The European Clean Industrial Deal underscores the need for high-quality recycling and circular material use to achieve climate neutrality in industry´s value chains. A key challenge in this transition is the development of robust methodologies to assess recycling quality, material circularity and climate impact. The European Environment Agency (EEA) has recently introduced a framework for assessing recycling quality, focusing on material recovery efficiency, environmental impact and overall recyclability to improve circular economy strategies. This framework provides a structured approach to evaluate recycling processes and their contribution to resource conservation. Independently of this framework, other concepts and assessment methods for defining and measuring circularity and climate neutrality have been developed by different researchers and organizations. This paper examines the strengths, limitations and synergies between these frameworks and methodologies, providing insights for sustainable manufacturing. The findings of this comparative analysis emphasize the necessity of integrating recycling efficiency metrics into broader circular economy and climate impact assessments. Our research contributes to the development of holistic sustainability strategies and promotes the advancement of more effective sustainability frameworks that support the industrial transformation envisioned in the European Clean Industrial Deal.