The Digital Product Passport: everything we know so far

In the heart of Europe, a monumental shift is underway – a shift towards a circular economy (CE). It's not just a change in economic models, it's a bold leap towards a more sustainable, eco-conscious future.

The new Circular Economy package released by the European Commission is expected to support Europe’s ambition of become a carbon-neutral continent by 2050. An important part of this package is a reform of Ecodesign laws under the Sustainable Products Regulation. And at the core of it is the Digital Product Passport which was proposed as a key mechanism for sustainable production and consumption.

So what does the Digital Product Passport entail? And, more importantly, what does that mean for your business?

Background

Accelerating the green transition in the face of climate change is one of the top priorities on the European agenda. In 2019, the European Commission set up an ambitious policy roadmap - the European Green Deal. But achieving its goals without fundamental shifts in global and European economic resource and data flows wouldn’t be possible.

Therefore, in 2020, the EU Circular Economy Action Plan was released to support this transition. Today, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is the most recent measure of the Plan. To tackle challenges related to a data gap in every product’s lifecycle, the EU introduced the Digital Product Passport (DPP) proposal that is set to provide key data on each unique product characteristics and origin. This is believed to better identify, track, and manage resources across product’s value chain, stimulate sustainable manufacturing, and support sustainable purchasing decision-making of end-customers.