Glossary

In September 2015, world leaders adopted a new development agenda and global sustainable development goals. The 2030 Agenda consists of 17 global sustainable development goals aimed at eradicating poverty, halting climate change, and creating peaceful and secure societies.
The 2030 Agenda is the most ambitious plan for sustainable development the world has ever adopted. World leaders have pledged to achieve the SDGs by 2030, with all countries taking responsibility for creating a fairer, more sustainable, and better world.

Asset management is a methodical procedure for creating, using, upgrading, maintaining, disposing of, and tracking assets throughout their full life cycle in the most economical way possible. This can be applied to both equipment as well as IT system management.

A digital ledger that stores and synchronizes valid transactions (data made up of blocks) across a network of devices (called nodes), rather than on a single server. Blockchains can be either public or private. They are best known for their critical role in cryptocurrency systems for maintaining a secure and decentralized record of transactions, but they are not limited to cryptocurrency applications. Blockchains can be used to make data in any industry immutable - the term used to describe the inability to change. Blockchain can be used for DPP to verify that data is correct. If a private system is used (cloud or blockchain) we can only verify data if we have access to the blockchain. But a public blockchain makes all of this extremely easy, as anyone can verify the correctness of data, with no access rights required. Exactly what you would expect in an open infrastructure.

A system controlled by a single authority or group of parties. Anything that is centralized is under the control of a single authority or located in a single place, such as a centralized government. When a business is centralized, it operates from a central location rather than spreading things out among stores, offices, or factories. Centralized comes from a Latin word meaning "center" and the Greek root kentron, "sharp point. In centralization, the higher levels of management hold the decision-making authority. In decentralization, management distributes decision-making authority throughout the organization, bringing it closer to the source of action and information.

Circobuild is a project focused on the construction industry and how data can be connected to a building product through an app to view certifications, product data, and sustainability information supporting the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) data.

opposed to a linear economy, is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. CE aims to tackle global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution by emphasizing the design-based implementation of the three base principles of the model. The three principles required for the transformation to a circular economy are: designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.

A system in which decisions are not made by a single point, but as an aggregate result of the network. A decentralized network has no single owner of information and no central authority, which means that there is no single party to trust when using the network. It is an interconnected system where no single entity has complete authority. It is the architecture in which the workloads, both hardware and software, are distributed among several workstations. Decentralized systems can easily be found in nature, they are also evident in aspects of human society such as governmental and economic systems.

A delegated act is a non-legislative act adopted by the Commission to supplement or amend certain non-essential elements of a legislative act. The Commission also consults experts, including experts designated by each member state, before adopting such acts. They can only be adopted if there is a delegation of powers contained in a legislative act. They may supplement or amend certain non-essential elements of that legislative act. This allows the Commission to react quickly and flexibly, for instance, to regulatory requirements using its technical knowledge. This could be, for example, in areas such as travel information, food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, and plant health.

The digital link is a global GS1 standard underpinning a coherent way of using the same codes across different applications to link a product's unique identity to online sources of information by providing a consistent representation of GS1 identification keys, like for instance a GTIN. The digital link uses web addresses to link to information and services in regard to the product. These digital links can be used to enhance the consumer's experience as well as ease the flow of information in supply chains by providing correct and secure product data as well as better traceability and authentication of products.

A digital product is the intangible asset or item delivered over the internet like music, e-books and software

It´s the process by which an organization adopts and implements digital technology to create new or modify existing products, services, and operations. The goal of its implementation is to add value through innovation, invention, customer experience, or efficiency. The digital transformation of products is the process of strengthening the industry's digital transformation by enabling companies to create a digital version of a product that is as good as the physical one. It is about digitalization at the individual and societal level - and about digitization, which is the transfer of analog information into a digital form.

Is a virtual model designed to accurately reflect a physical object. Digital Twin technology creates a virtual representation of a product that uses real-time data track its progress from creation to recycling. A digital twin can be created for every item produced. The twin can be identified and validated from an ID label or from visual characteristics alone.

It´s the process of converting analog information into digital form using an analog-to-digital converter, such as in an image scanner or for digital audio recordings. Digitization primarily entails the conversion and recording of data, whereas digitalization revolves around the enhancement of manual systems by refining processes and altering workflows. An illustrative case of digitalization involves harnessing digitized customer data from various origins to autonomously derive valuable insights from their behavior.

A Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a set of structured data about each product, and readable for the end-consumer or procurer. The purpose and intended scope of the DPP is information related to sustainability, circularity, value retention for reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling to make relevant information visible during the product lifecycle. Ultimately, DPP will facilitate a circular economy through the sharing of different sustainability data by manufacturers about their products.

An Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) is a document that transparently communicates the environmental performance or impact of any product or material over its lifetime. The EPD provides information to buyers about a product´s impact on the environment, such as global warming potential, smog creation, ozone depletion, and water pollution.

