About the project

CSyARES- A Block Chain based Circular System for Assessing Rare Earth Sustainability
CSyARES creates a standardised sustainability certification for rare-earth elements (REEs), focusing on a “Product Environmental Footprint”. The project intends to integrate REIA’s sustainability standards for REEs with Circularise’s patented traceability technology and Minviro’s sustainability metrics. Together with the participation of Grundfos and BEC Magnetics, the partners provide an integrated solution.

REIA (Rare Earths Industry Association) has developed standards on assessing sustainable performance of supply chains. Minviro offers life-cycle-assessment (LCA) tools for companies to assess their sustainability metrics and standards fulfillment. Circularise offers a blockchain-based transparency solution to communicate absolute proof for the circular economy, sustainability and recycling practices of manufacturers, like the standards and assessments of REIA and Minviro. Grundfos is an original equipment manufacturer who uses REE materials in the production of pumps. BEC GmbH is a world-leader for human-robotic interaction with products for rehabilitation, radiotherapy, and industrial applications. Together the partners provide a  business model to stakeholders who are now able to prove their compliance and quality criteria to their customers. All parties will increase transparency, sustainability standards and recycling along the supply chain. 

 This project: (1) scales the blockchain system for supply-chain transparency and decentralised certification to serve the whole supply chain; (2) upscales REIA’s standard for sustainable performance along the supply chain; (3) integrates the REIA standard with Minviro’s LCA tool and Circularise’s new scaled technology; (4) demonstrates the system and business model of sustainable sourcing via collaboration with Grundfos and BEC GmbH and members of REIA. Circularise and Minviro will implement the software on supply-chain transparency and generate LCAs for the environmental impacts of example supply chains. Improved international-resource transparency and governance leads to stability, predictability, resource efficiency and hence a better foundation for competitiveness on a sustainable basis.

Project objective and scope

  • The project aims to provide certified transparency about the origin of materials, production processes, sustainability and material properties along the REE supply chain through a scaled blockchain application.
  • The project aims to provide end users with batch-specific proof of sustainability and manufacturers with a business model based on sustainable and recycled material.
  • The project provides streamlined communication of supply-chain characteristics through standardisation. Linking to existing standard development for REEs, e.g. Product Category Rules (PCRs) and Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs).

    For more detailed information, please refer to the main PCR document, which can be accessed on the here.

Output

  • An open-standard platform and procedure for audits and certifications of the end-to-end REE value chain with respective compliance checklists and auditor accreditation.
  • Education and training material on sustainable mining and the establishment of the global sustainable-mining standard.
  • Assessment system to enable the calculation of REE-supply-chain data with integrated measuring and improving socio‐environmental impact.
  • A blockchain digital ledger with inbuilt data security via cryptography, featuring the ability to identify supply‐chain vulnerabilities and opportunities.
CSyARES is an industrial initiative. It cooperates closely with upstream and downstream organisations to increase environmental, economic and social standards along the entire supply chain of REE materials and its downstream applications. The project develops smartly designed, collaborative software to provide cost-effective, sustainable, long-term competitive supply security. The objective of this action is to improve raw-materials supply conditions for the EU economy and the world market. Strategies include an improved dialogue with supply-chain partners and key stakeholders from resource-producing and resource-consuming countries along the REE supply chain; and respective standards and software solutions for standard implementation, assessment, sustainability performance and anonymous decentralised supply-chain data communication.

EPD International has published the Product Category Rules document on rare-earth concentrates, oxides, metals, and magnets. REIA developed the document in collaboration with Minviro, who moderated a committee of rare-earth-industry stakeholders, including REIA members, to formulate the PCR.

Project Partners:

BEC Gesellschaft für Produktmanagement mbH

BEC develops customised magnetic solutions for different types of industries, with focus on sintered NdFeB permanent magnets. www.bec-gmbh.de

Circularise

Circularise is a start-up that provides two leading software solutions for end-to-end supply chain traceability and transparency: MassBalancer to automate mass-balance bookkeeping and Digital Product Passports for end-to-end batch traceability. www.circularise.com

Grundfos

Grundfos is a global pump and water-solutions company with expertise in energy- and water-efficient solutions and and systems for a wide range of applications, including water utility, water treatment, industries and buildings.

www.grundfos.com

Minviro

Minviro is a consultancy and technology company that focuses on a stronger integration of life-cycle assessment in the mining, metals and recycling industries.

www.minviro.com

Partners:

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