Digital Product Passports – How to Approach & Use as an Asset for the Future

Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are blockchain-based digital records that serve as a comprehensive, transparent, and secure history of a product across its entire lifecycle.

Acting as a digital twin of a physical product, they store critical information such as the product’s origin, materials, manufacturing processes, supply chain details, and instructions for end-of-life disposal or recycling.

By leveraging blockchain’s decentralized and tamper-proof ledger, DPPs ensure data integrity, preventing unauthorized changes and fostering trust among stakeholders.

This technology enables end-to-end traceability, allowing manufacturers, regulators, and consumers to verify a product’s authenticity, ethical sourcing, or environmental impact with confidence.

Foundations for a Digital Economy

The EU is implementing the Digital Product Passport (DPP) as part of its Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). The DPP will become mandatory for all products sold on the EU-market in stages, starting in February 2027.

In practical terms, Digital Product Passports empower industries by enhancing transparency and supporting sustainability goals. For example, they can combat counterfeiting in sectors like luxury goods or pharmaceuticals by providing verifiable proof of authenticity.

They also facilitate compliance with regulations, such as the UK’s 2023 Electronic Trade Documents Act, which recognizes certain digital documents as equivalent to paper ones.

Additionally, DPPs promote a circular economy by offering insights into a product’s repairability, recyclability, and carbon footprint, enabling better waste management and resource efficiency. Consumers benefit by accessing reliable information—such as whether a product is organic or fairly traded—through tools like QR codes or apps.

Industries like manufacturing and energy are adopting DPPs to improve traceability and ensure ethical practices in supply chains. However, challenges remain, including the need for industry-wide collaboration to standardize data protocols and the necessity to overcome public skepticism about blockchain, often due to its association with cryptocurrencies. Widespread adoption also requires investment in technology and education to build the necessary infrastructure.