What Is the EU Digital Product Passport?

Sustainability and transparency are major topics for governments, regulators, and businesses around the globe, and the European Union remains on the forefront of creating comprehensive legislation to improve the information available about a given product’s environmental impacts.

The EU has recently introduced a framework for a new Digital Product Passport (DPP), a first-of-its-kind digital identifier that tracks a product throughout its life cycle with the stated intent of reducing the pressure on natural resources and help the EU achieve its goals of a circular economy.

Understanding how digital product passports will work and the role they play within the broader EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is critical for businesses operating in EU member nations—here’s what you need to know about these new regulatory requirements.

How the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the Digital Product Passport Work

The DPP is a component of the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which entered into force on July 18, 2024. The ESPR is part of the EU’s ongoing Green Deal efforts, designed to achieve a climate-neutral continent by 2050. The ESPR focuses on making sustainable products the norm throughout the EU and will apply to all products made or sold within the EU, acting as a broad framework for specific rules and controls.

The DPP, meanwhile, is “a digital identity card for products, components, and materials, which will store relevant information to support products’ sustainability, promote their circularity and strengthen legal compliance.” Sitting within the legal framework of the ESPR, the DPP will provide more granular regulation of sustainable products based on product type and industry.

It’s worth noting the ESPR is not a single set of requirements. It’s a broad framework that delegates the responsibility for product- and/or industry-specific rules to future regulations, known as “delegated acts.”

The exact requirements of the DPP will thus depend on the publication of delegated acts. It is expected that harmonized standards will be published by December 2025, followed by individual delegated acts that will establish more clear requirements — when each act is published, in-scope companies will then have 18 months to ensure their products comply.

What Information Should EU Digital Product Passports Include?

While specific requirements are still very much a work in progress, broadly, a product’s DPP should include:

• Information on where the product was manufactured or sourced.
• A unique product identifier, along with a global trade identification number.
• Data about the materials used to manufacture the product.
• Information about the product’s environmental impact, including its carbon footprint and any details on sustainability.
• Relevant information about the product’s journey from manufacturer to consumer.
• Guidelines for disposal of the product, including anticipated waste generation.

Depending on the industry and product, manufacturers may be required to include additional information with greater specificity. These details could include:

• Relevant commodity codes and compliance documentation (such as technical documentation, conformity certificates, and declarations of conformity).
• Data and requirements around any substances of concern present in the product.
• Information around repairs, maintenance, and recycled materials.

The EU has also outlined what products it deems a high priority based on environmental impacts. In its provisional agreement for the ESPR, the EU identified iron, steel, aluminum, textiles (specifically garments and footwear), furniture, tires, detergents, paints, lubricants and chemicals as priority products that should be adopted no more than nine months following the act’s entry in force.

How Companies Can Best Prepare to Meet EU Digital Product Passport Requirements

The first and most immediate concern for meeting EU Digital Product Passport requirements is the sheer volume of data businesses must collect and manage.

Each product’s DPP requires a significant amount of information for accurate reporting, given the focus on a product’s journey from manufacture through to disposal. Those organizations already actively gathering and reporting on a range of supply chain data will likely need to expand on their efforts to ensure they’re gathering all the necessary details. For businesses still reliant on point solutions or manual processes for their due diligence and sustainability programs, DPP requirements will likely prove cumbersome and labor-intensive.

For these businesses, adopting a scalable solution that automates tedious data collection and ensures availability at all levels will be key to lasting success. By centralizing and streamlining data availability, businesses will be in a better position to navigate emerging laws and regulations.

Inspectorio’s Responsible Sourcing & Compliance solution is designed to help streamline processes and ensure robust data availability no matter your industry. For more information about how your business can navigate its compliance and sustainability requirements, including how the right technology can help you scale your due diligence efforts, book a demo today.