7. E - Evaluation - reTrace, Technology, and Data Collection
This leads us to the last letter of the BASE process - ‘E’ for Evaluation.
It’s great to be recovering any quantity of nature-bound plastic waste. But we really want to know how much!Brands and others funding action need to be sure that the impact they’re funding is really happening – tangible kilograms of waste are being recovered in their name.
Technology plays a big part in this: integrating technology into project operations is crucial for efficiently and transparently reporting impact.
rePurpose Global has embraced this by developing and fully integrating reTraceTM into all of our projects. reTraceTM is a proprietary tool serving as the central technology platform for Verified Plastic Recovery across multiple countries and projects.
reTraceTM fulfills various functions, including:
- Impact Track and Trace: This is project-level documentation that is uploaded to reTraceTM by Impact Partners. Using the mobile application means that project team members can easily upload evidence such as GPS-tagged and time-stamped photos, digital forms, and forms from internal audits against protocols. The dynamic backend software tracks each kilogram of plastic as it moves through each unique project value chain.
- Demand Management System: This module records demand for Verified Plastic Recovery Units (VPRUs) from sponsoring brands and businesses. This is important as it helps the team to efficiently map projects, goal alignment, and timeline projections.
- Inventory Management System: This is critical for maintaining the uniqueness of each VPRU and preventing double counting, the system facilitates the retirement of VPRUs against demand, ensuring accurate tracking and accountability.
reTraceTM's functionality ensures the robust management and verification of impact creation, enhancing transparency and efficiency throughout the plastic recovery process.
Many of the workers on projects are not confident technology users, and some lack literacy skills. Technology on projects has therefore been developed in ways that make data collection and uploads as straightforward as possible. The use of technologies such as motion sensor photography for trucks arriving or departing on weighbridges are being trialed to support verification processes without putting further time or responsibility demands on project staff… though since data needs to be triangulated, there is still a manual reporting element involved!
