Niaga® wins Circular Economy Prize

• European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) names solution from Niaga® award winner of the Circular Economy Prize.
  

• The prize in the Digital Products Passports (:) category underlines the importance of transparency and traceability for a cicular economy.
  

• Niaga® Digital Product Passport recognized as a key enabler for circularity
  

Innovation venture of Covestro awarded

The : of the venture is a universal and interoperable platform that provides ingredient transparency about a product for all stakeholders across industries and across Europe. It provides factual, objective, measurable information on product ingredients, components, provenance, and attributes like CO2 footprint, recycled content and recyclability.

Sascha Bloemhoff, Marketing Director at Niaga® and responsible for the :: “Most systems today are linear, tracing only high-level data. Such systems lack crucial pieces of ingredient information needed to close the loop. Detailed ingredient knowledge is a must, if we want to avoid downcycling of valuable materials during recycling, whatever the product or industry: electronics, clothing or the building sector.”

Martin Snijder, Circular Economy Orchestrator at EIT Climate-KIC: “The : radiates circularity in every aspect, as do Niaga®’s core activities. The : is under development and managed by an experienced and convincing team. The jury hopes the minimum transparency level of the Niaga® : will become the standard in Europe.” 

Winning the prestigious prize is the recognition of the Niaga® : as a key enabler for circularity and underlines the importance of material stewardship, transparency and traceability in achieving a truly circular economy. Lynette Chung, Chief Sustainability Officer at Covestro: “In order to achieve a fully circular economy, we need to connect stakeholders and transport knowledge along the value chain, and support consumer trust and demand for more sustainable product offerings. It’s why we’re particularly proud of our innovation venture’s : being recognized as a key enabler for a no-waste, circular economy. The : provides essential infrastructure for a sustainable future and is a viable solution that also protects users’ IP sensitive information.”

Sascha Bloemhoff adds: “It is our mission to design out waste. Our key learning in our journey has been that to make return, and with it, reuse, repair, refurbishment, and recycling possible we need the full disclosure of a product’s ingredient, material, and component information. Moving from theory to practice, pointed us in the direction of our universal and interoperable product passport. Because our : revolves around ingredient transparency – not just traceability – it’s a solution that helps to put valuable materials centre stage. Because in a true circular economy what is a polyester sweater today, could become a car seat tomorrow and a mattress in the future.”