In the shift toward a circular economy, the ability to track products and materials throughout their entire lifecycle has become an operational imperative. Industries ranging from plastics to agriculture face persistent challenges in gaining the data transparency needed to support sustainable practices. A recent Accenture study revealed that more than half of CEOs prioritize enhanced sustainability data collection across supply chains, yet nine out of ten cite inadequate technology as a barrier to building resilience. This gap underscores the importance of solutions capable of tracing, verifying, and optimizing material flows from production to reuse.
UpLink, the World Economic Forum’s open innovation platform, in collaboration with Accenture, has launched the Traceability for Circularity Innovation Challenge to address these needs. Thirteen start-ups have been selected as UpLink Top Innovators, each advancing traceability systems that enable transparent, circular value chains.
Several of these companies are digitizing waste flows to transform waste into a resource. KWOTA has developed a platform that tracks and reports on secondary and recycled materials, verifying carbon reductions and maintaining a registry of recycled content. Replenysh offers an integrated network and software to follow materials from production through recovery, creating a digital marketplace for traceable resources. The Surpluss connects companies with excess materials to partners who can repurpose them, fostering cross-sector collaboration and emissions reduction. Sykell focuses on reusable assets, providing detailed lifecycle tracking to manage circular operations at scale.
Plastic waste management is another area of focus, particularly as extended producer responsibility regulations gain traction. CleanHub’s AI-driven governance platform enables waste collection organizations to track and verify plastic waste streams from collection to treatment. Saahas Waste Management operates in India, delivering verified proof of sourcing and recycling to producers and brand owners. In Nigeria, GIVO combines IoT and GPS monitoring with off-grid, solar-powered recycling facilities, ensuring real-time material tracking and transparent stakeholder payments.
Agriculture supply chains present their own traceability challenges due to fragmentation. Bext360 integrates blockchain, IoT, and mobile applications to provide end-to-end tracking of agricultural products, ensuring authenticity and ethical sourcing. TraceX uses a blockchain network to connect stakeholders, enabling the exchange of credible, verifiable data across the agricultural value chain.
In the fresh produce sector, maintaining quality while reducing waste is critical. Neolithics employs AI-based inspection to assess both internal and external characteristics of produce, guiding inventory decisions that minimize spoilage and optimize usage.
Maritime logistics also benefit from improved traceability. Dockflow applies blockchain and IoT technologies to deliver real-time container and cargo tracking, enhancing transparency and accountability in global shipping operations.
For industries seeking ethical sourcing and compliance, Mesur.io offers supply chain intelligence that integrates open standards, proactive monitoring, and secure data management. Its platform supports risk assessment and compliance verification across electronics, textiles, and food production. In textiles, where supply chains are often opaque, TrusTrace provides a data-driven traceability platform that empowers brands to verify and improve the impact of their operations, aiding them in meeting sustainability commitments.
These start-ups demonstrate the engineering potential of combining blockchain’s immutable records, AI’s analytical capabilities, IoT’s real-time monitoring, and digital marketplaces to create transparent supply chains. By embedding traceability into operational frameworks, they enable industries to align with circular economy principles, reduce waste, and uphold ethical standards. As these technologies mature, their integration into manufacturing, logistics, and resource management will be pivotal in advancing sustainability goals.