As measures to reduce the environmental impact of industrial activities advance, the more important is the technical information on the products being marketed. This information is useful both for buyers who want to be aware of the characteristics of what they are consuming, and to extend the useful life of the same products taking into account their use and repairability, as well as for the final treatment of these once they have exhausted their useful life. To solve this problem, comes the Digital Product Passport.
What is the DPP or digital product passport?
The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a living online record that accompanies each product from design to retirement and recycling. Unlike a paper label, which contains limited information and can degrade over time, the DPP can be updated when materials, parts, instructions and solutions change. It is durable over time and has no physical limit to the amount of information. This avoids uncertainty and speeds up everyday tasks such as dealing with a customer issue, ordering a spare part or preparing a batch for recycling.
To access this file, the product incorporates a code, usually a QR or an electronic label, which is scanned with a cell phone or a reader. When it is opened, information appears that answers practical questions: what it is made of, how to care for it, what parts it has, how to disassemble it and where to take it when its useful life is over.
Why the EU is asking for the DPP
The European Union aims to make products last longer, be easily repairable and be effectively recycled. To achieve this, it has approved a framework that promotes DPP as a common tool. The goal is that key information is not lost in mailings or PDFs, but travels with the product and is available when needed. This reduces waste, improves transparency and avoids vague promises, because everything is underpinned by verifiable data.
In practice, the first product families to adopt the DPP are those that have the greatest impact on waste and material consumption, such as batteries, textiles and electronics.
What information is included
A good DPP gathers the information that already exists in your company, but scattered in several teams and systems, and puts it to work in favor of the daily operation:
| Information | What is it for? | Who usually has it? | How often does it change? |
| Name and model | Identify the product without doubts | Product/Operations | When the product is born |
| Materials and weights | Deciding whether and how to reuse or recycle | Quality/Purchasing | When a material changes |
| Parts and spare parts | Facilitating repairs and extending service life | Technical service | According to stock and upgrades |
| Instructions for use and disassembly | Reduce errors, save time and avoid damage | After Sales/Engineering | When improvements are made |
| Where to take it at the end | Increase collection and avoid dumping | Customer Service/Waste | 1-2 times/year |
| Data and legal certifications | Accelerate audits and reduce incidents | Compliance | Monthly/Quarterly |
To make this information useful in inspections, add simple evidence: a photo of the product and its nameplate, a packing slip, the scale ticket, or a certification from the supplier.
How DPP affects waste management
A key element for optimal waste management is product information. With a DPP, this part of the life cycle is no longer a blind closure, but a predictable and measurable process. Plant personnel can easily access disassembly information, the manager identifies the product without doubt, and the compliance officer can check that what is declared matches what is valorized.
Faster processing and audits
Producer obligations require regular data submission and audit readiness. The DPP makes it possible to automatically fill in many of the fields that are usually requested – category, composition, weight per material and end-of-life instructions – and allows evidence to be attached. As a result, reviews are not lengthened for minor details, requirements are reduced and hours are freed up for teams that were previously dedicated to reconstructing information.
Real in-plant traceability
Law 7/2022 on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy already anticipates the need to digitally trace waste, and the CSRD directive will make it mandatory to measure and display environmental KPIs. By identifying the item in plant and recording its path, it will be possible to calculate the percentage recovered, detect losses and improve collection campaigns. With the DPP, this tracking is no longer dependent on single sheets and is linked to each unit.
Key indicators for waste
Without numbers it is difficult to improve. These indicators provide a simple snapshot of whether the DPP is really helping to reduce waste and costs. By measuring them month by month, patterns are identified, plants or suppliers are compared and investments are justified with data in hand.
– Pick-up rate (how many products are returned with respect to those placed in the market)
– Effective recycling (portion of the product that is actually recovered and utilized)
– Cost per unit to comply with regulations
– Sorting time and plant rejects
A Product Digital Passport is not just a regulatory requirement. It is a practical opportunity to sort information, save time, gain trust and improve waste management with measurable results. Starting with a small pilot, with essential data and clear responsible parties, avoids bottlenecks and accelerates learning. From there, expanding to more products and processes is a matter of following a routine: update, measure and improve.
Frequently asked questions about the Digital Product Passport or DPP
Is it already mandatory?
The framework already exists and will be applied by product families through specific standards. The deadlines are not the same for all: they will first reach sectors such as batteries, textiles or electronics and then the rest.
Will a QR pointing to my website work?
The QR is just the door. Behind it there must be a complete and up-to-date data sheet that loads fast and is easy to use from a cell phone.
What if I have sensitive data?
Apply “what is necessary and no more”. Share in a staggered manner: public information for customers; repair details for services; batch data and compliance documents only for those who are entitled to them. Avoid publishing contracts or personal addresses; upload summarized versions and keep originals in a private area.
What minimum data must a DPP include?
Model of the product, what it is made of, how it is used and repaired, how it is disassembled and where to take it at the end of its useful life.
Who is responsible for the DPP and who can see it?
It is advisable to appoint a person responsible for each product or family and to define access by levels: a public part for customers, a professional part for services and distributors, and a restricted part for compliance documents.
