Digital Product Passports: From Compliance Burden to Industrial Opportunity

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The European Commission’s first Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) Working Plan has placed a new tool squarely on the agenda for manufacturers: the Digital Product Passport (DPP).

At its simplest, a DPP is a digital identity for a product, accessed through a QR code or similar, containing details of its material composition, repair history, environmental footprint, and end-of-life pathway. The European Union plans to make them mandatory for certain sectors, starting with electronics and consumer goods, from 2026.

It may sound like another layer of compliance, but the implications run far deeper. DPPs could transform how products are designed, made, maintained, and reused. For UK manufacturers, the challenge is whether to treat them as a bureaucratic burden, or as an opportunity to lead.

Why DPPs matter

Today, traceability is patchy. Information is scattered across ERP systems, supplier PDFs, or sustainability certificates that rarely see the light of day. Under ESPR, that won’t be good enough. The data has to be consolidated, standardised, and auditable across the entire value chain.

This means procurement confirming recycled content at source, design teams building in repairability, service teams logging interventions, and recyclers reporting recovery outcomes. In short, a full lifecycle operating model, stitched together by digital infrastructure.

And that’s the point. The EU isn’t just trying to keep companies honest; it’s laying the foundations for a circular economy that functions at industrial scale.

The competitive edge in transparency

The risk is that many businesses will do the bare minimum: fill the database, tick the boxes, stay out of trouble. But by 2026, every product on the EU market will carry a passport. That information won’t just sit in regulatory drawers. It will be visible to customers, auditors, investors, and competitors.

A passport showing high recycled content, clear repair history, and verified end-of-life recovery will differentiate as much as price or lead time. Which means DPPs are not just about compliance — they’re about competitive advantage. Those who move early will shape the standards the rest are forced to follow.

What it looks like in practice

Take procurement. With DPPs, claims of recycled content can be verified rather than accepted at face value. Supplier scorecards become more robust, and buyers can reward real performance.

Service operations also benefit. A technician scans a product, sees its full history, and knows immediately whether to repair, replace, or recycle. That reduces downtime and costs, while extending product life.

Even marketing gains. Instead of broad claims about sustainability, brands will be able to point customers to the hard data embedded in the passport, a level of credibility rarely seen today.

Where manufacturers should start

Two years is not long in industrial terms. The companies that start preparing now will be in far stronger positions than those scrambling in 2026. Practical steps include:

• Auditing data gaps: map what product information exists today and where the holes are.

• Running pilots: pick one product line to trial a DPP, stress-testing supplier reporting and service workflows.

• Engaging suppliers early: build DPP expectations into contracts and RFQs now.

• Integrating across functions: make DPPs a board-level responsibility, not a sustainability side-project.

• Measuring outcomes: track recovery rates, carbon avoided, and recycled content verified — not just whether a passport exists.

The obstacles are real: supplier resistance, messy data formats, integration challenges, and cultural inertia. But none are reasons to wait. If anything, they underline the need to start early.

Beyond compliance: shaping the future

The first wave of DPPs will cover electronics and consumer goods, but it won’t stop there. Automotive, aerospace, construction, industrial equipment — all are in scope.

Imagine an EV battery passport showing not just its mineral content but its second-life applications. Or an aircraft component whose DPP logs every maintenance intervention alongside its embedded carbon footprint. That’s not distant speculation. It’s the logical extension of ESPR.

And once passports are commonplace, secondary markets can thrive. Refurbished goods gain credibility when their DPP proves authenticity. Designers can quantify the impact of modularity. Recyclers can command premiums by verifying recovery yields.

This is how the circular economy shifts from aspiration to everyday industrial practice.

Where to explore it further

For many leaders, the question is not whether DPPs are coming, it’s how to get ahead of them. And that’s why Sustainable Industry Live, taking place this November 6th in Manchester, will be so timely.

The event brings together manufacturers, policymakers, and solution providers to dig into the practicalities: how to capture product data across complex supply chains, how to integrate DPP requirements into ERP and PLM systems, and how to design products today that will stand up to 2026 scrutiny.

Sessions will go beyond theory. We’ll hear from manufacturers already running pilots, recyclers testing recovery loops, and digital platforms building the infrastructure. For delegates, it’s the chance to pressure-test your own readiness and learn what’s working elsewhere.

For more information on registering your free place click here. 

The leadership decision

In the end, the choice is straightforward. You can approach Digital Product Passports as a compliance task — do just enough to stay out of trouble — or you can treat them as a chance to lead.

The former keeps you safe. The latter makes you competitive.

The companies that act now — piloting, testing, building data infrastructure — will set the pace for their sectors. They will win credibility with regulators, customers, and investors. And they will find themselves with stronger, more resilient supply chains.

Those that wait will find themselves following.

Final thought

Every product will soon carry a passport. The only question is: what will yours say about your business?

If you want to be part of the conversation shaping that answer, join us at Sustainable Industry Live in Manchester this November 6th. Tickets are free for manufacturers.

Because transparency isn’t a burden, it’s an edge. And the time to build it is now!