CircuLaw

What CircuLaw does

CircuLaw is a Dutch legal intelligence platform, founded in 2022 and headquartered in Amsterdam, that helps decentralized governments — municipalities, provinces, and regional water authorities — translate existing Dutch and European legislation into actionable instruments for accelerating the circular economy transition. The platform is organized around five product chains (Bouw en Infra, Consumptiegoederen, Biomassa en Voedsel, Maakindustrie, and Kunststoffen) and 17 themes, each containing filterable legal instruments tagged by category (policy, procurement, subsidy, fiscal), government authority layer, and a "juridische houdbaarheid" (legal viability) rating. A dedicated EU Wetgeving section covers directives such as the Single-Use Plastics Directive, Energy Efficiency Directive, and EU Taxonomy, framed in the context of the European Green Deal and Fit for 55 package.

Under the hood, CircuLaw is a web platform built on Sanity as the content management system, with no public API and no AI components. The product is free to end users; revenue is generated indirectly through project-based commissions (e.g., food-waste analysis for Gemeente Amsterdam), financial contributions from development, knowledge, and financing partners (including national ministries, provinces, municipalities, EIT Climate-KIC, AMS Institute, and academic institutions), and the potential for future licensing or subscription services. The platform is supported by core development partners (Gemeente Amsterdam, Dark Matter Labs, Metabolic, ECOlaw) and a wider network of 30+ governmental, academic, and consultancy partners, with 14 employees as of the most recent disclosure.

Name

CircuLaw

Legal name

CircuLaw

Website

https://circulaw.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CircuLaw is a free, Amsterdam-based legal intelligence platform that helps Dutch municipalities and provinces apply existing Dutch and European legislation to accelerate the circular economy transition, organized around five product chains and 17 themes of curated legal instruments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Policy & Compliance Software

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924), Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Circular Economy & Sustainable Products (Reuse, Repair, Upcycling) (BPAGALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency (BPADALAM), Circularity Consulting & Program Management (EPR, Design-for-Circularity, LCA) (EUAIANAH), Fraud Risk Management & Anti-Bribery/Anti-Corruption (ABAC) (BPAHAFAL)

Keywords

• Circular economy legislation
• Legal instruments database
• Government policy platform
• Sustainable procurement tools
• Circular transition advisory

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Publicly Funded Platform: CircuLaw operates as a non-commercial knowledge platform funded through partnerships with government entities, knowledge institutions, and financing partners including Dutch municipalities, provinces, and national ministries. The platform provides free access to circular economy legal instruments for decentralized governments. Revenue is generated through project-based collaborations, commissioned analyses (e.g., food waste analysis for Gemeente Amsterdam), and potential future licensing or subscription models for expanded services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CircuLaw operates a web-based legal knowledge platform that provides Dutch decentralized governments (municipalities, provinces, and regional authorities) with structured access to legal instruments for accelerating the circular economy transition. The platform organizes Dutch and European circular economy legislation by five product chains (Construction, Consumer Goods, Biomass and Food, Manufacturing, Plastics) and seventeen themes, offering filterable instrument databases with legal viability ratings and government authority mappings. It also offers commissioned legal analyses and publishes annual Impact Reports as project-based services to government partners.

