Definition: Digital Product Passport

What is a digital product passport?

A digital product passport (DPP) is a digital record containing comprehensive sustainability information about a product throughout its lifecycle at all stages of the supply chain process. The information typically includes details such as the origin of the product, the source of raw materials, the carbon footprint, relevant sustainability certifications or eco-labels, etc.

The purpose of the DPP is to create transparency about the sustainability of the product. This transparency is achieved by using digital technologies such as QR codes, RFID tags and blockchain to store the comprehensive data in the DPP, which customers can access and check how production and sourcing align with their own ethical beliefs about sustainability, the environment and social responsibility before making a purchasing decision. With DPPs, manufacturers can demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practises and fulfil the growing demands of consumers and authorities for transparency.

The concept of DPPs was developed in the European Union in the late 2000s as a means of promoting transparency, sustainability and circularity in the production and consumption of goods. Measures such as the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation were adopted to promote these goals through the DPP concept and ultimately contribute to a more environmentally conscious and responsible economy.

As regulations expand DPP requirements to new industries, manufacturers face the challenge of efficiently creating and maintaining compliance records on a large scale. The first important step for manufacturers is to centralise all relevant product sustainability data, materials details, certifications and digital assets into a single source of truth. This centralised database approach provides the critical foundation for streamlining the DPP creation process for large product portfolios.

Tools that can consolidate this single source of product information and automatically update the relevant DPP records in real-time help manufacturers in maintaining ongoing compliance as regulations evolve. A product information management (PIM) system is one such solution that not only structures all key product information centrally, but also enables enriched product content to be synchronised with the relevant DPP records at scale. In this way, manufacturers can create and update DPP documentation more efficiently and reduce the risks and resources required to fulfil the growing transparency requirements in the area of sustainability.