EDINBURGH-based circular economy startup, Reath, has been selected to participate in a new peer learning network hosted by Microsoft and Open Data Institute (ODI).
The initiative aims to close the data divide and help organisations of all sizes to realise the benefits of data and the new technologies it powers.
Reath was founded by Claire Rampen and Emily Rodgers in 2019. The firm specialises in making reuse systems scalable, compliant and safe. It is behind reuse.id, the first open data standard for reusable packaging. The standard will be developed further through the peer learning network.
Jeni Tennison, vice president and chief strategy adviser at ODI, said, “It was exciting to see such a diverse range of projects, from across the globe, wanting to come together to learn from the ODI, Microsoft and, most importantly, each other. The selected data collaborations will seek to use shared and open data to tackle key global issues, including climate change, gender equality and disease control. This peer network should both help them to succeed and provide real world insights into what it takes to have a successful collaboration around data.”
Jennifer Yokoyama, vice president and chief IP counsel at Microsoft, added, “We’re delighted to bring together this first cohort of data collaborations for the new peer learning network in partnership with the ODI. The awardees are working on impressive and foundational work across domains and geographies. By assembling these data collaborations we can learn from each other and experts in data sharing, to ultimately help organizations that are looking to get more value from their data.”
Lauren Dudley, product manager at Reath, said, “As we recently published the Alpha version of reuse.id,the open data standard for reusable packaging, this is an excellent opportunity to develop it further. We are very pleased to be working with Zero Waste Scotland to explore the opportunities that reusable packaging data presents for further incentivising adoption of circular economy systems. We look forward to learning from the other data collaboration projects in the network, and communicating our findings along with our academic partner, Dr Katherine Ellsworth-Krebs at Imagination Lancaster.”
