You are here

Digital transformation of the circular economy: digital product passports for transparency, verifiability, accountability

TitleDigital transformation of the circular economy: digital product passports for transparency, verifiability, accountability
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of PublicationSubmitted
AuthorsNavarro, L, Cano, J, Font, M, Franquesa, D
JournalACM DLT Journal
Keywordsblockchain, circular economy, digital product passport, digital transformation, Distributed ledger, verifiability
AbstractWhile overshooting the planetary limits, billions of ICT goods are sold annually in an increasingly digitalised world. ICT is part of the problem but part of the solution to digitally transform our society to meet climate change goals. The world needs sustainable digital devices: efficient, durable, reusable, respectful to people and the planet, and accountable for their impacts. That requires trusted, detailed information to inform the best decisions and actions in a circular economy, and verifiable data and content about actions. We explore the design, implementation, evaluation and operation of a verifiable registry for digital product passports of ICT products, supported by blockchain technology. Our experimental results confirm the design decisions and the feasibility of delivering these services efficiently and at scale. Therefore it confirms digital product passports as viable instruments to move the ICT sector to the track of transparency and environmental accountability, to become an example for other product sectors to meet the climate change goals the world cannot afford to miss.
URLhttps://people.ac.upc.edu/leandro/docs/DPP_DLT_ACMJ22.pdf