Digital Product Passport Requirements
Requirements companies should consider as they implement Digital Product Passports for sustainability
A Digital Product Passport helps companies show sustainability information about their products. By collecting and publishing product-level data about their products — whether that be for batteries, apparel, textiles, cosmetics, furniture, plastics and more — companies can drive greater trust with their customers by elevating transparency.
Although Digital Product Passports are relatively new, they have potential to affect consumer behavior, by driving transparency with sustainability information and allowing consumers to drive a circular economy. With enhanced product-level environmental reporting, customers can compare products with their sustainability attributes and make the purchasing decisions that promote conservation, reuse, and recycling. In addition, brands can substantiate their sustainability actions with data, and avoid greenwashing.
This article outlines some of the Digital Product Passport requirements that companies will need to consider as they deploy this new technology.
Legislation influencing Digital Product Passport Requirements
Digital Product Passports are required in the European Union for companies that market and distribute their products within E.U. countries. A variety of legislation and rules governs the requirements for Digital Product Passports, many of which are evolving.
The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), released in 2022, outlines many of the requirements for Digital Product Passports. In conjunction with previous legislation, the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, several industries are expected to be subject to Digital Product Passport requirements. The ESPR does stop short of outlining many Digital Product passport requirements for certain industries, however, leaving it to subsequent legislation (called “delegated acts”) that will be rolled out from 2024–2030.
The European Commission anticipates that 30 of these delegated acts, regulating specific industries and introducing Digital Product Passport requirements, will be introduced between 2024–2030. [1] The first of these is the E.U. Batteries Regulation, which outlines the Digital Product Passport requirements for specific sub-categories of batteries, including industrial batteries with a capacity greater than 2kWh, electric vehicles (EV) batteries, and light means-of-transport (LMT) batteries (like for e-bikes).
Companies that don’t comply with the requirements for Digital Product Passports can face penalties levied by E.U. member states, and may not be able to sell or distribute their products within Europe.
Digital Product Passport Requirements for industries
The EU Circular Economy Action Plan, indicates several industries that could be targeted for a Digital Product Passport, based on the high degree of circularity of their products, which are outlined below. Other industries are not anticipated to be subject to Digital Product Passport requirements.[2]
Industries targeted for Digital Product Passport Requirements
- Information and communications technology (ICT)
- Electronics
- Batteries & vehicles
- Textiles / Fashion
- Plastics
- Furniture
- Construction and buildings
- Chemicals
Digital Product Passport not required
- Food and feed
- Medicinal products and veterinary medicinal products
- Living plants
- Animals and micro-organisms
- Products of human origin
- Products of plants and animals relating directly to their future reproduction
According to Eurostat, over 1.1 million European companies could be covered by these new Digital Product Passport requirements. [3]
Digital Product Passport Requirements for data
The ESPR legislation outlines several broad Digital Product Passport requirements for companies to consider, including the following requirements: [4]
- Data carrier. Companies should provide access to a Digital Product Passport through a data carrier (like a QR code, but could also be a NFC tag, product watermark, or another identifier)
- Affixing a data carrier to the product. The data carrier should be present on the product, or in product documentation
- Product granularity. DPP data should refer to a product model, manufacturing batch, or specific item
- Interoperability. Digital Product Passports should be interoperable with each other
- Free access. Consumers should have free access to the data
- Responsibility. The company that’s responsible for the product should be the one to write DPP data to the passport
- Prohibition on resale or reuse of data. Data processors should not be able to resell or reuse the DPP data
- Persistence. The Digital Product Passport should still remain in existence, even if the original company goes insolvent or bankrupt
- Data access. Digital Product Passports should allow public and private information
- Reliability and integrity. DPPs should ensure data reliability, integrity, and authentication
- Security and privacy. DPPs should ensure security and privacy, and avoid fraud
Additional Digital Product Passport requirements
As mentioned previously, additional, industry-specific requirements will roll out regarding Digital Product Passports over the next several months and years. The first set of industry-specific rules, targeted for batteries, outlines specific data points that battery manufacturers should include in their Digital Product Passports.
For example the Digital Battery Passport requirements stipulate that manufactures should include the following information about their batteries.
- Manufacturer identifying information
- Battery category, and model identification and batch / serial number
- Place of manufacture
- Date of manufacture (month and year)
- Battery weight
- Battery chemistry
- Hazardous substances present in the battery (other than mercury, cadmium, or lead)
- Usable extinguishing agent (in case of fire)
- Critical raw materials in the battery in a concentration of more than 0.1% by weight
- Carbon footprint information
- Information on responsible sourcing as indicated in battery’s due diligence report
- Recycled content information
- A series of technical indicators about the battery
- Relevant markings for non-rechargeable batteries, and to indicate separate waste collection
- The battery’s EU declaration of conformity
- Information on battery disposal, re-use, repurposing and remanufacturing
While not mandated specifically yet for use in Digital Product Passports, common sustainability data points that are in use for sustainability reporting in other industries — like fashion, footwear, textiles, plastics, furniture, construction materials, and more — include some of the following:
- Company details (name, address, contact info)
- Company sustainability philosophy
- Materials/ingredients origin (sourcing information)
- Details on manufacturing process
- Water usage and reduction in manufacturing process
- Amounts of waste generated, including packaging waste, microplastics, and hazardous waste
- Applicable fair labor certifications
- Environmental impact statement
- Carbon footprint disclosure and verification
- Product care instructions
- Expected product durability
- Recyclability of product
- Recyclability of packaging
- Donations to causes aligned with company (e.g. reforestation, carbon removal, community programs)
Learn more about Digital Product Passport Requirements
Learn more about Digital Product Passports in our Digital Product Passport guide. Discover how to implement Digital Product Passports for your company by requesting a demo of PicoNext.
Sources
1 — Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC. Explanatory Memorandum, Section 4. Budgetary Implications. eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2022%3A0142%3AFIN
2 — “Enabling circularity through transparency: Introducing the EU Digital Product Passport” World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Boston Consulting Group wbcsd.org/contentwbc/download/15585/226483/1 p. 16
“New EU Ecodesign law — ‘Making sustainable products the norm’ or empty shell?” Squire Patton Boggs freshlawblog.com/2022/04/18/new-eu-ecodesign-law-making-sustainable-products-the-norm-or-empty-shell/. 18 April 2022.
3 — Eurostat, “Businesses in the manufacturing sector”. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Businesses_in_the_manufacturing_sector#Structural_profile
4 — Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC. Article 9–10. eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2022%3A0142%3AFIN
