The activity¹ complies with all the following criteria:

1. Techniques are adopted that support the reuse and use of secondary raw materials and reused components.
2. Measures are in place to manage and recycle waste at the end-of life to ensure that components and materials are segregated and treated to maximize recycling and reuse in accordance with the waste hierarchy and national waste regulations, in particular through the reuse and recycling of batteries and electronics and the critical raw materials therein. These measures also include the control and management of hazardous materials².
3. Preparation for re-use, recovery or recycling operations, or proper treatment, including the removal of all fluids and a selective treatment are performed in accordance with national regulations on treatment of WEEE materials and components.
4. Additionally, based on the use and scope of application of each type of IT/OT solution, the following criteria are followed:

For remote monitoring and predictive maintenance systems, at least two of the following capabilities are met in full scope:

• Alerting the user to abnormal sensor values, and assessing the status of the product, equipment, or infrastructure, detecting wear and tear or electrical issues, and drawing conclusions about the exact nature of abnormal operating conditions by means of advanced analytical methods
• Predicting the expected remaining lifetime of a product, equipment, or infrastructure, and recommending measures to extend lifetime
• Predicting an upcoming product, equipment or infrastructure failure and recommending measures to prevent such failure
• Providing recommendations about the highest value next use cycle, such as reuse, recovering components through parts harvesting for remanufacture, or recycling, taking into consideration a combination of factors regarding the product’s condition

For tracking and tracing software and IT/OT systems, at least one of the following capabilities are met in full scope:

• Providing identification, tracking and tracing of materials, products and assets through value chains in order to make accessible structured data (such as material content, substances, environmental information) required for lifecycle assessments or material declarations according to relevant standards, such as ISO 14067:2018(151) or ISO 14040:2006(152), and sharing of such data with value chain partners, consumers, and other economic actors in compliance with relevant standards regarding data modelling, interoperability, data privacy and data security;
• Provisioning and sharing of documents and data directly supporting the repair and maintenance of products and equipment, such as repair instruction, test equipment, wiring and connection diagrams, diagnostic fault and error codes, disassembly instructions
• Supporting reverse logistics, including the take-back of products for remanufacturing, refurbishment or recycling, by managing steps and transactions in the take-back process, such as pick-up order placement, tracking of sales transaction data, decomposition of product into materials to be re-injected into circular material flows, and by optimizing decisions to prevent downcycling and maximize resource recovery.
• Supporting optimization and intensification of the use of products, through circular business models such as providing products as a service or peer-to-peer sharing.

For lifecycle assessment software, at least one of the following capabilities are met in full scope:

• Supporting the life cycle assessment of products, equipment or infrastructure with software-implemented methods and algorithms according to relevant standards such as ISO 14067:2018(153) or ISO 14040:2006(154)
• Providing data required for lifecycle analysis, such as standard carbon emission values and other environmental impacts for frequently used products and materials or production steps
• Providing recommendations for improving the design of a product, equipment, or infrastructure so as to minimize their material and carbon footprint

For design and engineering software, at least one of the following capabilities are met in full scope:

• Supporting users to formulate, document and manage product-specific circularity and other environmental design goals and requirements, such as design-for-remanufacturability, design-for-serviceability, minimal environmental impact from using or operating the product, minimal waste during production or construction and tailored production to eliminate over-specification and reduce material inputs
• Supporting users to explore product designs for the purpose of assessing and optimizing product designs against specified circular or other environmental objectives, or finding the best trade-off between conflicting design goals, such as robustness vs. material use, greener material vs. costing or installing schedule or cost of downstream reuse and recycling systems
• Validating a design through analysis and simulation against specified circularity and other environmental design goals and requirements
• Supporting the computer-aided product design process – including mechanical, electrical, electronic or recipe design – with data and information about the impact of design and construction decisions on circularity and environmental performance
• Supporting the selection of materials and components with a low environmental impact through the provision of data about market-available materials and components and their cost.

For supplier management software, at least one of the following capabilities are met in full scope:

• Providing the user with information about suppliers and supplies of circular products, immediate products, components and materials that are designed for closed loop systems, reuse, remanufacturing or repurposing.
• Supporting the management and tracking suppliers’ compliance with standards and certifications related to the provision of such materials, products, and components
• Supporting the exchange with suppliers of data required to verify the environmental performance of supplied materials, products, and components
• Supporting the trading and matchmaking between suppliers and purchasers of circular, eco-designed or otherwise eco-friendly products, materials, and components
• Supporting reverse logistics

For lifecycle performance management software, at least one of the following capabilities are met in full scope:

• Supporting the monitoring and assessment of the circularity performance of a product, equipment or infrastructure during its lifecycle over time
• Comparing circularity performance against original circularity design goals, analyzing deviations and their root causes
• Supporting the planning and documentation of measures required to prolong the useful life of the product, equipment or infrastructure, such as maintenance, retrofit, or other services
• Supporting the impact assessment of such measures on circularity performance
• Providing the user with data required to take decisions on the future use of the product, equipment, or infrastructure, such as retrofit, change of use, decommissioning and recycling