Article

What is a Digital Product Passport?

A brief guide to digital product passports.

06 March 20265 Minute Read

Inga Becker-HansenPolicy Adviser - Retail Products | BRCinga.becker-hansen@brc.org.uk

What is DPP?

A digital product passport (DDP) refers to a specific data set related to a product that includes accessible via electronic means through a data carrier .

The initial concept of a digital product passport or DPP is from the EU.

The EU Commission have introduced DPPs under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation in 2023.

Under this regulation products may only be placed on the EU market or put into service if a digital product passport is available.

The requirements and deadlines for all digital product passports are to be defined via delegated product-specific acts, which means we do not know all the requirements for all product types as yet.

Are DPPS in the UK and EU?

No. Currently DPPS are only available in the EU and due to the delegated acts introducing these measures, only specific products have their data requirements currently listed.

The introduction of DPPs into the UK/GB market has not been confirmed. However there are currently discussions being held by OPSS on digital labelling, which may progress into DPPs although this may not be a mandatory obligation for the GB market.

Why are DPPs Being Introduced?

The aim for the DPP introduction is to set mandatory green public procurement requirements and creates a framework to prevent unsold consumer products from being destroyed.

Pros and Cons

There are many aspects to DPPs and it is important to ensure businesses are aware of these during DPP development and preparation.

Pros	Cons
Customer experience enhancement in purchasing product.	Administrative burden in the organisation of data required for DPP integration.
Encourage retail with strong environmental claims as the DPP will contain information to support.	Potential expense in use of third part DPPs suppliers.
DPPs could be utilised by different stakeholders within the supply chain to meet other regulatory obligations.	Public understanding and percentage use of DPPs following the investment is of concern for retail.
Improvement of supply chain traceability with better data visibility.	Lack of clairity in the UK regarding DPPs.