The so-called "Earth Overshoot Day" shifts further and further towards the beginning of the year from year to year. It marks the day on which the natural resources of a year have been used up by mankind. The car as the main means of transportation and the associated (supplier) industry make a decisive contribution to this. It therefore seems necessary - also in the course of a transformation towards e-mobility - to understand products and production processes holistically and to share the knowledge gained in this way.

In particular, the adaptation of a circular economy approach, i.e. a holistic product life cycle approach, is explicitly part of the European and German sustainability strategy and promises to reduce both the demand for raw materials and CO2 emissions while promoting jobs and economic growth. However, the status quo shows that many companies are not in a position to benefit from these advances in sustainable value streams. The research shows that there is a lack of guidelines and methods for establishing sustainability in industrial activities, even though sustainability has a major impact on ecology, economy and society.

The project "Digital ecosystem for a sustainable circular economy in the automotive industry". DIONA therefore serves to jointly develop sustainability measures in order to gain a holistic understanding of the opportunities and challenges of the circular economy. For future sustainable development, it is important to identify best practices in the automotive industry as well as socio-political incentives and obstacles.