Remanufacturing returns end-of-life (EOL) products to a like-new functional state with matching warranty, thus, extending product service life (200% to 300%), capturing residual value from EOL components and providing superior economic and environmental benefits compared to traditional Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) new production. Remanufacturing can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 80% in appropriate sectors, reduce new material requirements(costs) by a similar amount and create employment through increasing skilled labour hours by up to 120% \[IRP 2018\] while still reducing overall cost. However, despite these triple-win benefits the UK remanufacturing industry is still at its infancy, e.g. the ratio of remanufacturing to manufacturing is strikingly low, only at around 2% (ERN 2015). In addition, almost 98% of remanufacturers are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) \[SIR 2020\] and struggle with inadequate resources to establish their brand, limited access to cores (used products as starting material for remanufacturing) and scarce sales channels to reach their customer base. Crucially the sector has an image problem and customers do not trust the quality of remanufactured products. Furthermore, as a result of significant inefficiencies and inhibitive costs arising from small scale remanufacturing volumes, remanufacture is often abandoned in favour of other lower value end-of-life processes such as recycling of the materials. SMEs have benefited greatly from the Electronic Marketplace Places (EMPs) such as eBay and Amazon which introduce the network effect of bringing together market participants so that increasing numbers of customers to attract a greater number of merchants and partners, and vice versa. However, such EMPs are not suitable for remanufactured products as they do not address the fundamental issue facing remanufacturing, namely a lack of quality control for remanufactured products and intermittent access to cores. With an initial focus on automotive components, our project will develop a new concept of an EMP tailored for remanufactured products specifically one that is embedded with quality assurance mechanisms, blockchain and data analytics capability to enable remanufacturers to benefit from plug-in, modular, scalable services without the constraints of funding the full costs of a platform business up front, and access to cores, new markets and distribution channels via the platform. REMP will bring many benefits to the nascent remanufacturing industry: It creates and captures value along the supply chain and passes the benefits on to customers. A successful REMP will catalyse growth in sustainable use of materials through remanufacturing.

Waste is created at the point of consumption making waste highly decentralised; waste is generated and collected at multiple locations with high variances in quality and constituent ratios. Being of marginal value it is subject to a lack of accountability, sustainable management (e.g. sourcing & disposal), and to criminality. These challenges contribute to the current shortcomings in the plastics recycling industry, which only achieves an estimated 51% recycling rate in the UK (WRAP, 2019). Technology provider, Circulor, has developed a blockchain platform that enables businesses to monitor and track the provenance and quality of raw materials in their supply chains. It creates an immutable record of material chain of custody, including dynamic tracking and attribution of associated CO2 emissions. Using "edge technologies", machine learning, AI, and algorithms the system adds layers of automated verification which act to reduce fraud, improve compliance, and target intervention. Chemical recycling company, Recycling Technologies \[RT\], has developed an innovative recycling process harnessing thermal cracking to re-process conventionally hard-to-recycle plastics (HTRPs) into Plaxx(r). Plaxx can be used as feedstock by petrochemical companies to produce virgin-quality plastics for packaging with recycled content. RT's technology complements existing infrastructure in the UK by accepting HTRPs, diverting these from landfill or energy from waste (EfW) and enabling a circular economy for plastics by decoupling production from fossil fuels. It therefore bridges the gap between the waste and the petrochemical industries. The project aims to prove the feasibility of a traceability framework that would transform the plastics manufacturing supply chain by improving control of, and accountability for , waste plastic, by increasing transparency and data quality in real time on value, quantity, location and quality of waste and its recyclates. Being system and waste agnostic, the solution is applicable across multiple sectors and supports the proving of circularity, addressing dilution and attribution challenges. A cross-partnership of value chain stakeholders will be providing the required data to build the framework and relevant feedback to understand how to optimise it. The system will bring about the benefits of linking inbound waste provenance with outbound quality and destination for each unit of Plaxx produced. Enhanced data visibility will provide stakeholders with an optimised supply and logistics value chain, contributing to increase recycling rates. Information and monitoring systems will play a pivotal role in divulging transparency and sustainability along the supply chain, boosting coordination and promoting circularity in the HTRPs recycling value chain.

Leather is a critical commodity for the premium and luxury automotive industry. It is a by-product of the meat industry. Hides and skins are usually collected and traded between intermediaries through which traceability is lost. The different steps of leather processing can happen in various countries around the world before reaching the end-product manufacturer. Due to this globally dispersed and complex supply chain, leather can often present environmental, social, and economic risks. Jaguar Land Rover, the British multinational premium automotive company, uses different types of leather in various commodities of their cars (seating, headliners, doors, etc.). Because of the premium quality criterium, JLR is in direct contact with tanneries. However, the need for more visibility remains, for the upstream part of the chain from farms to hide suppliers and abattoirs to tanneries, as well as the downstream sewing and wrapping facilities. Jaguar Land Rover conducted a theoretical study with the University of Nottingham on the potential for the adoption of blockchain technology for traceability in its supply chains. Leather was recommended for a practical feasibility study given its importance to Jaguar Land Rover and the challenges that arise in its supply chain. Jaguar Land Rover has identified Bridge of Weir, a sustainable leather manufacturer and their supplier of semi-aniline leather, as a partner to implement a pilot project for leather traceability. Circulor, a UK traceability technology provider, will develop the traceability framework to prove and guarantee the provenance of the leather. The approach to traceability is based on the actual flow of hides through a supply chain. Via Circulor's platform, a 'digital twin' for the raw material will be created, and its progress through the supply chain will be captured at designated scan points. Verification methods like mass balance are integrated to validate and to guarantee a more transparent process. This feasibility study will focus on how the hides and skins can be physically identified and digitalised, from the animal on the farm and throughout the hide tanning processing. This will ultimately provide the insights necessary to implement traceability to the whole leather supply chain. The proof of provenance will benefit the end consumer, ensuring responsible and sustainable leather sourcing. Jaguar Land Rover will be able to improve supply chain performance, prevent and mitigate supply chain risks and disruptions. Implemented as a pilot with one Scottish leather producer, it could be extended later to other leather producers and industries.