Detailed description of project  

smart-ALICE  (smart digitAl pLatform cIrCular It managEment) is a nine-month pilot project designed to establish a transparent, trustworthy circular IT ecosystem in Grenoble. To address the 70% environmental footprint caused by IT hardware and help authorities meet French legal mandates for 20% refurbished procurement, the project introduces a “digital passport” system for devices. Using IoT-driven smart tags (QR, NFC, or RFID), each asset is tracked from decommissioning through refurbishment to resale. This ensures end-to-end traceability, quality certification, and measurable environmental impact data, such as avoided CO2 emissions.  

The solution integrates a digital marketplace with municipal ERP systems, allowing for seamless inventory management and compliance reporting. Beyond technical infrastructure, smart-ALICE employs behavioral nudges, including gamification and eco-dashboards, to engage over 150 users and 15 local stakeholders. By the end of the experimentation, the project aims to reach TRL 9, providing a proven, scalable model that turns fragmented reuse practices into a synchronized local economy. This transition reduces premature electronic waste and fosters institutional trust in second-hand equipment, positioning Grenoble as a leader in responsible digital transition. 

Type and scope of work provided  

• IoT Infrastructure: Affixing BLE/NFC/RFID beacon tags to IT assets to establish “digital passports” for end-to-end lifecycle traceability.  

• Software Engineering: Developing a cloud-based marketplace and centralized inventory platform that aggregates supply from refurbishers and demand from institutions.  

• Systems Integration: Building open APIs to ensure interoperability between the smart-ALICE platform and existing municipal ERP or asset management databases.  

• Data Analytics: Creating environmental dashboards to quantify $CO_2$ and water savings, alongside automated compliance reporting for procurement laws.  

• Social Engineering: Launching gamification tools (eco-points), training sessions for 150+ users, and “quality labels” to overcome psychological barriers to adopting refurbished hardware.  

• Ecosystem Orchestration: Coordinating 5 local authorities and 10 reuse stakeholders into a synchronized, collaborative governance model. 

smart-ALICE is funded through cascading funds in the scope of the project CLIMABOROUGH, which is co-funded by the European Union and CINEA. CLIMABOROUGH has the ambition to bridge the gap between design and implementation of urban innovations, particularly in the face of climatic change and its consequential needs for adaptation and mitigation.