Authors: Karin Eufinger (Centexbel), Jane Gardner (ERFMI)

When developing standards or other normative documents, one of the important first steps is to define common terminology to be used in all documents.

For this purpose a committee starting on a new area of standardisation will first establish a document titled “Terms and definitions”, “Vocabulary” or similar. The aim is to use as much as possible available terminology, adapting or developing new terminology only if the exisiting is too general or otherwise not suitable or non-existing for the new area of standardisation. Several sources exist to find terminology used in standards, a few examples can be found here below:

• ISO online browsing platform (OBP): https://www.iso.org/obp
• https://www.din.de/en/services/terminology

While terminology concerning plastics recycling and sustainability is already available for several years, the terminology concerning circular economy is still in development. When writing new terminology standards, especially international standards, it is quite challenging to find an agreement on the definitions of the terms as there can be regional differences in interpretation and use of the terms.

Below a (selected) list of published standards and standards in development (terminology):

• ISO 6707-3:2017 Buildings and civil engineering works – Vocabulary – Part 3: Sustainability terms (under revision)
• EN 17228:2019 Plastics – Bio-based polymers, plastics, and plastics products – Terminology, characteristics and communication
• CLC/TR 45550:2020 Definitions related to material efficiency
• FprEN 17615 Plastics – Environmental Aspects – Vocabulary (under publication)
• prEN ISO/CD 5157 Textiles – Environmental aspects – Vocabulary (CEN/ISO)
• prEN 17861 “Resilient, textile, laminate and multilayer modular Floor coverings – Circular Economy – Terms and definitions” (pending CEN Enquiry)
• ISO/WD 59004 “Circular economy – Framework and principles for implementation” (under development)
• WI 00350039 Circular economy in the construction sector – Framework, principles, and definitions (preliminary work item CEN)