EVRYTHNG Propels Consumer Goods Industry into the Circular Economy with New Era of Product Digitization

NEW YORK and LONDON, Oct. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- EVRYTHNG, the IoT platform that activates every consumer product to make it intelligent, interactive and trackable, today announced the EVRYTHNG platform is powering a first of its kind recycling scheme providing consumer product brands and retailers with vital insights to consumer recycling habits and behaviors. Debuted in Spain in July 2018, this innovative recycling program is helping the retail industry meet sustainability and green targets, and includes participation by leading brands -- Carrefour, PepsiCo, Henkel, Unilever and Procter & Gamble, industry bodies and local authorities.

How does it work?

The first app, powered by EVRYTHNG and launched at Carrefour supermarkets in Spain, is called Reciclaya. The new app allows customers to determine how to recycle individual products by simply scanning the barcode on their supermarket receipt. More specifically, the app separates products into virtual recycling bins so that customers can place them into the closest corresponding containers.

It doesn't get much simpler. With the new app, consumers follow three steps:

• Scan shopping receipts to import purchased products into a mobile recycling app.
• Sort at home. Through the mobile app, consumers can access information on where, when and how to recycle the different parts of each product based on local schemes.
• Recycle items in street bins or preferred recycling centers. Consumers can earn rewards by registering where they are recycling by scanning or tapping identity tags on recycling units.

"For the first time, consumers can receive detailed information on how to recycle all products and packaging using a single app, and be rewarded for their participation," said Niall Murphy, Co-founder and CEO, EVRYTHNG. "Its convenient and simple, and through a gamified experience, it drives a new style of behavior."

"As part of our commitment to the environment we launched Reciclaya in collaboration with EVRYTHNG and Recycl3R," said Maria Quintin, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Environment, Carrefour Spain. "Our customers can now very quickly and simply determine how to recycle the products they've purchased by scanning the barcode on their receipt."

"While this initiative launched in Europe, we anticipate similar recycling programs to be rolled out worldwide over the next year," continued Murphy.

The Circular Economy

The World Economic Forum (WEF), European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) are all driving circular economy initiatives. The EU for example, has a target to recycle 75% of packaging waste by 2030. (Source: EU Action Plan for Circular Economy)

To achieve this goal, government, industry bodies, technology companies, brands and retailers have come together in an industry-wide collaboration to drive up recycling, and find effective and frictionless ways to increase consumer participation and reduce waste.

"Brands are looking for creative ways to hit recycling targets," said Murphy, also an active member of the World Economic Forum's 'Accelerating Sustainable Production' committee. "Our work with Carrefour is among the first deployments at scale but other brands are jumping on board in real-time."

"P&G is delighted to participate in this initiative that encourages recycling and motivates to have a more sustainable lifestyle," said Elio Estevez, Corporate Communication, Scientific Communications and Environmental Sustainability, Procter & Gamble. "Orienting consumers about where to recycle the packaging of the products they buy, positively impacts in our communities and the environment. We want to promote responsible consumption by helping consumers to be informed and make more sustainable purchasing decisions."

The Technology Behind the App

EVRYTHNG gives every product item a unique digital identity, called an Active Digital Identity. This digital identity provides brands with item-level tracking and business intelligence throughout the product lifecycle, from sales and distribution to use and disposal.

EVRYTHNG teamed with Recycl3R to transform the way consumer packaged goods are recycled —specifically with connected packaging -- making recycling easier, and more transparent.

"Let's face it, recycling is not as easy as it should be," said Iván González, CEO, Recycl3R. "The recycling scene is fragmented, and regulations are typically not uniform or standard, even within the same region. Brands do not have a unified way of communicating with consumers about how to recycle, making it hard for individuals to engage in the task. Our work with EVRYTHNG is changing this dynamic through a scalable smart recycling ecosystem."

By combining the capabilities of EVRYTHNG's IoT SaaS platform with the recycling information service developed by Recycl3R, brands and retailers are able to deploy recycling programs at scale, boosting consumer engagement and trust, by delivering clear recycling information to consumers through smart packaging, and then rewarding socially responsible consumption.

The work towards a recycling solution for the circular economy has in part been made possible thanks to the TagItSmart research project (http://www.tagitsmart.eu), where EVRYTHNG takes an active part as the Smart Products Platform provider.

"We are continuously exploring ways to apply IoT technology throughout the product lifecycle, from sustainable production to more efficient transportation to responsible recycling post-purchase," said Murphy. "Today's announcement ushers in a new era of product digitization to drive circular economy initiatives within the consumer goods industry."

About EVRYTHNG
EVRYTHNG is the market leading internet of things SaaS platform for consumer products, managing billions of unique digital identities in the cloud. Brands and their service providers work with EVRYTHNG to apply data science intelligence on an item-by-item basis, drive new digital applications, gain visibility into supply chains, and engage with their customers. EVRYTHNG created the new GS1 industry standards that have upgraded the world's barcodes and product tags to connect every product to the Web. Learn more at: http://EVRYTHNG.com and @EVRYTHNG

SOURCE Evrythng