Sustainability has become an important consideration for businesses, consumers, and policymakers. Organisations are increasingly expected to explain how their products are manufactured, where materials originate, how resources are used, and what happens when products reach the end of their useful lives.
However, obtaining reliable answers is not always straightforward. Information may be scattered across suppliers, manufacturing facilities, logistics providers, and internal reporting systems.
This lack of accessible information can make it difficult to evaluate the environmental impact of a product accurately. It can also create challenges for businesses trying to demonstrate responsible practices or comply with evolving sustainability requirements.
A digital product passport offers a potential solution by connecting relevant product information in a structured digital record. It can help make sustainability data easier to access, verify, and use throughout a product’s life. Although implementation requires careful planning, a digital product passport could significantly improve how businesses communicate environmental performance and manage resources.
What Is a Digital Product Passport?
A digital product passport is a digital record containing information about a product and, depending on the applicable framework, its materials, origin, environmental characteristics, repair options, and end-of-life management.
Rather than relying entirely on printed labels, separate certificates, or disconnected databases, a digital passport can provide access to relevant information through a digital identifier, such as a QR code or another data carrier. Standards such as GS1 Digital Link show how a single QR code can both identify a product and point to information about it online.
The information available will depend on the product category, regulatory requirements, and the systems used by the business. Some records may focus on material composition and recyclability, while others may include details about durability, repair, or the sourcing of components.
A simple digital product passport example: a consumer electronics manufacturer could use one to provide information about selected materials, maintenance instructions, spare parts, and appropriate recycling options. A customer, repair professional, or recycling operator could then access the information relevant to their role.
The objective is not simply to create another digital document. It is to make useful product information available to the people who need it, when they need it.
Digital Product Passport Regulation in the EU
In Europe, the European digital product passport is established under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. On 20 July 2026, the European Commission launched the Digital Product Passport Registry together with a testing environment. The registry will support product groups covered by the ESPR, including textiles, steel and aluminium, tyres, furniture, ICT products and energy-related products.
Digital product passport requirements do not apply to every product at once. They take effect as product-specific rules are adopted, so the launch of the registry did not by itself create a registration duty for companies.
Batteries come first. Under the EU Batteries Regulation, a digital battery passport is required from 18 February 2027 for electric vehicle batteries, light means of transport batteries and industrial batteries above 2 kWh. For businesses in the Netherlands and across the EU, the practical step is to follow the rules for their own product categories, which we track in our overview of ESG regulations in 2026.
Why Sustainability Transparency Needs to Improve
Sustainability claims are only as useful as the information supporting them. Businesses may report that their products contain recycled materials or are designed for longer use, but verifying these statements can be difficult when the supporting evidence is incomplete or spread across several systems.
This challenge becomes more significant in global supply chains, where a single product may involve raw materials from one country, components manufactured in another, and final assembly somewhere else. Each stage generates information, but that information may follow different reporting formats and quality standards.
Common barriers include:
- Inconsistent sustainability reporting across suppliers
- Limited visibility into the origin of raw materials
- Difficulty verifying recycled content or material composition
- Incomplete records of manufacturing and processing activities
- Limited access to repair and end-of-life information
- Challenges comparing sustainability claims across products
Digital product passports could help address these issues by establishing a more organised way to share relevant information. A digital product passport cannot automatically guarantee that every claim is accurate, but it can make supporting records easier to locate and assess when appropriate verification processes are in place. Weak evidence behind claims is also among the biggest ESG reporting mistakes companies make.
Strengthening Product Traceability Across the Supply Chain
Product traceability refers to the ability to follow a product, material, or component through relevant stages of its journey. It helps businesses understand where materials originate, how products move between facilities, and which parties are responsible for particular activities.
A digital product passport can support product traceability by linking product information with identifiers and records maintained by manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and other participants.
Consider a clothing manufacturer that sources fabric from multiple suppliers. Information about fibre composition, processing, and recycled content may be held in different systems. If these records are difficult to connect, verifying a product’s material claims can become time-consuming.
