Data and effective data governance are key in facilitating the transition towards a circular economy, enabling the management of complex material flows and the scaling of innovative circular business models. As a strong advocate for using digitalization strategically in the circular economy, Germany has initiated significant partnerships and projects in this arena. In this accelerator session, we aim to explore Germany's approach in building a data-driven circular economy, including the National Circular Economy Strategy, and discuss forthcoming steps with politics, industry, and civil society experts.
Location: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung EU Office Brussels, Rue du Taciturne 38, 1000 Brüssel
Time: 08.30 am - 9.30 am
08.15 am – Registration / Exchange over Coffee & Breakfast
08.30 am – Opening & Introduction: Data policy for a comprehensive circular economy
08.40 am – Expert Inputs - Germany's approach in building a data-driven circular economy
09.00 am – Roundtabel Discussion with all Participants
09.25 am - Closing remarks
09.30 am – End of the Roundtable Discussion & Time for Informal Exchange over Coffee & Breakfast
10.00 am – End of the Accelerator Session
This event is an accelerator session at the World Circular Economy Forum 2024. more
Half of all greenhouse gas emissions and 90 per cent of biodiversity loss are caused by how resources are extracted and processed in our economy. The linear economy, in which resources go straight from the factory to the landfill, is a dead end. In order to address climate change and resource scarcity in the long term, we need a circular economy based on the cradle-to-cradle principle, in which products, production and business models are designed in such a way that materials and resources can circulate almost endlessly.
Digitalisation is an important and powerful lever for setting this transformation in motion. In order to enable circular value creation, complex management of material and substance flows along the entire life cycle of a product is required. The key to this is data. The more information about the composition, use and environmental and health effects of products is digitally recorded, shared, analysed and processed, the easier it will be to manage raw materials and products in a circular way and to scale circular business models and ecosystems.
This study "The Digital Circular Economy" is the result of the project Digitalisation and Circular Economy, which the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the Cradle to Cradle NGO carried out together in 2023. Using different industries and specific use cases as examples, the study analyses how the potential of digitalisation for circular value creation can be leveraged in Germany and Europe.
The authors identify the disclosure and sharing of product data across company boundaries as a key success factor. The Digital Product Passport (DPP) envisaged by the EU is a key instrument for this. However, in order for the DPP to realise its potential, binding rules based on the goal of circularity are needed to determine which data must be collected by whom and shared with whom, and which standards must be taken into account - in short, circular data governance. The authors summarise the findings of the project in nine recommendations for action and show what policymakers need to do to ensure that data policy paves the way for a sustainable circular economy.
Stefanie Moser
Digitalisation
Max Ostermayer
Climate, Environment, Energy
Sebastian Daus I Co-Founder & CEO, FixFirst
Katja Hansen I Research Fellow TUM & Beirätin C2C NGO
Dr. Florian Hofmann I Scientist & Lecturer, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg
Moderator
Max Ostermayer I policy Advisor for Climate, Environment, Energy, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
The circular economy is an economic model that focuses on reusing and recycling natural resources to minimize waste, extend the life of products and maximize value creation from materials. The circular economy thus enables economic activity within planetary boundaries and represents a comprehensive transformation that is oriented towards the entire product life cycle. In German, the term circular economy is often used synonymously. However, this is often only associated with the established waste management systems surrounding recycling - i.e. with the end of life of products.
The Cradle-to-Cradle concept is a holistic approach to a circular economy that starts with the design of products and addresses climate and resource issues together. The term can be translated as “from cradle to cradle”, or “from origin to origin” and is abbreviated as C2C. The C2C design concept describes how products and processes must be designed so that the materials used can continuously circulate in biological and technical cycles. What is crucial is the specific usage scenario for which a product is intended.
Data governance includes both the procedures for defining rights and obligations for handling data and the application of these rules when collecting, storing, processing and sharing data within and between organizations. In particular, data governance can determine which types of data are subject to certain rules and standards, as well as who can access this data.
A digital product passport (DPP) is a structured collection of product-related information with a pre-defined scope that is recorded and accessible digitally, e.g. by scanning a QR code. The DPP is used to electronically record, process and exchange product information between companies in the supply chain, authorities and civil society or consumers.
As part of its draft for a new ecodesign regulation, the EU Commission proposed in 2022 to make the digital product passport mandatory for all products on the EU market. This European digital product passport should then provide all the information that ensures optimal value retention of products and materials in the sense of circular value creation (EU Commission 2022).
The more information about the composition, use and environmental and health effects of products is digitally recorded, shared, analyzed and processed, the easier it is to circulate raw materials and products or to scale circular business models and ecosystems. The diagram shows the role data and data governance play in different phases of the life cycle of a product in the circular economy