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Defining the digital language of the circular economy

Ragn‑Sells, together with European partners, is helping drive the development of a shared digital standard for the circular economy. Across the EU, requirements for traceable data, open systems, and shared information are rapidly increasing, and industries now need a digital foundation that enables collaboration across value chains.

02 Mar 2026
Innovation

The EU-funded Onto‑DESIDE project addressed this need by developing a common digital language that makes scaling circular material flows possible in practice.

A digital foundation for scalable circular collaboration

A circular economy depends on collaboration between many different actors; manufacturers, recyclers, logistics operators, the construction sector, and authorities. Today, that collaboration is often held back by closed systems, inaccessible data, and the lack of shared descriptions.

Onto‑DESIDE tackles this by developing a digital language, ontologies, that create consistent, machine-readable descriptions of materials, processes, and circular opportunities.

Ragn‑Sells contributes real industrial insight, through its work on the digital language of circularity, where structured data demonstrates how new circular solutions become possible.

Together, these efforts form a foundation that makes circular solutions scalable, verifiable, and repeatable across industries and borders.

Why the construction sector shows the way

The construction sector is one of society’s most material‑intensive industries, making it a natural priority for strategic innovation at Ragn‑Sells. Scaling circular practices in this sector relies on reliable, interoperable, high‑quality material data, something Onto‑DESIDE demonstrates is urgently needed.

Innovation Manager Lars Nybom describes the challenge:

“Decades of linear material flows and practices with heavy dependence on virgin resources have created complex barriers for circularity. Mixed waste streams, inconsistent material quality, and limited traceability make circular solutions difficult. This is where Onto‑DESIDE’s semantic standards provide direct support,” he says.

A good example is the collaboration between Ragn‑Sells and Saint‑Gobain, where flat glass from demolition sites is returned to new production. Such traceability and quality assurance from building stock to production are only possible when actors share standardized data.

At the same time, the EU is tightening requirements through new legislation demanding traceability, data sharing, and systems that work together, which make Onto‑DESIDE’s solutions even more urgent.

What this means for industry and policymakers

For companies in manufacturing, construction, or recycling, the platform enables:

  • easier circular collaborations
  • higher data quality for reporting and compliance
  • automated matching between material supply and circular demand
  • reduced risk through transparent, standardized information
  • faster innovation cycles

For authorities and policymakers, the platform provides improved insight into material flows, enabling better governance and more effective incentives.

“Onto‑DESIDE provides a tool that enables and quality‑assures circular collaborations, helping all actors meet the fast‑evolving EU regulatory landscape,” says Mikael Lindecrantz, Digital Innovation Lead at Ragn‑Sells.

A global invitation to the circular ecosystem

  • The project’s ambition is global and targets:
  • industrial manufacturers
  • construction and demolition actors
  • recyclers and waste operators
  • legislators and public authorities

"We want more actors to discover this work, use it and build on it. The more organisations that adopt and collaborate on shared ontologies, the faster circular value networks can scale,” says Mikael Lindecrantz.

As Onto‑DESIDE enters its final reporting phase to the EU Commission, demonstrators and pilot projects clearly show what becomes possible when circularity is built on a shared digital language.

The construction sector illustrates this particularly well: large material volumes, significant climate impact, and a strong need for reliable and shareable data if circular models are to become reality. By integrating insights from Ragn-Sells' "Innovation Area Construction" into the Onto‑DESIDE platform, future partners (from demolition contractors to material producers) will be able to collaborate, develop and scale circular solutions.

What happens next?

The next step is scaling by inviting more partners, industries, and authorities to join the ecosystem and build the circular value networks of tomorrow.

Contact: Mikael Lindecrantz, Digital Innovation Lead Ragn‑Sells, Mikael.lindecrantz@ragnsells.com

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