The Ecodesign Directive for Sustainable Products will replace the current Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC) and introduce more ecodesign criteria for a wider range of products. It aims to make sustainable products the norm in the EU market.

Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG) provides standards, guidance, tools, and training for businesses and governments to measure and manage climate-warming emissions. The standard covers the accounting and reporting of seven greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol - CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6, NF3, HFCs, and PFCs.

Global Trade Item Number- contains information on: product identification number, in which country the number is issued & company identity.

Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs), and this category includes:
UPC (in the US)
EAN (in Europe)
JAN (in Japan)
ISBN (for books)

GTINs numbers are assigned by Uniform Code Council (GS1).

The European Commission has adopted a set of proposals to make the EU's climate, energy, transport, and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. More information on Delivering the European Green Deal:
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/delivering-european-green-deal_en

A set of environmental management standards designed to help organisations minimise the negative impact of their activities on the environment, comply with applicable laws, regulations and environmental commitments, and achieve continual improvement.

Interoperability is the ability of different products, systems, and organizations often in a computer context, to work together and communicate with each other.

It is a method for calculating the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle - from the extraction of natural resources to the end of its use and disposal. With an LCA, you can find out at which stage of a product's life cycle a particular environmental impact is greatest. You can then use the results to develop the product for less environmental impact.

It is the process of managing the lifecycle of a product. Lifecycle management starts at the very beginning of the product in the design phase and continues through the end-of-life or recycling of the product.

Link management encompasses the processes of discovering, accessing, modifying, storing, arranging, structuring, organizing, and evaluating all the hyperlinks utilized and distributed by an organization. This encompasses not only internal links, which are exclusively accessible by the organization's members, but also external links shared beyond the organization.

An NFT wallet is a type of cryptocurrency wallet that can store and display your non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are unique digital assets that use blockchain technology to prove their ownership and authenticity. Most NFTs are created and traded on the Ethereum network, so you need an NFT wallet that supports Ethereum and its tokens.

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier recorded on a blockchain that is used to prove ownership and authenticity. It cannot be copied, substituted or shared. Ownership of an NFT is recorded on the blockchain and can be transferred by the owner, allowing NFTs to be sold and traded.

On-demand often refers to the idea that data is downloaded or accessible as needed or requested, rather than being preloaded or stored locally, in the context of connected data. It means that the system retrieves the requested connected data in real time from a distant source or repository whenever a user or application asks for it. This strategy is frequently used to guarantee that data is current and up-to-date and to lessen the requirement for keeping significant amounts of data locally. The Semantic Web's principles of dynamic querying and interconnected data are frequently linked to on-demand data retrieval.

Refers to IT systems running on dedicated hardware in a designated location, as opposed to in the cloud. Usually on the owner´s premises but it can also be IT systems running somewhere other than the owner´s premises, but still on specific hardware at the owner´s disposal.

Open source software refers to software that is released with a license that allows anyone to view, use, modify, and distribute the source code freely.
The open-source philosophy promotes transparency, collaboration, and community-driven development. Normally the copyright holder grants users the right to use, study, modify, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone for any purpose. Open-source software can be developed in a collaborative, public way. Open source software is a prominent example of open collaboration, meaning that any capable user can participate in development online, making the number of possible contributors unlimited. The ability to examine the code facilitates public trust in the software.

The direct connection between two users of a system without a third party acting as an intermediary.

The ProPare project has developed a prototype for how a global, standardized infrastructure for Digital Product Passports could work in practice. The basis for this is a set of open and competition-neutral standards. With a common language used to identify every single unique product on the market, and a resolver pointing to the right data sources, all actors – suppliers and retailers as well as public authorities and consumers – can access relevant updated data in real-time, from multiple, decentralized sources, regardless of industry, company or product category. ProPare stands for Product Passport Resolver.

The process of purchasing goods or services. Procurement as an organizational process is intended to ensure that the buyer receives goods, services, or works at the best possible price when aspects such as quality, quantity, time, and location are compared. Corporations and public bodies often define processes intended to promote fair and open competition for their business while minimizing risks such as exposure to fraud and collusion.

Quick Response, is a patented and proprietary standard for grid codes, two-dimensional codes for optical reading. It was developed to overcome the limitations of the EAN code. Dynamic QR codes send users to specific information or web pages, just like any other QR code. What makes them "dynamic" is that the URL encoded in them redirects to a second URL that can be changed on demand, even after a code is printed. Static QR codes can´t be changed in that way. They cannot be edited once created, are not trackable, and cannot be used for online retargeting.

Regulatory due diligence is an audit of the regulatory compliance of a company, its projects, and its employees. In an M&A context, regulatory due diligence seeks to ensure that there are no regulatory inconsistencies within a target company. Regulatory due diligence should be part of a company's overall due diligence activities and is a process for comprehensively assessing the compliance status of the company´s organization and those with which you do business. Typically, these assessments involve extensive background research and documentation review so you can: reveal previously unknown issues, mitigate risk, understand your regulatory obligations, verify that the third parties you work with are legitimate and sound, evaluate potential impact on your business, and correct issues.

