The circular economy – the circulation of information is also vital

Meeting the demand for standardised data on circularity

In order to reach circularity targets, products must not only be circular by design, but all actors involved would need in-depth information on the composition of the products throughout all phases, from raw materials to finished products and from use to recycling.

In 2019, Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy launched the Product Circularity Data Sheet (Fiche de données sur la circularité des produits - PCDS). Its objective is to facilitate the sharing of information on circularity. The information made available in the PCDS is clear, verifiable and standardised. The data sheets contain 130 declarations and cover the entire lifecycle of a product in a simple manner.

Geobloc - presentation of a case built on solid foundations

Geobloc is a company that specialises in the production of clay bricks in Luxembourg. It successfully completed its first Product Circularity Data Sheet Luxembourg in cooperation with Terra Matters, the reference platform for the creation of PCDSs. This initiative also enabled the company to:

• Better understand its own production cycle and identify areas for improvement;
• Carry out a detailed analysis of the materials used and their circularity;
• Engage in a more transparent dialogue with its suppliers to obtain more accurate data on raw materials and their impact;
• Implement an external verification protocol to strengthen the credibility of its environmental declarations.

The PCDS design process has also led Geobloc to review its resource management practices and develop guidelines to make sure its products remain recyclable at the end of their life. This experience has demonstrated that the PCDS can serve as a strategic tool for any company wishing to strengthen their circular strategy.

A model based on a three-fold system

At the time, more than 50 companies from 12 countries and industry leaders joined the project to further enrich the PCDS in sectors such as construction and consumer goods. The PCDS was presented to major platforms and leaders in the field of international circular economy for further input and comments. The objective was to raise awareness of the project and to promote its acceptance among existing initiatives and stakeholders.

It is based on three elements:

1. Data standard: The PCDS provides a standardised data model that describes the relevant circular information for each product.
2. Exchange of data: The PCDS uses a decentralised data exchange protocol that enables the efficient distribution of information throughout the supply chain.
3. Verification by third parties: A third-party verification process guarantees the reliability of the data provided, thus protecting manufacturers against unintentional errors.

Challenges and objectives

Several barriers were identified in ongoing projects and led to careful consideration on how to solve them. The main obstacle encountered was the limited availability of basic data on the circular economy:

• Data is not available in a standardised format.
• Most circularity data is in different proprietary centralised databases. As such, there is no universal and open mechanism enabling the easy exchange of fundamental data throughout the supply chain.
• The data is often unidentified or not available to the public due to trade secrets or lack of data gathering in companies.
• The data is often not validated by an independent third party.
• As a consequence, information on circularity has to be gathered through costly and laborious processes, often from different sources and various channels.

In order to overcome these issues, the PCDS project has evolved towards a normative framework and a structured governance model.

A little history...

The Ministry of the Economy launched the PCDS initiative in 2018 in order to create an industry standard for product circularity data. A standardised data model was developed in 2019, and several companies joined and tested the project in 2020. To guarantee the reliability of the data provided by the PCDS, a third-party verification process was put in place. Work on developing the IT ecosystem continued, and the PCDS was submitted to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in partnership with ILNAS - Institut luxembourgeois de la normalisation, de l'accréditation, de la sécurité et qualité des produits et services. The PCDS has been adopted and implemented since 2022-2023.

In 2022, the Ministry of the Economy and the Chamber of Commerce created the TerraMatters platform to foster the widespread adoption and use of PCDS.