A new step in ease of use and security

In May of this year VConsyst announced, supplier of total solutions for waste collection and design of public outdoor spaces, and Kiwa Digital Certification to start working together on innovative solutions for access systems. The first step was to digitize the environmental pass so that residents can use their smartphones to open an underground container.

VConsyst and Kiwa have worked intensively in recent months to develop infrastructure, apps and the new Chiplock© Hybrid Access update. In addition to technical development, compliance and standardization of this technology is a prerequisite for success. Rudo Hoekman, Development Director at VConsyst sees a future in which all of Europe can use the Digital Environment Pass: “It offers great advantages for the market to rely on the same standard that all of Europe uses for digital documents, namely the ISO 18013-5. We thus use the same strict standards around data security for these types of documents that are applied throughout Europe. A big advantage: the secure passes are therefore also applicable in areas where our collection tools are not yet located; so there is no vendor lock-in.”

Independent and reliable
Although any party can implement the ISO 18013-5 and issue this type of digital document in its own name, VConsyst has deliberately chosen a highly reputable partner, Kiwa Digital, which can act as an independent party in the European market.

Martin Dupuis, account manager at Kiwa: ‘The Dutch government has entrusted the delivery of documents to Kiwa for many years. Among other things, we provide documents such as pilot’s licenses, VCAs and other certificates for professional activities. These documents are highly secured, and our infrastructure and work processes are periodically tested for this by external parties. This way we guarantee that the document actually belongs to the beneficiary.

Transaction with monetary value
Such a degree of security may seem a bit excessive for an environmental card. But Johan Dörper, product manager Software & Electronics at VConsyst, is convinced that it is necessary. “Realize well that every deposit is a transaction representing an amount of money. More and more municipalities are introducing Diftar (differentiated rate). This means that the resident pays per deposit. As a supplier and municipality, we must therefore be able to guarantee that the deposit was actually made by the resident in question. This is why we consider security to be one of the basic principles of the digital environmental card and choose this high-quality standard.”

Secure access
Both Apple and Google with the Android platform are embracing this digital form of documents. Both parties have implemented the ISO standard in preparation for the arrival of, among other things, the digital driving license that Europe has announced. Kiwa and VConsyst are therefore convinced that this is the right answer for a long desired function, safe access to collection means or environmental parks.

In the coming period, both parties will continue working toward the first public pilots. Several municipalities and collectors are already interested in this environmental card. We expect to reveal the first participating parties within a few weeks.