Digital Technologies to Advance Circular Economy at Territorial Level: Challenges and Solutions

The exponential spread of digital technologies is shaping the economy and society around the globe. It paves the way for an ever-increasing amount of data which has become a fertile ground for growth and innovation, but also for improvements in human well-being and environmental performance. Digitalization can offer, through an enhanced knowledge of territorial resources and activities, increasing opportunities to achieve more circular economy models and thus more sustainable production and consumption systems. By contrast, many barriers can slacken the deployment of digital tools which need to be identified and tackled. The present work seeks to understand the nature of the opportunities and challenges that arise within the introduction of digitalization to promote the circular economy on a territorial level. Hence, through a systematic literature review, key issues associated with the deployment of digital tools are highlighted by emphasizing the areas of application; agriculture, transportation and energy. Subsequently, a “Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities, Responses, Effectiveness” (SCORE) approach is adopted to investigate through a qualitative analysis the past, present and future opportunities and challenges. These findings are positioned and discussed with a key actor managing the Paris-Saclay territory and transitioning towards more circular economy practices. Finally, recommendations are made for public actors to tackle the challenges and accommodate the digital transition towards more circular territories.