Waste Recovery and End-of-Life Metrics: Aligning with CSRD and ESRS

As the European Union enforces stricter regulations on sustainability, waste recovery and end-of-life (EoL) metrics have become critical indicators for companies aiming to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS E5). These metrics help organizations quantify material circularity, reduce environmental impact, and build trust with customers, regulators, and investors.

Tracking waste and EoL performance is no longer an isolated CSR initiative; it is now a central component of carbon accounting, ESG ratings, and regulatory disclosures.

Effective waste and end-of-life management starts with tracking meaningful, measurable indicators:

• Waste Recovery Rate – What percentage of generated waste is recovered, reused, or recycled?
• Treatment Method – Breakdown of waste disposition methods such as landfill, incineration, mechanical recycling, or composting.
• Recyclability Score by Product – A score or label indicating how recyclable each product or component is at the end of its lifecycle.

According to the European Environment Agency, over 50% of municipal waste in the EU is still not recycled, underscoring the urgency for better recovery systems and metrics.

These data points directly inform Scope 3 emissions calculations, product circularity scores, and CSRD/ESRS disclosures.

Despite its importance, many companies face structural and operational barriers:

• Siloed Lifecycle Data – Information about waste and product disposal often exists outside of core carbon systems, making it hard to unify reporting.
• Manual Data Collection – Companies rely on spreadsheets or site-level audits, leading to delays, errors, and poor data integrity.
• Lack of EoL Standards – No unified scoring model for end-of-life metrics, leading to inconsistencies across business units or regions.

These challenges are not just administrative—they can delay audits, weaken ESG ratings, and risk non-compliance with CSRD.

Accurate waste and EoL tracking is not just about compliance:

• It supports Scope 3 emissions reduction by extending product life and reducing landfill impact.
• It contributes to defensible ESG ratings with traceable, audit-ready data.
• It empowers companies to make sustainability claims with confidence, building stronger relationships with customers and stakeholders.

According to the European Environment Agency, by 2030, the EU aims to cut residual waste by 50% per capita; meaning companies that lack accurate recovery data could fall behind regulatory curves.

With Carbmee’s Custom Properties, companies can tag, track, and report waste-related KPIs across sites, suppliers, and product lines:

• Waste Recovery % – Assign values at the component or facility level.
• EoL Treatment Type – Specify if waste is destined for landfill, incineration, or recycling.
• Recyclability Score – Apply a numeric or qualitative rating per product.

These fields integrate directly with your carbon model—eliminating spreadsheets and enabling real-time compliance reporting.

Carbmee’s Carbontology framework connects EoL and waste data to operational and supplier-level inputs. When a supplier, site, or process changes, emissions and lifecycle data update instantly.

Key benefits include:

• Real-time impact of recovery method updates in Scope 3 calculations
• Automated updates when new supplier or material attributes change
• Dynamic compliance readiness for CSRD and ESRS

Instead of relying on disconnected lifecycle data or outdated reports, carbmee EIS™ delivers real-time carbon intelligence that reflects operational reality and scales with your business. Leverage accurate carbon intelligence that reflects operational reality.

Start by defining your lifecycle waste metrics and integrating them into your carbon model. Then:

1. Link BOM and material master data from your ERP
2. Define Custom Properties for recovery %, treatment types, and recyclability
3. Map site-level and supplier-level data to feed into your Scope 3 footprint

Book a demo to see how easily you can automate waste tracking and generate CSRD-aligned reports.

Get data-backed benchmarks and circularity metrics in the Sustainability Intelligence Report 2025.

Waste and end-of-life metrics are a strategic lever not just a reporting requirement. With carbmee EIS™, you can:

• Gain full visibility into waste and recovery performance
• Integrate live lifecycle data into your carbon strategy
• Meet CSRD and ESRS E5 standards with audit-ready reporting

By turning waste tracking into a connected, intelligent system, Carbmee empowers your team to lead in circularity, compliance, and carbon reduction.

Ready to lead in circularity and carbon transparency? We are ready to help. 

Get in touch!