A resolver database is used to resolve or map one type of data to another. It stores associations or mappings between different types of data elements, allowing systems to quickly look up and retrieve the desired information based on an input or query. Resolver databases are designed for efficient data retrieval. They often use indexing or hashing techniques to ensure fast lookups, reducing the time required to resolve data.

The implementation of ethical, environmental and socially conscious approaches to sourcing, procurement and overall supply chain management. Responsible sourcing, also known as supply chain responsibility, is a voluntary commitment by companies to consider social and environmental issues when managing their relationships with suppliers.

are direct greenhouse (GHG) emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by an organization (e.g., emissions associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles).

are indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling. Although scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where they are generated, they are accounted for in an organization’s GHG inventory because they are a result of the organization’s energy use.

are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization, but that the organization indirectly impacts in its value chain. Scope 3 emissions include all sources not within an organization’s scope 1 and 2 boundary.

is a model or a system for managing digital identities in which individuals or businesses have sole ownership over the ability to control their accounts and personal data. This system allows two parties to verify each other's identities without having to share specific identity documents with each other. Validation is instead provided by an external third party (usually via a decentralised blockchain).

The semantic web is an extension of the current web, which mainly relies on documents that are connected by hyperlinks. The Semantic Web takes this a step further by adding context and meaning to web content, making it easier for computers to understand and process information. Key areas of the semantic web are Interoperability, Machine understanding (reading), Applications, and Metadata. Challenges lay foremost in data quality, privacy, and accessibility concerns and the need for widespread adoption of Standards.

The European single market, internal market or common market is a single market comprising the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) as well as – with certain exceptions – Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and Switzerland through sectoral treaties. The single market seeks to guarantee the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people, known collectively as the "four freedoms". This is achieved through common rules and standards that all the EU member states are legally committed to following.

A smart contract is a computer program or transaction protocol designed to automatically execute, control or document events and actions according to the terms of a contract or agreement. The goals of smart contracts are to reduce the need for trusted intermediaries, arbitration costs and fraud losses, and to reduce malicious and accidental exceptions. Smart contracts are commonly associated with cryptocurrencies, and the smart contracts introduced by Ethereum are generally considered a fundamental building block for decentralised finance (DeFi) and NFT applications.

A standard is a norm that applies to all aspects of a thing or service. Standards are the documented knowledge of prominent actors in industry, business, and society. Standards contain requirements for products, services, processes, or systems, all set out in a document. This can include products, locations, invoices, packages, and much more. Standards in IT and infrastructure serve as a set of essential guidelines and practices that promote consistency, compatibility, and reliability. They underpin the functionality and security of the modern digital world, allowing diverse technologies and systems to work together effectively and ensuring that IT and infrastructure solutions meet high-quality and safety standards. An example of a standard is the set of GS1 standards, which is a global standards system open to all companies of all sizes. GS1 standards help companies identify, label, and share information about anything that moves in their supply chains regarding both physical products as well as within IT and infrastructure.

The sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of material or a product.

is the process of tracking the provenance and  journey of products and their inputs, from the very start of the supply chain through to end-use.

Supply chain transparency requires companies to know what is happening upstream in the supply chain and to communicate this knowledge both internally and externally.
One reason the process has become increasingly important is that more consumers are demanding it. Transparency is also about the extent to which information about processes, procedures, materials and product information is published in a clear, factual, neutral and understandable way.

is the ability to track and trace inventory, parts, components or products in transit from the source to the destination. It involves making data available to all stakeholders, including the customer. Supply chain visibility helps to improve and strengthen the supply chain by providing control and insight over the logistics, inventory and warehouse management processes. It includes transparency and traceability.

is a process of getting an independent party to check internal claims regarding sustainability progress for public disclosure.

A token is an object (in software or in hardware) that represents the right to perform some operation: Session token, a unique identifier of an interaction session. Security token or hardware token, authentication token or cryptographic token, a physical device for computer authentication. In decentralized systems, a "token" typically refers to a digital or cryptographic unit of value that represents ownership, access rights, or some form of utility within that system. Tokens play a fundamental role in various decentralized technologies, particularly in blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystems.

Transparency is the quality of being easily seen through, while transparency in a business or governance context refers to being open and honest. As part of corporate governance best practices, this requires disclosure of all relevant information so that others can make informed decisions. Transparency can also be linked to blockchain where one of the main characteristics of a public blockchain is that all information is public and can be viewed by anyone.

It is a means to find out exactly what a product is and from which supplier it came. The identification scheme is a language-independent label, tag, or token, often consisting of a bundle of registered part numbers - e.g., Universal Product Code (UPC), Electronic Product Code (EPC), Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) - plus the name of the brand that manufactured the product.