Strategic Focus: Product Compliance Through Digital Product Passports

Published 21 March 2024 by Christopher Sayers & Bill Pennington &

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Executive Summary

In the coming years, digital product passports (DPPs) will substantially impact product data management processes for organizations placing products on the European market. The European Commission (EC) is finalizing an array of DPP regulations, spearheaded by the EU Battery Regulation and guided by the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). In preparation, firms across relevant industries are developing proof of concepts and DPP pilots. Whilst DPPs are being positioned by the EC as a solution for product sustainability and circularity, they will have meaningful ramifications for product compliance processes. This report seeks to provide an overview of the DPP regulatory landscape, clarify what DPPs are and how they will be structured, and offer an analysis of the link between product compliance data and DPPs. Heads of product, compliance experts and product stewards should also use this report to understand technology ecosystem considerations, to ensure the successful and timely execution of DPPs.

Table of contents

Digital product passports (DPPs) have the potential to revolutionize product compliance
EU regulation is spearheading the development and implementation of DPPs in industry
DPPs will create standardized product data sets and encourage the transformation of data collection infrastructure
Product compliance data will be tightly interlinked with digital passports
Passport regulation will encourage a rethink of firms’ product data management ecosystems

Table of figures

Figure 1. Overview of EU DPP regulation
Figure 2. Product-specific EU regulation relevant to DPPs
Figure 3. Supplier data collection models
Figure 4. Example battery passport data model breakdown

About the authors

Christopher Sayers

Senior Analyst
Chris is a Senior Analyst in the Verdantix EHS practice. His current research agenda focuses on EHS software, product compliance software and digital mental health and wellbeing solutions. He was also the lead author of the most recent Verdantix EHS Software Green Quadrant benchmarking study. Chris joined Verdantix in 2020 and has previous experience at EY, where he specialized in robotic process automation (RPA). He holds an MEng in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford, with a concentration on machine learning and machine vision.

Bill Pennington

VP Research, EHS & Risk Management
Bill is the VP Research for the Verdantix EHS & Risk Management practices. His current agenda focuses on understanding the evolution of EHS and enterprise risk management, evaluating emerging strategic risks and benchmarking technology buyers’ budgets, priorities and preferences globally.

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