Sustainable data regulation for the circular economy in Berlin: Background and policy recommendations

Digitalisation is likely to play an essential role in facilitating the transition to a circular economy. One relevant technological approach is the so-called digital product passport, which provides information about a product that is relevant to its entire lifecycle. This information enables more informed decision-making for those purchasing a product and enables greater repair and re-use as well as proper disposal. Generally, the digital product passport is conceived as a relatively static repository of information about a product type, meaning it does not capture any information about the usage phase of an individual product of that type. For some products, however, such use-related information could support second-life applications. An “extended” digital product passport could also provide information about specific instances of the product, including relevant information from their use phase. An early example of this concept can be found in current policy and technological developments for large battery systems used in electric-vehicle and industrial applications.

This paper examines the concept of an “extended” digital product passport from a socio-ecological perspective, using the example of electric-vehicle batteries. It evaluates different approaches to data regulation and formulates policy recommendations for decision-makers in Berlin. It is based on preliminary work from the project, particularly on the development of three ideal types of data regulation and a methodology for their scenario-based evaluation.