Defining the goals of Product Passports by circular product strategies

Abstract

Information gaps are one of the major obstacles identified for the realization of a circular economy. Therefore, so-called product passports (PPs) are presented as a solution in the literature. A PP should provide the necessary information to all stakeholders along the product's value chain to act more circularly. In general, information systems (IS) close information gaps, and in this study, we identify PPs as an instance of green IS. Although essential, the goals of PPs in the CE transition are unclear and barely defined. Furthermore, this study seeks to evaluate which impact PPs might have on electronic products’ life-cycle. We conducted a Delphi study among experts within academia, industry, government, consultancy, and NGOs to assess the goals of PPs and how PPs might shift the handling of electronics according to the 9R framework. The results show that the information provided in PPs should and can enhance the recycling, repurposing, remanufacturing, refurbishing, repairing, and reusing of electronics. Hence, our results promote a more use phase-centric concept of PPs incorporating product use information besides the static cradle-to-gate product information.

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