About the project - Nowy projekt 2

   

1. AI for Sustainable Retail – Using artificial intelligence to predict demand, optimize      logistics, and minimize waste.
2. Immersive Technologies (AR/VR) – Introducing augmented and virtual reality to improve      transparency, enhance training, and build virtual stores for      experimentation.
3. Circular Retail Models – Designing convenient systems for repair, reuse, and refill that      reduce carbon footprints and encourage responsible consumption.
4. Societal & Policy Impact – Creating data, evidence, and policy recommendations for SMEs,      cities, and governments to support sustainable retail ecosystems.

     

• Cut waste and emissions.
• Encourage conscious consumption.
• Provide practical solutions for SMEs and local communities.
• Support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

   

• Universities – bringing research, labs, and talent.
• Retailers & Brands – piloting solutions in real stores.
• Cities & Regions – testing policies in urban contexts.
• Technology Partners – supplying AI, AR/VR, and analytics tools.

     

• Environmental Cost: Significant contribution to landfill waste, carbon emissions from logistics and production, and excessive resource consumption.
• Inefficiency: Overproduction, poor inventory forecasting leading to markdowns and waste, and inefficient supply chains.
• Consumer Disconnect: A growing segment of consumers demands sustainable options but are often faced with greenwashing, a lack of transparency, and higher costs.
• Digital Gap: Many digital initiatives (e-commerce, apps) operate in silos, failing to connect the physical and digital worlds in a way that promotes sustainability.

       

• Hyper-Accurate Demand Forecasting: Utilize AI and machine learning to predict consumer demand with extreme precision, drastically reducing    overproduction and inventory waste.
• Circular Supply Chain Optimization: AI algorithms will optimize reverse logistics for returns, repairs, and recycling, identifying the most efficient and least carbon-intensive pathways for products at their end-of-life.
• Personalized Sustainability: An AI-powered platform will recommend the most sustainable products, delivery options, and end-of-life actions (e.g., recycling locations, resale value) to consumers based on their preferences.

   

• Virtual Try-On & Preview: Enable customers to "try on" clothing, preview furniture in their homes, or experience products in VR, reducing the high rate of physical returns and their associated carbon footprint.
• Digital Showrooms: Create immersive VR stores that showcase the entire product line without the need for physical inventory, reducing the need for large retail spaces and their energy consumption.
• Storytelling for Sustainability: Use AR to allow customers to scan products in-store or at home and instantly see their lifecycle, carbon footprint, material origins, and recycling instructions, building trust and transparency.

   

• Integrated Resale & Rental Platform: Embed peer-to-peer resale, brand-led take-back programs, and product rental services directly into the shopping experience, facilitated by AI for pricing and logistics.
• Product Passports: Implement digital product IDs (e.g., via QR codes or NFC) that store a product's entire history, enabling easy repair, resale, and responsible recycling.
• Waste-to-Resource Marketplace: Develop a B2B platform where retailers can trade or donate unused materials, deadstock, and returned items to other businesses, upcyclers, or recyclers.

     

• Deliverable: A detailed white paper on the integrated Retail4Earth framework.
• Deliverable: Functional prototypes of the AI forecasting model and a basic AR try-on app.

   

• Deliverable: A minimal viable product (MVP) digital platform integrating:

 

1. An e-commerce front-end with AR features.  
2. The backend AI engine for recommendations and forecasting.  
3. A working marketplace for product returns/resale.
 

• Deliverable: Pilot partnership with one retail      brand to test the platform.

   

• Deliverable: A full case study with measured KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) on waste reduction, emissions saved, and sales conversion from the pilot.
 
• Deliverable: A scalable business model and      implementation guide for retailers.

   

• Environmental: % reduction in returned goods, % reduction in inventory waste, tons of CO2 emissions saved, increase in products resold/recycled.
• Operational: Improvement in demand forecasting accuracy, reduction in supply chain costs, increase in supply chain turnaround speed for circular items.
• Commercial: Increase in customer engagement time, conversion rate from virtual try-ons, growth in average order value for customers using sustainability features.
• Brand: Improved customer sentiment and brand loyalty scores related to sustainability efforts.