The European Union (EU) is very persistently striving to achieve the goals of the Green Deal and in July of this year took an important step towards future-proof merchandise management with the EU Ecodesign Regulation 2024/1781 (ESPR – Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation).
The new EU regulation (ESPR) has also introduced the digital product passport (DPP), which will be mandatory from 2030.
What is the Digital Product Passport (DPP)?
The aim is to promote a sustainable circular economy and, through the introduction of the digital product passport, to be able to better assess the environmental impact with the help of digital data networking – also in the interest of the end consumer and future generations.
In the future, the digital product passport (DPP) will act as a unique document for goods in the EU and make the entire product life cycle digitally traceable and representable.
It is a data set that provides information about all stages (design, manufacture, use, disposal) of a product. Other mandatory information is still the product name, product model, date and place of manufacture, as well as warranty and guarantee information.
The detailed requirements for the digital product passport are currently being worked out and the standards for the DPP system should be fixed by the end of 2025.
In terms of industries, battery manufacturers will be the first to comply with all relevant DPP requirements. The DPP is to be introduced for initial product groups as early as 2026, and then successively by 2030 for batteries (including car batteries), electronics, information technology and plastic articles as well as textiles.
What retailers and e-commerce shops should consider now
All products sold on the European market will have to meet the requirements for the digital product passport from 2030. Without a DPP, products may not be sold or put into service in the EU (Art. 9 para. 1 ESPR).
Goods manufacturers, producers and products, e.g., from the USA or China, which are sold in European countries, must also have a digital product passport.
Optimize e-commerce processes and expand product information
In terms of climate protection, the digital product passport aims to create transparency for end consumers and to strongly promote a resource-saving circular economy in the EU. This means that all information about the product must be expanded or the digital product passport must be accessible before purchase. Retailers and online shops should bear this in mind and set the course accordingly.
Manufacturers have to think intensively about CO2-neutral production methods and process optimisation of physical products: because as the legal situation emerges, all parts of goods must be interchangeable and recyclable. The aim is to boost the service life of a product and save valuable resources.
Online shops do well to check or expand the current track-and-trace system and, if they do not already have one, introduce one.This is because it allows the entire supply chain of a product to be digitally traced automatically.
Research, test and implement DPP systems
In order to create a digital product passport, you need a technical solution that can ideally be seamlessly integrated into the current IT system (for more information, see point 4 “Technical requirements and SaaS solutions”).
It should be noted that, for example, the responsible authorities will need different information than the end customers. This provides an opportunity to re-evaluate the entire product information system and the opportunity to test and introduce new systems.
Calculate personnel and IT costs and plan implementation
It is important to estimate the effort. It is important to estimate the effort. Especially for smaller online shops, which usually have limited personnel and financial resources, it is now important to prepare, calculate costs and plan for the necessary changes in the long term.
More legal certainty, higher customer loyalty and new marketing potential
Retailers and producers must not only perceive the digital product passport as a restriction, burden or burdensome duty, but also as a new opportunity and challenge.
- With the digital product passport comes more legal certainty and protection for retailers against product counterfeiting! Consumers can more easily obtain information about products and production methods, which can have a positive effect on purchasing behaviour.
- Dealing with customer feedback, aftersales campaigns and loyalty programs are crucial for customer loyalty and the positive image of an e-commerce company & shop. The more transparency and information buyers receive, the more trust the retailer receives with his products. The digital product passport offers the opportunity to communicate comprehensive instructions and tips and thus also create more customer proximity.
- The introduction of the digital product passport opens up new marketing potential for the broad mass of people who have little time to research manufacturer information extensively and are in the so-called “attitude-behavior gap”. Although the attitude of these consumers to the purchase of sustainable products is high, it often fails in the end, among other things, due to a lack of transparency in the purchase decision. Through the intelligent use of the DPP as an established source of information in the “customer life cycle”, enriched data can represent a high added value for the sustainable production and optimization of products.
Early adoption, even ahead of the DPP regulations, can mitigate risks and open up opportunities for growth.
Technical requirements and SaaS solutions
Retailers who already manage digital product information accurately and record and network it in the corresponding merchandise management systems have advantages. E-commerce service providers who use a composable commerce system can benefit from the best technology and flexible expansion options and thus act faster.
Unfortunately, the exact format and layout of the DPP as well as the specific data that must be stored in the digital product passport has not yet been determined by the EU Commission.
Can The United Nations Transparency Protocol (UNTP) serve as a possible template for the European DPP?
It is clear that the digital product passport should be easily accessible and can be accessed by scanning a data carrier (NFC technology) or QR codes on the product via an app, website or similar application.
From 2026, there will be an EU product passport register that stores the data centrally. The Commission’s own web portal is intended to make this data comparable and accessible to public bodies.
Ideally, the PIM (Product Information Management) system serves as a single source of truth (SSOT) and the DPP can be created directly in the PIM, e.g. using special attributes, and exported in the correct format or connected via an interface or additional modules (apps).
There are many DPP technology providers that can be seamlessly connected as SaaS systems or operated as a standalone tool. Above all, it depends on the right tech stack, with a view to the requirements of modular IT systems and central data management or synchronization.
In order to be able to ensure the unique identification of a product (serial number) , the GDSN/GS1 standard will probably be used as before, as we know it from barcodes and RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification). GS1 identification standards uniquely identify products, places and things and sometimes use blockchain technologies as encryption and authorization systems in the background.
Web3 & Blockchain as a Secure Database: Tokenized Product Passes and QR Codes
Especially in the case of luxury goods, more and more tokenized certificates of ownership (proof of ownership) and digital certificates of authenticity as well as digital product passports are being used, which secure the unique data on identity, ownership and up to the entire product life cycle of a product and store it in the blockchain.
Decentralized ledgers can guarantee that once data has been recorded on a so-called tokenized DPP, it can no longer be altered or falsified. This creates permanent, transparent and trustworthy authentication and secure tracking of a product from raw materials to the end of its life cycle.
Conclusion: Smart is who acts now
In the e-commerce industry, the topic of “digital product passport (DPP)” is not yet on everyone’s lips and the regulations on format, layout, etc. are only just being worked out. However, it is well known that comprehensive digitization with AI and data sovereignty will tip the scales in all sectors of the economy.
The smart thing to do is to act now and look around for suitable software solutions or seek advice.
Despite many new regulations from the EU Commission, retailers and e-commerce service providers should not bury their heads in the sand, but take advantage of the opportunities!
From the end consumer’s point of view, the introduction of the digital product passport (DPP) represents added value in terms of legal certainty and transparency. For manufacturers and dealers, there are For manufacturers and retailers, there is new marketing potential and hopefully even stronger customer loyalty off the beaten track.
About the author
Stephan Raffeiner is a digital marketing expert and blog author. He is a course instructor and works as a web designer. On digitalmarketingblog.it he writes about online marketing topics, e-commerce trends and reports on the latest in WordPress, UX/UI design, SEO, digital analytics, social media, and Web3.
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