Digital circular ecosystems: A data governance approach

Abstract

Strategic product data management fosters circular ecosystems that reduce carbon emissions and resource consumption. To this end, legal frameworks are needed to set standards for systematic product transparency and interoperable tracking of materials. Analyzing the EU’s Digital Product Passport (DPP), we propose the creation of publicly coordinated product data platforms to complement DPPs.The growing research interest in digital product passports (DPP) and circular economy platforms portends an ecological economic transformation that will require improved strategic product data governance. Using the literature, we explore the technical and policy frameworks required by data-based policy instruments for digital circular ecosystems (e.g., DPPs). We analyze five empirical product life cycle cases to better understand how the strategic governance of product-related data can connect materials and product flows to shape new collaborative circular ecosystems. For this purpose, we provide new governance proposals for modifying European DPPs to enable the systematic tracking of materials.