Jakarta, 28 June 2025: ERIA and the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Agriculture and Environment (ISPAE) convened an inception meeting to launch their joint study on developing robust circular economy (CE) indicators at the sub-national level. This collaboration, established under a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions, reflects the growing importance of the circular economy as a strategic approach to sustainable development, particularly in addressing resource depletion, environmental degradation, and climate change across the ASEAN region.

The meeting brought together over twenty policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders to explore how high-level CE concepts can be translated into actionable, measurable indicators for use by provincial governments. Although academic literature has proposed numerous eco-economy indicators, a significant gap remains in their real-world application at local levels.

Chaired by Dr Mai Thanh Dung, Deputy Director of ISPAE, and Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Senior Research Fellow for Innovation at ERIA, the discussions underscored the need for context-specific approaches, taking into account the socio-economic and technological diversity of provinces.

Key objectives of the inception meeting included:

• Identifying core parameters for CE measurement at the provincial level: Participants emphasised that indicators must reflect local economic structures, including dominant sectors such as agri-food, industrial processing, and construction.
• Addressing data gaps and building local capacity: The meeting acknowledged challenges in collecting and analysing data at the sub-national level and called for appropriate tools and training programmes to empower local authorities in implementing and monitoring CE initiatives.
• Promoting inclusive stakeholder engagement: Attendees stressed the need for sustained collaboration across government, private sector, and civil society actors to ensure effective CE transition at the provincial level.

The meeting concluded with a shared understanding that CE indicators should extend beyond waste management to include metrics related to resource efficiency, responsible consumption, internalisation of environmental costs, resource conservation, system resilience, and human well-being. These dimensions align with the broader goals outlined in the Framework for Circular Economy for the ASEAN Economic Community, which advocates for enhanced resource use, economic resilience, and inclusive, sustainable growth.