Grenoble

Description of the challenge and of the envisaged solution(s)

Grenoble-Alpes Métropole is in the process of finalizing its roadmap towards more responsible uses of digital technology. The digital sector already accounts for more than 4% of greenhouse gas emissions, and the expected trajectories are alarming. In France, IT equipment is responsible for nearly 70% of the overall environmental impact of that industry. Extractive pressures and water usage are also worrisome. Extending the lifespan of equipment is therefore a crucial issue. This however involves developing a dedicated sector to the maintenance of these devices throughout their lifecycle, strengthening the second-hand marketplace to allow citizens finding highquality used products, and fostering a broader behavioural change towards reusing reconditioned equipment.
A new French law requires local authorities (with over 50,000 inhabitants) to ensure that at least 20% of their purchases of IT equipment come from reuse. However, the existing supply is not yet structured to meet this demand. Very little data is available and most of the information comes from organisations engaged in collection. Further, it only concerns dismantled equipment. Although this data is not consolidated at the regional level, most organizations hold a great deal of evidence from managing their own assets and IT infrastructure. Our region is fortunate to host many actors from the social economy as well as private companies that can address the identified needs, but until now, these actors have been very poorly coordinated. They have started to be called upon as part of a responsible digital community roadmap and are beginning to engage in small awareness-raising events for the general public. There is also some
resistance to change, mainly due to the lack of a structured supply, which in itself has consequences on the quality and price of refurbished equipment. The inability to meet sizable demands, the heterogeneity of used IT equipment, the lack of predictability regarding its availability, the absence of clear and shared standards, the difficulty in offering a comprehensive and secure solution, and the lack of traceability, are all huge obstacles. Today, whether required by the law or not, IT managers express the need to extend the lifespan of equipment and promote its reuse. However, there is also some cultural resistance on the side of end users, both businesses and natural persons. As a result, it is important to make the purchase of reused equipment more attractive, especially when acquiring the latest generation assets is highly valued socially. The goal is to first build a supply sector capable of addressing all the previously identified needs, from maintenance to dismantling of equipment. Key actors already exist, but they are largely unaware of each other and operate in a siloed manner. Coordination of their interventions relies heavily on the possibility to adopt common standards and frameworks, ensure traceability of equipment, and share relevant data. It is also essential to develop a comprehensive offering that addresses demand and its peculiar aspects more holistically, while finding a way to share value that can guarantee a viable economic model for all parties involved.

Solutions envisaged

Socio-technical systems based on smart combinations of software (such as IT platforms or apps) and hardware (such as physical tags or labels as identifiers) that can facilitate the creation of an electronic marketplace for used IT equipment.
These solutions should:
• Provide visibility of the existing supply from players residing in the territory, including through consolidating data produced by internal asset and IT
equipment management tools;
• Enable the pooling of IT equipment collected from decommissioned racks by linking responsible departments with actors interested in reuse;
• Facilitate coordination between involved stakeholders (in collection, sorting, refurbishment and resale of IT equipment) including special provisions for
the vulnerable groups (see below);
• Ensure traceability for large accounts. The first users of the solutions should be the actors of the value chain at the urban and metropolitan levels in Grenoble. The goal is to allow those actors to be more efficient, thanks to measurement and traceability, coordinate their activities and actions, and
foster the creation of a network of local stakeholders who can take ownership of the solution. Once deployed, the system should address the needs of IT managers from key public and private entities in the region, as well as individuals, particularly vulnerable people, for whom access to IT equipment is also part of their rights.

Information on the location of the experimentation

The metropolitan area of Grenoble is the functional urban area of the city of Grenoble, in southeastern France. It includes 204 communes, all located in the Isère department. Grenoble and 15 other communes form the pôle urbain or urban cluster, the other 188 communes form the couronne or commuter belt. The most populous communes in the functional area are Grenoble, Échirolles, Fontaine, Meylan, Le Pontde-Claix, Saint-Égrève, Saint-Martin-d’Hères, Sassenage, Seyssinet-Pariset and Voiron, all except the latter being part of the pôle urbain.

Specific requirements include one or more of the points below

• Solutions that are freely accessible and operational 24/7;
• Solutions that facilitate the creation of a community involving actors from the supply side (local authorities, businesses etc.) as well as from the demand side (NGOs, businesses, individuals);
• Solutions that are interoperable with the IT systems of the participating actors;
• Solutions that receive and update information from other IT systems with high frequency, if not in real time;
• Solutions that allow relevant datasets visualisation, both for monitoring purposes and to improve decision making;
• Solutions that use French as leading language;
• Solutions that include guidelines on how to use the technologies and services provided;
• Solutions that embed gamification aspects;
• Solutions that are promptly available as applications (for smartphones and tablet PCs, on Android and/or IOS operating systems).

These solutions are expected to operate at a small-scale (closed groups of buyers and sellers) proving also their scalability to the entire City/Metropolitan Area.

Minimum requirements

Data usage

“The solution should at least rely on the following datasets”: See points 2-3-4 below.

Data acquisition

“The provider should at least acquire the following datasets”: • Estimates of the carbon footprint of IT equipment items per category (typology, brand, etc.).

Data availability

“The provider should at least use the following datasets made available by the City”: • IT equipment items of each local authority participating in the trial, based on flows (purchases/exit) and/or stocks (inventories).

Data generation

“The solution should at least generate the following datasets”:

• Carbon footprint of the IT parks involved
• List of IT equipment items that will be removed from the IT parks within 3 months (volume, generation, characterization)
• List of IT equipment items collected by reuse stakeholders with end-of-life information or traceability of reuse (certificate of dismantling or new purchase).

Data visualisation

“The solution should at least enable visualisation of the following datasets:”

• • Number of IT equipment items collected by reuse stakeholders
  • Number of IT equipment items actually having a second life
  • Estimates of environmental gains (carbon footprint).

Socio-technical solution A

“The active engagement of citizens/users should at least be ensured during the 9 months of experimentation”

Socio-technical solution B

“The way active engagement of citizens will contribute to a better performance of the solution should be described in detail”

Socio-technical solution C

“A minimum number of 150 citizens should be engaged by the provider during the 9 months of experimentation”

Socio-technical solution D

“The solution should at least demonstrate impacts on the following citizen/user behaviours”: Increase in the number of IT equipment items collected by
reuse stakeholders

Socio-technical solution E

“The provider should involve at least two of the following local stakeholders during the 9 months of experimentation”: 5 local authorities and 10 reuse stakeholders

Interoperability

“The solution should at least be interoperable with the following existing IT systems”: • Local authorities’ ERP systems, Reuse stakeholders’ ERP systems

Privacy

“Use of the solution should not imply the release of personal data unless for specific and motivated purposes”

Sandbox

“The provider should specify which rules/regulations should be temporarily lifted for the purpose of the experimentation”

Scalability

“The provider should specify how the solution can be scaled from the site of experimentation to the broad City level”

Transferability

“The provider should specify the conditions under which the same solution can be adopted by other Cities with similar challenges”

---

To participate to the tender, please read our tender documentation, this page is a simple overview about the challenge. To visit the documentation, click on the green button below.