If you’ve tuned into any of GTD’s 2025 webinars you’ll have heard us mention EU Digital Product Passports (DPPs) and how they are set to transform product transparency, sustainability, and compliance across EU Member States, Northern Ireland and the EEA markets.
So, what are they?
Well, DPPs are a cornerstone of the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which came into force in 2024. This huge and far-reaching piece of regulation mandates that products sold within the EU (especially those with high environmental impact or circularity potential) carry a standardised digital record, visible to both consumers and market surveillance authorities. This record is expected to include:
- product origin and materials’ composition
- product environmental footprint and energy usage
- metrics on repairability, recyclability, etc. as well as end-of-life disposal guidance
- product compliance and certification data
- supply chain data and full product traceability
The DPP is designed to consolidate and close the data gap between consumer expectations, regulatory demands, and operational realities.
With the DPP, we will finally have the harmonisation companies have been waiting for; a modular framework to operationalise sustainability, customs, and market logic across all EU jurisdictions. DPPs will:
- be interoperable across EU member states, helping to ease customs and market entry
- enable risk scoring and substantiation for supplier onboarding protocols
- empower eco-conscious consumers in their purchasing decisions through the provision of verified product data
- help deliver the EU’s circular economy goals by tracking materials and lifecycle data, as well as supporting reuse, recycling, and repair initiatives
DPPs will be a requirement for all physical products manufactured in or imported into the EU. Initial priority products and sectors are outlined in the EU’s Working Plan 2025-2030 and include:
- electronics and batteries
- textiles, both household and industrial (and potentially footwear)
- furniture, both indoor and outdoor, home and office
- mattresses
- tires
- appliances and household equipment
- and more
Manufacturers, importers, distributors, and digital platforms will have to ensure DPPs are integrated into product listings, customs declarations, and consumer interfaces.
With the implementation of EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) in December last year prompting more physical labelling and documentation to be shipped with products, companies have been crying out for a mechanism to instead store this data online!
And here it is, the DPP! Effectively a digital twin of the physical product, accessible via QR code, RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification), or embedded chip; it is hosted on interoperable platforms governed by EU standards. Key features will include:
- machine-readable formats for automation and customs processing
- secure data layers for proprietary and public information
- real-time updates for recalls, certifications, or sustainability improvements
- integration with applicable EU regulations and standards e.g. ESPR, EPR, and CE marking systems
The GTD Platform originally built to enable UK and international SMEs to cost effectively comply with EU GPSR, is now extending to offer these same companies a compliance offering for DPPs. As GTD’s Technical Director, Jamie Clifton explains: “We are already undertaking preparatory work whilst we await the EU’s final rules for DPP service providers and platform interoperability. The GTD platform already hosts our clients’ product safety compliance data, so expanding the platform’s functionality to deliver the full DPP is a natural next step. We’re excited to offer the SME community a solution that future proofs their supply chains, strengthens their market positioning, and ultimately helps them successfully compete across the EU marketplace”.
As part of its customs and regulatory webinar series, GTD is delivering a dedicated DPP session on 3rd December where we’ll be sharing what we know so far and the schedule for further implementation details from the EU Commission. Feel free to sign up at https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/5f33492d-4d54-4cfc-b596-99c3d4ceae5d@aaa7ae57-b02a-4582-ada8-f37486025a6b
