The Integral Circular Economy Report (ICER) provides an overview of the state of the transition to a circular economy in the Netherlands. The independent information from the ICER is intended as a knowledge base for the societal and political debate on the transition to a circular economy. The PBL publishes the ICER at the request of the cabinet every two years. The ICER 2025 is the third edition and, like previous editions, the ICER 2025 is made in collaboration with other knowledge institutions.
The ICER addresses both physical trends in the use of resources and their (environmental) effects, as well as the progress of the transition process to a circular economy in the Netherlands and the development of circular economy policy. Additionally, this ICER pays attention to three specific product groups, namely plastic packaging and beverage cartons, housing construction, and renewable energy technology. This edition of the ICER also gives special attention to the theme of governance and the use of policy instruments to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Based on that knowledge, we make recommendations to accelerate the transition.
Despite the initiatives in society in the field of the circular economy, the big picture in this ICER shows that various trends are not yet heading in the right direction. It is still not possible to structurally use fewer resources, and the supply risks of most critical resources have increased. Furthermore, there are still no markets for many circular products. To promote this and accelerate the transition to a circular economy, concrete and ambitious policy is needed at national and European levels.
Compared to previous editions, some changes have been made to the structure of the report. This publication is more compact than the ICERs from 2021 and 2023. To still provide as complete an overview as possible of the progress of the transition to a circular economy, we regularly refer to the new ICER website in this report for in-depth information. On this site, more figures and information can be found about resources and effects, in the form of so-called physical indicators and transition indicators. There are also notes on this website with a more detailed substantiation of some important messages from the ICER 2025.