Product overview

CircuLaw is a web-based legal intelligence platform that helps Dutch decentralized governments (municipalities, provinces) use existing legislation to accelerate the circular economy transition. The platform operates as a unified portal organized around five product chains: Bouw en Infra (Construction), Consumptiegoederen (Consumer Goods), Biomassa en Voedsel (Biomass and Food), Maakindustrie (Manufacturing), and Kunststoffen (Plastics). Within each chain, the platform provides theme-specific pages (such as Consumententextiel, Bedrijfskleding, Voedselverspilling, Biobased Isolatie, and Bedrijventerreinen) containing filterable databases of legal instruments, categorized by type (policy, procurement, subsidy, fiscal), and authority overviews. The EU Wetgeving section covers European legislation including the Single-Use Plastics Directive, Energy Efficiency Directive, and EU Taxonomy. The platform also publishes an annual Impact Report documenting its reach and outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CircuLaw Platform A web-based legal intelligence platform providing decentralized governments in the Netherlands with access to juridical instruments organized by product chains and EU legislation for accelerating the circular economy transition. The platform offers filterable instrument databases, theme pages, EU legislation summaries, and authority overviews. Free access for government users.
• Commissioned Legal Analyses Custom legal analyses performed on specific circular economy themes or cases for government partners. For example, CircuLaw was commissioned by Gemeente Amsterdam to analyze food waste prevention instruments and textile transition policies for the circular economy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Platform launched 2022, first Impact Report published 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gemeente AmsterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Major development partner and commissioner of analyses; funded development of food waste prevention instruments and textile transition analysis for CircuLaw.
• Dark Matter LabscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022International strategic partner contributing to CircuLaw's circular economy methodology and platform development.
• MetaboliccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Dutch sustainability consultancy providing expertise in circular economy systems thinking and platform content development.
• ECOlawcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Legal consultancy specializing in circular economy law, contributing to instrument development and legal viability assessments.
• Erasmus Universiteit RotterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner; Erasmus School of Law contributed expertise through Prof. Dr. Evert Stamhuis on law and technology aspects of circular economy.
• Kenniscentrum Europa DecentraalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnowledge partner providing expertise on EU legislation and its application for decentralized governments.
• Provincie Zuid-HollandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner providing feedback on platform utility and serving as test case for circular transition implementation.
• Ministerie van FinanciënminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational ministry contributing to platform development as knowledge partner.
• RijkswaterstaatminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational government agency contributing knowledge on water and infrastructure aspects of circular economy.
• Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational agency providing expertise on circular economy subsidies and government procurement.
• AT OsborneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsultancy partner providing expertise on circular economy policy and implementation.
• PIANOo Expertisecentrum AanbestedenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic procurement expertise center contributing knowledge on circular procurement criteria and tendering.
• Environmental Justice Clinic - Universiteit van AmsterdamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration on research into international climate law and its application to municipal governance; jointly published report 'From International Justice to Local Action'.
• Gemeente RotterdamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partner contributing knowledge on circular economy implementation at city level.
• Provincie UtrechtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvincial partner providing feedback on platform development and circular economy implementation.
• Provincie Noord-HollandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvincial partner and financing contributor for circular economy initiatives.
• Gemeente UtrechtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partner implementing circular procurement criteria for work clothing using CircuLaw instruments.
• De Circulaire BouweconomieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnowledge partner and financier focused on circular construction economy.
• Metropool Regio AmsterdamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional collaboration platform contributing to textile roadmap and circular economy vision.
• TU DelftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical university contributing academic expertise on circular economy and law.
• Universiteit van AmsterdamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner contributing through Environmental Justice Clinic collaboration.
• Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner contributing to circular economy law research.
• Wageningen University & ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural and environmental research university contributing to biomass and food circular economy expertise.
• Flux PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsultancy partner providing circular economy advisory expertise.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Metabolic: Dutch sustainability consultancy producing circular economy analysis, tools, and visual reports for governments and businesses. Comparable in Dutch circular economy advisory space and overlapping client base with CircuLaw; positioned more on systems analysis and visualization versus legal instruments.
• Dark Matter Labs: International systems-change organization developing transformative governance and economic models including for circular cities. Comparable in exploring novel governance instruments and in serving municipal clients, but with broader scope and consulting rather than knowledge-database delivery.
• Ecochain: Dutch SaaS company providing life-cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental impact measurement tools for products and buildings. Comparable in serving circular economy implementation and overlapping on the MKI environmental cost indicator that CircuLaw references, but delivered as enterprise software rather than a free public knowledge platform.

Direct peers

• Circle Economy: Amsterdam-based impact organization providing circular economy knowledge, data, and frameworks to governments and businesses. Directly comparable as a Netherlands-headquartered circular economy knowledge platform with similar government and policy engagement, though broader in scope (global rather than Dutch-focused) and less legal-instrument specific.
• Kenniscentrum Europa Decentraal: Dutch knowledge center that translates EU legislation into actionable guidance for Dutch decentralized governments. Most directly comparable to CircuLaw by customer base (gemeenten, provincies) and product type (legislation translation, legal briefings), though focused on general EU law rather than circular-economy-specific instruments.
• PIANOo Expertisecentrum Aanbesteden: Dutch public procurement expertise center serving decentralized governments with practical guidance, frameworks, and tools. Comparable in mission (helping municipalities implement policy via procurement) and customer base, with overlap specifically on circular procurement criteria that CircuLaw's instruments support.

Regional players

• Circular Flanders: Belgium's hub for circular economy knowledge, transition support, and policy guidance for Flemish governments and businesses. Comparable mission of translating circular economy policy into regional implementation, but focused on Flanders rather than the Netherlands — useful proxy for CircuLaw's potential geographic expansion model.

Broad incumbents

• Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Global thought leader on circular economy producing research, frameworks, and policy recommendations for governments and businesses worldwide. Comparable in mission of advancing circular economy through knowledge dissemination, but operates at global thought-leadership scale rather than national legal-instrument implementation.

Others

• MVO Nederland: Dutch network and knowledge platform for sustainable business, connecting companies, governments, and NGOs around CSR and circular economy. Comparable as a Dutch sustainability knowledge network serving cross-sector stakeholders, though focused on private-sector engagement rather than government legal instruments.
• Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO): Dutch national agency implementing subsidy programs and providing circular economy guidance to businesses and governments. Comparable as a public-sector circular economy knowledge and funding intermediary; CircuLaw already lists RVO as a strategic partner, and RVO's subsidy expertise complements CircuLaw's instrument database.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/circulaw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CircuLaw