Product passports and blockchain technology guide the way to a circular economy
To overcome the barriers on the way to a circular economy, the OECD Workshop on International Trade and Circular Economy [1] suggested that ‘‘in particular, digital product passports and blockchain technology may provide new opportunities to secure better data, transparency, and traceability of products to enable circular value chains at the global scale’’ [1]. Similarly, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation emphasizes: ‘‘With current advances, digital technology has the power to support the transition to a circular economy by radically increasing virtualization, de-materialisation, transparency, and feedback-driven intelligence’’ [2].
Transparency of digital data about products and their information
Thus, to move from a linear to a circular economic system, there is one key thing everyone involved must have: transparency-enhancing information about the composition of the products and about resource usage along the entire product life cycle and value chain – in the form of digital data [3]. As described by Antikainena et al. [4], digital solutions can provide real-time information about the availability, location, and condition of an item, track the journeys of products, components, and materials, and make the resulting data securely accessible. Digital solutions can also increase the traceability, efficiency, and convenience of materials, and provide easier access to products and services [5]. By creating transparency concerning the impact of materials and processes on the product life cycle, digital data can not only be a key enabler of the circular economy, but also an enabler for upscaling the circular economy [6]. This approach is increasingly being referred to as the ‘‘Digital Circular Economy.’’ [7-9]
Access to data is also required to determine whether business activities are achieving circular economy goals [10]. This does not only cover the metrics to determine circular economy performance, but also requires combining them with key performance indicators [11].
Reference:
[1]: International Trade and the Circular Economy
[2]: Origins of the circular economy concept
[3]: Digitalization and the greening of supply chains
[4]: Digitalisation as an Enabler of Circular Economy
[5]: Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE)
[6]: How to transition to a traditional circular economy?
[8]: Digital Product Passports as Enabler of the Circular Economy
[10]: Product circularity indicators: what contributions in designing for a circular economy?
