Digital Product Passport (DPP)
Core Thesis
The Digital Product Passport is not a QR-code project. It is a regulated product-data infrastructure that connects sustainability, circularity, compliance, market surveillance, customs, repair, reuse and recycling. The decisive readiness factor is not the passport front end but the governance, evidence quality and interoperability of the data behind it.
Executive Summary
The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is one of the central innovations of the EU product sustainability agenda. Its legal basis is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, which establishes the framework for future ecodesign requirements and product information requirements for sustainable products. [1]
The DPP is intended to provide structured, machine-readable product information across the lifecycle. The European Commission describes the DPP as a digital identity card for products, components and materials that supports product sustainability, circularity and legal compliance. [2]
As of July 2026, the regulatory architecture is moving from framework to implementation. The ESPR is in force, the Commission has adopted implementing arrangements for the DPP registry, and harmonised standards for DPP systems are being developed and referenced. The first legally mandatory product passport remains the battery passport, with the obligation starting on 18 February 2027 for covered battery categories under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. [3][4][5]
Executive insight
The DPP should be managed as a product-data transformation program. Companies should start with data ownership, supplier evidence, interoperability, access rights, and change control. Platform selection is important, but secondary to data readiness.