**3. CEDaCI—A Circular Economy for the Data Centre Industry**

The particular and diverse challenges of the data centre industry are unique and require an innovative whole systems approach to instigate major change because decisions made and actions taken at each life cycle stage affect the sustainability of all other life cycle stages. The Circular Economy for the Data Centre Industry (CEDaCI) project was initiated to kick start this change; it was developed and executed by academics and consultants from several different disciplines (including product and engineering design, social and behavioural sciences, business and life cycle management, and materials science), with knowledge of, but working outside, the sector, which is helping them to overcome these challenges. The project includes around 20 partners based in North West Europe; it is led by London South Bank University and other main partners include Operational Intelligence (UK), WeLOOP, TND and TEAM2 (France), GreenIT Amsterdam and SDIA (Netherlands), and Wuppertal Institute for Climate Environment and Energy (Germany). The project structure is underpinned by respected and proven methods for innovation, namely Design Thinking and the Design Council's Double Diamond process. Both methods also support a whole systems approach, which is critical to the development of any circular economy, and in particular, that within fragmented sectors.
