Circular Economy Features
Pricing
Starting Price
Options
- Free
- Monthly Subscription
Available Since
Deployment Options
- Web Browser (Cloud - Based)
Good Option For
- Freelancers (1 person company)
- Microbusiness (2-10 people)
- Small Business (11-50 people)
- Medium Business (51-250 people)
- Large Business (250+ people)
Deep dive
Core Features
The calculator applies the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s MCI methodology, which considers the origins and destinations of materials alongside how effectively a product performs its function during its lifetime. Its main capabilities include:
Circularity Scoring: Produces a single score representing where a product sits between linear and circular material use, making several dimensions of circularity easier to interpret together.
Material Input Assessment: Accounts for the balance between virgin inputs and recycled, reused or renewable materials entering the product.
End-of-Life Assessment: Incorporates what happens after use, including reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, composting and unrecoverable waste.
Product Utility: Factors longevity and intensity of use into the calculation, recognizing that extending product life or using an asset more intensively can reduce demand for new materials.
Design Scenario Testing: MCI Pro, thinkstep-anz’s Excel-based calculator, lets users test how alternative design choices, materials and recovery assumptions affect circularity.
EPD Integration: MCI results can complement Environmental Product Declarations, adding a circularity metric alongside established lifecycle environmental indicators. thinkstep-anz also supports independently verifiable MCI results.
Closing Insights
The MCI calculator is particularly useful for manufacturers and product teams that need to move beyond broad claims such as “recyclable” or “made with recycled content.” By combining material inputs, end-of-life outcomes and product utility into one score, it provides a consistent way to establish a circularity baseline and test whether changes to materials, recovery routes or product life actually improve it. The results can inform product development and procurement and can be incorporated into EPDs and Digital Product Passports.
thinkstep-anz has a particularly close connection to the methodology. Its Head of Circular Economy, Dr Jim Goddin, helped the Ellen MacArthur Foundation develop the Material Circularity Indicator and later contributed to the ISO 59000 series of circular-economy standards. MCI results are already appearing in verified EPDs: thinkstep-anz reported that more than 180 products had MCI information in EPD Australasia declarations by March 2026.
For organizations wanting to try the approach, thinkstep-anz provides a free Excel-based trial. MCI Pro is sold under a one-time licence with no recurring subscription fee, with prices offered in EUR, USD, AUD or NZD according to the purchaser. The full version unlocks all MCI variables, reporting and visualizations and produces outputs suitable for EPD, DPP and verification workflows.