The introduction of digital product passports by the European Union (EU) is part of a comprehensive strategy to promote a circular economy and achieve climate neutrality. The digital product passports are designed to help create transparency along the entire supply chain, reduce resource consumption and minimize the environmental impact of products. The DPP is intended to help achieve the EU’s ambitious climate and environmental goals.
There are several key objectives and considerations behind this idea:
- Promoting the circular economy
The EU wants to support the transition from a linear economy (production, use, disposal) to a circular economy. In the circular economy, products are used for longer, repaired, reused and recycled, instead of simply being disposed of after use. The digital product passport helps to store and access the necessary information about a product throughout its entire life cycle so that it can be recycled or repaired at - Transparency and traceability
The digital product passport ensures that detailed information about products is available, such as the materials used, origin, repair and recycling options. This data helps consumers, companies and public authorities to better understand the environmental and social impacts of products. In particular, this information can be used for environmental standards and sustainability to ensure that products meet EU requirements. - Promoting sustainability
The product passport supports the goals of the European Green Deal, which envisions Europe becoming climate-neutral by 2050. With the passports, it will be easier to favor products that conserve resources and are more environmentally friendly. The information they contain will also help identify harmful substances and promote the use of sustainable materials. - Facilitating recycling and reuse
When products have reached the end of their useful life, the digital product passport contains information about what materials they contain and how they can be recycled. This is crucial to optimizing the recycling process and recovering valuable raw materials from old products. - Consumer awareness and choice
With digital product passports, consumers have the opportunity to make informed decisions about the products they buy. They can better inform themselves about a product’s environmental footprint and sustainability, and thereby choose more environmentally friendly alternatives. - Competitiveness and innovation
The introduction of the digital product passport forces companies to make their supply chains more transparent and to adapt their products to the requirements of a circular economy. This promotes innovation in the areas of design, production and recycling, which can strengthen the long-term competitiveness of European companies.