A digital product passport for textiles could make relevant information easier to retrieve and compare, provided suppliers submit reliable data and the systems can exchange it effectively.
Improved traceability can help businesses:
- Identify gaps in supplier documentation
- Investigate the origin of selected materials
- Support due diligence and compliance processes
- Respond more efficiently to customer enquiries
- Improve the consistency of product information
- Identify opportunities to reduce material waste
However, traceability depends on more than the presence of a digital identifier. Businesses need dependable source records, clear responsibilities for maintaining information, and processes for correcting inaccurate or outdated entries. The same principle underpins energy attribute tracking, where claims are only as credible as the records behind them.
Making Sustainability Data More Useful
Sustainability data can include information about material composition, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, recycled content, durability, and waste management. Which data points matter most depends on the product and the purpose of the assessment.
A digital product passport could make this information more accessible by bringing relevant records together or connecting users to authorised data sources.
For businesses, better access to sustainability data can support product design, procurement decisions, reporting, and supplier evaluation. Instead of repeatedly requesting the same information from different departments, teams may be able to retrieve standardised records through established systems, the same efficiency that drives ESG reporting automation.
Consumers and professional buyers may also benefit from clearer product information. For instance, details about repairability, material composition, or recycling options can help buyers evaluate products beyond their purchase price.
Data accessibility should not be confused with data quality. A digital record containing incomplete figures or unsupported claims remains unreliable.
Businesses should therefore establish clear procedures for collecting, validating, updating, and retaining information. They should also distinguish measured data from estimates and explain relevant limitations where appropriate.
When sustainability data is consistent and credible, a digital product passport can help turn information into something that supports practical decisions rather than serving only as a reporting requirement.
Supporting the Circular Economy
The circular economy aims to keep products and materials in use for as long as practical, reducing unnecessary waste and dependence on virgin resources. It encourages approaches such as repair, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation frames it around designing out waste, keeping products and materials circulating, and regenerating nature.
Digital product passports could support these activities by providing information that helps different participants understand a product’s composition and condition requirements.
For example, a repair technician may need to identify compatible replacement components. A refurbishment business may need details about a product’s materials and maintenance history. A recycling facility may require information about specific substances or the separation of different materials.
When this information is difficult to obtain, products may be discarded even when repair or recovery remains possible. A well-maintained digital record could help reduce these information barriers by making relevant instructions and material details available to authorised users.
Potential benefits for circular practices include:
- Easier access to repair instructions and spare-part information
- Better identification of reusable components
- More informed sorting of materials during recycling
- Improved decisions about refurbishment and remanufacturing
- Greater awareness of suitable end-of-life options
These outcomes are not automatic. Product design, infrastructure, availability of spare parts, and consumer behaviour also influence whether products are repaired or recycled. A digital product passport is most useful when combined with practical circular business models and accessible recovery systems.
Improving Supply Chain Transparency
Supply chain transparency involves making relevant information about sourcing, production, and distribution accessible to appropriate stakeholders. It helps businesses understand their operations and communicate how products are made.
A digital product passport could strengthen supply chain transparency by creating more consistent connections between product identifiers and supporting records. This may help companies coordinate information across suppliers and reduce dependence on scattered documents or repeated manual requests.
For example, a manufacturer reviewing a supplier’s environmental performance may need evidence about material sourcing, processing methods, or recycled inputs. Structured records can make it easier to identify missing information and direct follow-up questions to the appropriate supplier.
Greater transparency can also support risk management. Businesses may be better positioned to identify inconsistencies, investigate potential sourcing concerns, and prepare documentation for customers or regulators.
However, complete visibility across every supplier is rarely achieved immediately. Smaller suppliers may lack advanced data systems, and some commercial information may require restricted access.
A practical implementation should therefore define which information must be shared, who can access it, and how confidentiality will be protected. Transparency does not require making every business record publicly available. It requires making appropriate information accessible to the people who have a legitimate reason to use it.
Understanding the Product Lifecycle
A product’s environmental impact is influenced by decisions made long before it reaches a customer. Material extraction, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, use, maintenance, and disposal can all affect its overall footprint. A product lifecycle perspective helps businesses examine these stages together rather than evaluating sustainability through a single characteristic.
