chronoTRACE by ALTO

AI Quick Summary

The Swiss watch industry, as one of the strongest industries in Switzerland, faces environmental challenges, primarily driven by resource-intensive raw material sourcing. Complex and fragmented supply chains make it difficult to trace and ensure transparency in the use and extraction of these precious, non-renewable materials, particularly gold and other metals. As regulations tighten, risks of greenwashing and non-compliance increase, especially around Scope 3 emissions, which represent the largest share of the sector’s environmental footprint. chronoTRACE is a modular digital platform for the watchmaking industry that enables end-to-end material traceability, with a focus on Scope 3 emissions. It allows companies to identify material origins, assess environmental and social impacts across the supply chain, and detect its key hotspots. Following its first development phase, it will generate insights into low-impact materials and circular solutions to drive the sector’s transition to a circular economy. The Swiss watchmaking industry relies on complex and fragmented global supply chains for precious metals and components, many of which are not traceable, lack in transparency and are non-renewable. While sustainability regulations are increasing, Scope 3 emissions, the largest share of the sector’s environmental footprint, remain a blind, non considered hotspot due to secondary data and limited traceability. In addition, many swiss companies disclose little, to no information on material procurement, generating risks of greenwashing and non-compliance with emerging regulatory requirements at a european and swiss level.  chronoTRACE is a digital platform that enables end-to-end material traceability in watch production, particularly focusing on Scope 3 emissions accounting. The platform allows companies, especially SMEs with limited internal capacity, to identify the origin of their raw materials, assess environmental and social impacts at the extraction stage, and detect key supply chain hotspot and alternative procurement options.  The platform is designed as a modular and company-specific solution, tailored to individual company needs while remaining scalable across the industry. It reduces traceability complexity and improves overall sustainability performance, while directly supporting non-financial reporting and compliance. Among the main operational benefits, chronoTRACE enables brands to demonstrate data-backed sustainability actions in raw material sourcing, and to better align with net-zero targets, carbon disclosure frameworks, and evolving regulatory requirements.  Following its first development phase, chronoTRACE will expand its analytical scope to deliver insights on lower-impact material alternatives, and circular procurement strategies based on R-strategies (e.g., recycled gold, Fairtrade gold). This will further support decision-making processes and contribute to the sector’s transition toward a more circular economy. The core component of the proposed project is the co-development with industry partners. Through the collaboration with a Swiss pilot company, and potential funding opportunities, the project will leverage expertise in Circular Economy Management, focusing on in-depth supply chain analysis. chronoTRACE is built to ensure real-world applicability, scalability, and validation of the platform in practice, while addressing key industry challenges.

Project Idea Metadata

• Project Idea Name: chronoTRACE by ALTO
• Date: 4/15/2026 11:56:41 PM
• Administrators:
  • Giorgia Cirelli

Project Idea Description

The Swiss watchmaking industry relies on complex and fragmented global supply chains for precious metals and components, many of which are not traceable, lack in transparency and are non-renewable. While sustainability regulations are increasing, Scope 3 emissions, the largest share of the sector’s environmental footprint, remain a blind, non considered hotspot due to secondary data and limited traceability. In addition, many swiss companies disclose little, to no information on material procurement, generating risks of greenwashing and non-compliance with emerging regulatory requirements at a european and swiss level. 

chronoTRACE is a digital platform that enables end-to-end material traceability in watch production, particularly focusing on Scope 3 emissions accounting. The platform allows companies, especially SMEs with limited internal capacity, to identify the origin of their raw materials, assess environmental and social impacts at the extraction stage, and detect key supply chain hotspot and alternative procurement options. 

The platform is designed as a modular and company-specific solution, tailored to individual company needs while remaining scalable across the industry. It reduces traceability complexity and improves overall sustainability performance, while directly supporting non-financial reporting and compliance. Among the main operational benefits, chronoTRACE enables brands to demonstrate data-backed sustainability actions in raw material sourcing, and to better align with net-zero targets, carbon disclosure frameworks, and evolving regulatory requirements. 

Following its first development phase, chronoTRACE will expand its analytical scope to deliver insights on lower-impact material alternatives, and circular procurement strategies based on R-strategies (e.g., recycled gold, Fairtrade gold). This will further support decision-making processes and contribute to the sector’s transition toward a more circular economy.

The core component of the proposed project is the co-development with industry partners. Through the collaboration with a Swiss pilot company, and potential funding opportunities, the project will leverage expertise in Circular Economy Management, focusing on in-depth supply chain analysis. chronoTRACE is built to ensure real-world applicability, scalability, and validation of the platform in practice, while addressing key industry challenges.

The Swiss watch industry, as one of the strongest industries in Switzerland, faces environmental challenges, primarily driven by resource-intensive raw material sourcing. Complex and fragmented supply chains make it difficult to trace and ensure transparency in the use and extraction of these precious, non-renewable materials, particularly gold and other metals. As regulations tighten, risks of greenwashing and non-compliance increase, especially around Scope 3 emissions, which represent the largest share of the sector’s environmental footprint.

chronoTRACE is a modular digital platform for the watchmaking industry that enables end-to-end material traceability, with a focus on Scope 3 emissions. It allows companies to identify material origins, assess environmental and social impacts across the supply chain, and detect its key hotspots. Following its first development phase, it will generate insights into low-impact materials and circular solutions to drive the sector’s transition to a circular economy.