Definition: Digital product passport – what is it actually?

The digital product passport is the complete, digitally available life cycle of a product. As such, it is the central database that contains all the information about a product. This information includes, for example

• the origin of a product
• production data
• usage information
• information on maintenance and repairability
• information on disposal

A digital product passport thus provides all the data on a product and is intended to become the single point of truth for a product.

The plan is to introduce it throughout the EU in 2027. It will then be available on the product at any time, for example via QR code, NFC or an RFID chip.

How does it work?

All relevant data is continuously recorded during the manufacture of a product and stored in a database assigned to the product. Data on the raw materials used is also included here, as is data from all other stages of the product life cycle - right through to recycling.

Each station within the supply chain can then access the relevant stored data. If a product is repaired or upgraded, further information ends up in the digital product passport.

The data collected over the course of the product's life can be further processed for various use cases. The digital product passport also enables standardized data exchange between manufacturers, users and disposal companies.

What are the benefits of a digital product passport?

Put simply, the digital product passport creates transparency about a product. And not just selectively, for example from the manufacturing process, but end-to-end from raw material to recyclable material.

In detail, each party involved in a product has its own individual advantages:

• Consumers receive information on environmental friendliness, disposal options and operation. These can be important criteria for purchasing decisions.
• Maintenance and repair companies receive information on repairability, spare parts and assembly instructions. They also enrich the digital product passport themselves with information on repairs carried out, spare parts and the like.
• Disposal companies receive information on material composition and recyclability.
• Manufacturers receive information on raw materials and the properties of products and components. In return, they provide information on materials and ingredients, production location and conditions, energy consumption during production and certificates (e.g. sustainability standards).
• Retailers in turn receive information on the sustainability and quality of the products. This data can be used to market the products. Retailers can also provide feedback data on the product.

Digital product passport: Which products are in focus?

All products are different. A refrigerator is more complex than a pad of graph paper. And for some products, recording the underlying data is more urgent than for others - keyword: sustainability. For this reason, the digital product passport will initially focus on resource- and energy-intensive products - from smartphones and laptops to washing machines.

In the long term, however, it is to be implemented for all products.

What are the goals of the digital product passport?

“Uniformity” and ‘transparency’ - this is how we could summarize the goals of the digital product passport. In detail, this means

• uniform structuring and standardization of environmentally relevant data in a comparable format
• transparency of product information to support sustainable purchasing decisions (consumer protection)
• end-to-end transparency along the entire supply and value chain
• promotion of sustainability and environmental protection
• support for a more environmentally friendly circular economy - from sustainable raw materials to professional recycling

The digital product passport is yet to come, but your production can already benefit significantly from uniformly recorded and transparent digital data. All you need is the right system - a system like our weasl.

Find out exactly what weasl can do in our free showcase environment. Request your access now.