Digital product passports could support product lifecycle management by preserving access to relevant product information as a product moves between users, service providers, and recovery facilities.
For instance, a product designed for long-term use may offer greater value when owners can find maintenance guidance and compatible replacement parts. Similarly, recycling operators may be better equipped to recover materials when reliable composition information is available.
Lifecycle information can also support manufacturers during product development. If records reveal that certain materials are difficult to recover or that components frequently require replacement, design teams may have evidence to consider alternative materials or more durable construction.
The usefulness of these insights depends on the information collected and how effectively it is connected to decision-making. A digital product passport should support a broader lifecycle strategy, not replace proper environmental assessment.
The Role of Technology and Data Standards
Implementing a digital product passport requires systems that can identify products, store or reference relevant information, and make it accessible in suitable formats.
QR codes and other identifiers can help users access records, while databases and information platforms maintain the underlying data. Integration with existing enterprise and supply chain systems may reduce duplication and make information easier to update.
Interoperability is particularly important. If each manufacturer or supplier uses incompatible formats, users may still struggle to compare records or exchange information efficiently. Common data standards can help establish consistent definitions, formats, and access methods, and make it easier for businesses to connect information from multiple sources.
Other important considerations include:
- Data security and protection against unauthorised changes
- Access permissions for different stakeholder groups
- Reliable identification of products and components
- Procedures for updating records when products change
- Long-term availability of information
- Clear accountability for data accuracy
Technologies such as distributed ledgers may be considered in certain applications, but they are not essential for every passport system, a trade-off we also discuss in blockchain in energy trading. The appropriate solution depends on the product, regulatory requirements, information risks, and available resources.
Good data governance and reliable source information remain essential regardless of the technology selected.
Challenges Businesses Need to Address
Although digital product passports offer potential benefits, their implementation presents practical challenges.
Collecting information across complex supply chains can require significant coordination. Businesses may need to update legacy systems, establish new supplier agreements, and train employees responsible for maintaining records.
Data quality is another concern. If information is incomplete, inconsistent, or difficult to verify, a passport may provide limited value. Smaller suppliers may also face difficulties meeting new technical or administrative expectations.
Organisations should consider several steps before implementation:
Check Obligations
Identify applicable regulatory requirements and product-specific obligations.
Map Your Data
Map existing product information and identify missing data.
Define Access
Determine which stakeholders need access to each category of information.
Assign Ownership
Establish responsibilities for verification and updates.
Assess Systems
Evaluate system compatibility and implementation costs.
Pilot First
Test the approach on a suitable product range before expanding.
Businesses should also consider the effort required to maintain information throughout the product lifecycle. A passport that becomes outdated quickly may create more confusion than clarity.
A phased implementation can help organisations identify practical difficulties early, improve data quality, and expand the system as their capabilities develop. Our strategic consulting team can help shape that roadmap.
Conclusion
Digital product passports could change how businesses communicate sustainability information by connecting product records with relevant details about materials, sourcing, maintenance, and end-of-life management.
Their potential extends beyond reporting. Better product traceability can support sourcing decisions, accessible sustainability data can improve evaluation, and stronger supply chain transparency can help businesses identify information gaps. When combined with suitable product design and recovery systems, these capabilities may also support the circular economy.
Realising these benefits requires more than introducing a digital identifier. Organisations need dependable data, compatible systems, clear governance, and cooperation across their supply chains.
Digital product passports should therefore be viewed as an enabling tool rather than a complete solution to sustainability challenges. Their value will depend on the quality of information they contain and the decisions that information helps people make.
As sustainability expectations continue to develop, businesses that prepare their data and processes carefully will be better positioned to improve transparency, demonstrate accountability, and make more informed decisions throughout the product lifecycle, taking corporate sustainability beyond compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key questions on the digital product passport
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ETIAConsult helps organisations in the Netherlands and across the EU connect product data, systems and suppliers ahead of digital product passport requirements.
