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Writer's picturedigitalproductpassport.com
Jan 171 min read

A taste of what kind of data might be asked for in digital product passports

As the delegated acts for Digital Product Passports are still being worked on, we're still in the dark as to the exact types and precision of data that will be required. But we might be able to get an idea by studying the EU Deforestation Directive which entered into force on 29 June 2023.


The EU deforestation directive might not apply to you (as 6 of the 7 product categories covered by the directive are food-related and therefore not subject to the Digital Product Passport directive). But it may very well serve as an indication of what kind of data you will be required to provide in the DPP.


Being able to trace products back to where they originated for example? Where the trees grew. Or the coffee or cocoa plant. Or the soybeans. By geographic coordinates down to meters! How would you obtain that info for your products? How would you verify such data? And keep it valid? The Deforestation Directive is less tough for small or medium-sized businesses, but still it serves as an indication.


For a composite product, like a piece of furniture, the requirement for traceability applies to every single component. For products in bulk, maybe from different suppliers, you need to make sure that everything is traceable or else it will ALL be deemed to be non-compliant.


We know that this is a bit Kremlinology-like but still think it is interesting food for thought.


Who is prepared to provide this kind of detailed data on their products on an ongoing basis?

It might give us an idea of what's lying ahead of us.


As the delegated acts for Digital Product Passports are still being worked on, we're still in the dark as to the exact types and precision of data that will be required. But we might be able to get an idea by studying the EU Deforestation Directive which entered into force on 29 June 2023. The EU deforestation directive might not apply to you (as 6 of the 7 product categories covered by the directive are food related and therefore not subject to the Digital Product Passport directive). But it may very well serve as an indication of what kind of data you will be required to provide in the DPP. Being able to trace products back to where they originated for example? Where the trees grew. Or the coffee or cocoa plant. Or the soybeans. By geographic coordinates down to metres! How would you obtain that info for your products? How would you verify such data? And keep it valid? The Deforestation Directive is less tough for small or medium sized businesses, but still it serves as an indication.
How certain are you of the origin of the inputs for your product?

Image by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

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1 Comment

Peter Brightsider AB
Apr 02

I checked with Gemini to get a more precise definition of three decimals in latitudes and longitudes. This was the reply: "Specifying longitude and latitude down to three decimals translates to a precision of approximately:

  • 110 meters (m) for latitude

  • Around 110 meters (m) for longitude (depending on specific latitude)

Here's a breakdown:

  • Each degree of latitude is roughly 111,132 meters around the Earth. Three decimal places represent a very small fraction of a degree. At that scale, the distance is relatively consistent across all latitudes.

  • Longitude degrees aren't constant in meters due to the Earth's curvature. However, at most latitudes, the difference between one degree of longitude and the equivalent in meters is negligible at the third decimal place.…

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