Digital Product Passports
tracking products in a circular economy
The EU is striving to be the first climate-neutral continent. In order to overcome the challenges of climate change and environmental destruction, the European Green Deal is intended to transform the EU into a resource-efficient economic zone.
Several initiatives and programs are being implemented as part of these efforts. Of particular interest here is the Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) launched in March 2022, which also includes a proposal for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).
The ESPR provides for the introduction of digital product passports to promote the move towards a circular economy. These product passports will gradually become mandatory for various product categories.
- Digital Product Passports
“The digital product passport is an important tool for making information available to actors along the entire value chain and the availability of a digital product passport is expected to significantly enhance end-to-end traceability of a product throughout its value chain.
Among other things, the digital product passport is expected to help customers make informed choices by improving their access to relevant information, allow economic operators, namely manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers, distributors, dealers and fulfilment service providers, and other value chain actors, such as customers, professional repairers, independent operators, refurbishers, remanufacturers, recyclers, […] to access, introduce or update relevant data, and enable competent national authorities to perform their duties, without endangering the protection of confidential business information.”
(Source & read more: European Commission: REGULATION (EU) 2024/1781 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 June 2024.)
- Circular economy
- In a nutshell
A QR code is attached to the product – for example, to the clothing label of a T-Shirt.
It is also possible to apply stickers with a QR code and additional individual identification, serial numbers and other information to the product.
If you scan the QR code, you will be taken to the Digital Product Passport (DPP) for the respective product.*
This digital product passport contains helpful information about the manufacturer, the product and its composition, as well as the manufacturing process.
*Visible information can be restricted depending on the user group.
- Content
A digital product passport contains relevant information about a product that is of interest to the entire value chain. This includes:
- Material composition: Which raw materials and chemicals were used?
- Manufacturing process: Information about the production location and conditions.
- Sustainability: Data about the carbon footprint and recyclability of the product.
- Lifecycle: Information about maintenance, repair, upgrading and recycling of the product.
- Structure
The structure of a digital product passport is not yet fully standardized, but there are some technical specifications and recommendations:
- Data format: The EU requires the product passport to be provided in a machine-readable format, e.g. via QR codes or digital platforms.
- Interoperability: The passport must be based on international standards to ensure that the information can be used throughout the entire supply chain.
- Security: Sensitive information must be protected
- Benefits
The advantages of the digital product passport are manifold:
- Increased transparency: Consumers and companies receive more accurate information about a product’s origin and sustainability.
- Improved circular economy: With accurate information on reparability and recyclability, products can be used longer and recycled more easily.
- Sustainability goals: Companies can reduce their environmental footprint by choosing environmentally friendly materials and promoting recycling-friendly designs.
- More efficient supply chains: Better traceability leads to optimized production and recycling processes.
- Key Challenges
There are a number of challenges to the introduction and implementation of the digital product passport:
- Complexity of data collection: Gathering the necessary information, especially along global supply chains, is often very costly.
- Costs: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may have difficulty in developing the necessary resources and technical infrastructure.
- Data protection: The amount of data collected and provided raises questions about how to handle sensitive information, especially when it comes to details relevant to competition.
- Standardization: The success of the product passport depends on uniform implementation and appropriate standards. A lack of consistency could hinder interoperability.
