Digital Product Passport (DPP)

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is an electronic, interoperable and traceable information system that will accompany products placed on the European Union market across their life cycle. Introduced by the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, it will store and share data on material composition, environmental footprint, reparability and end-of-life options, supporting the transition to a circular economy and climate neutrality.

Key objectives

• Transparency: provide reliable information to consumers, repairers, recyclers and authorities.
• Improved circularity: enable easier disassembly, recycling and component reuse.
• Fight against greenwashing: verified and harmonised data across the EU.
• Competitiveness: drive eco-design and data-driven after-sales services.

Expected content

The exact data fields are being defined product group by product group through delegated acts. Based on the ESPR text, a DPP is expected to cover:

• Product identity: model, batch, manufacturer, country of origin.
• Material composition and the presence of substances of concern.
• Recycled content and recyclability.
• Environmental footprint information, such as the embodied carbon of the product.
• Repair and disassembly information: spare parts and instructions.
• Durability and expected service life.
• End-of-life routes: collection points, reverse logistics, deposit schemes.

How it works

The DPP is expected to be accessed through a data carrier on the product, such as a QR code or NFC tag, that links to an online record. The European Commission and industry initiatives (notably the CIRPASS project) are working on the supporting standards for unique identifiers, interoperable data exchange and role-based access, so that consumers, repairers, waste managers and customs authorities each see the information relevant to them. Data integrity, cybersecurity and protection of commercially sensitive information are central design requirements.

Deployment timeline

The ESPR entered into force on 18 July 2024. The first ESPR working plan was adopted on 16 April 2025 and prioritises six product groups for ecodesign and DPP requirements: textiles, furniture, mattresses, tyres, iron and steel, and aluminium, with delegated acts to be developed between 2025 and 2030 and a mid-term review in 2028. Indicatively, delegated acts are expected around 2026 for iron and steel; around 2027 for textiles and apparel, tyres and aluminium; around 2028 for furniture; and around 2029 for mattresses. Separately, the EU Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires a battery passport for industrial and electric-vehicle batteries from February 2027.

Use cases and benefits

• Consumers: scan a code to view footprint, reparability, available parts and durability.
• Repairers: access to manuals, spare-part codes and diagnostics.
• Waste managers: identification of materials and substances for safe dismantling and sorting.
• Authorities: market surveillance and verification of compliance.
• Manufacturers: closed-loop analysis, product-as-a-service contracts and component take-back.

Regulatory and standards links

• ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781): establishes the DPP and the framework for product-specific requirements.
• Right to Repair Directive: the DPP facilitates access to repair instructions and spare parts.
• CSRD and ESRS: DPP data can feed circularity (E5) and climate (E1) reporting.
• EU Batteries Regulation 2023/1542: mandates a battery passport from 2027.
• Extended producer responsibility schemes can use DPP data to manage take-back and recycling.

Challenges and barriers

• Digitisation costs for SMEs and niche producers.
• Balancing intellectual-property protection with transparency.
• Harmonising data semantics across very different sectors (textiles versus electronics).
• Global interoperability with traceability schemes in other regions.
• Cybersecurity and prevention of counterfeiting.

How companies can prepare

• Run a data diagnostic to identify gaps in composition, footprint and service data.
• Choose a DPP platform approach (SaaS or in-house) and plan system integration.
• Pilot on priority product lines such as textiles ahead of the delegated acts.
• Integrate data capture with PLM, ERP and other internal systems.
• Train staff and prepare consumer-facing communication.

The Digital Product Passport will become, in effect, the environmental identity of goods placed on the EU market. By integrating data on composition, impact and circularity, it will reshape how products are designed, used and recycled.

At Manglai we help companies measure their product carbon and environmental footprint and prepare the data that frameworks like the DPP and the CSRD require. Discover how Manglai can help you.