Background Information
As part of the Global Strategy for Sustainable Consumption and Production, a new flagship initiative “Digitalization 4 Circular Economy” was initiated by the 10YFP Secretariat with the aim of developing and implementing a critical path for harnessing digital technologies and unleash the full potential of a circular economy.
This has been done in close cooperation with UNEP Digital Transformation sub-programme and the Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES).
A report on “Critical path for harnessing digital technologies for circular economy”, has been developed based on research and consultations conducted through Metabolic Institute.
Building on the report and the concrete recommendations of initial research and consultations, the objective of the initiative is to trigger the following transformations through multi-stakeholder action-oriented partnerships in 5 areas:
- Strengthen data transparency, interoperability and sharing across value chains in high-impact sectors for informed circular economy approaches, including through engagement in standards and digital product passports.
- Scale up digitally enabled circular business models, through co-designed efforts to reinforce the value proposition and revenue for circular business models and pilot for scale, as well as through increasing access to investment and finance.
- Increase sustainable choices of consumers through improved access to product sustainability information, including in e-commerce.
- Policy incentives to circularity, aligning policies and technologies development for the digital circular economy, through guidance for agile policy frameworks that can adapt to rapid digital innovation, such as in public procurement, extended producer responsibility definitions, and lifespan extension.
- Foster the new generation of the green-tech workforce, through upskilling of the current workforce, education, and green jobs for youth.
DC4E brings together a community of 30+ experts and key actors within digital technologies, circular economy, behavioural change, and the finance space.
The initiative will mobilize its actors in working groups “Intervention Labs”, through which partners will identify, co-design, validate, pilot and bring to scale concrete interventions to further the sustainable use of digital technologies in accelerating the shift to a circular economy.
