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Although we, obviously, focus on Digital Product Passports Regulation (DPP), it's not a random piece of legislation, floating around in a void. Although we think it is a very big deal, it still is only a small part of the much greater Green Deal initiative, intended to boost sustainability and circularity of the EU economy as a whole.
The next "level up" from DPP is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, ESPR, a framework regulation that entered into force this summer, 18 July. While the Green Deal is a general environmental initiative, ESPR is targeted at how we design, manufacture and handle products, a major contributor to our environmental impact, of course.
ESPR Objectives
ESPR takes aim at how we design both products, how they are manufactured and how they are intended to be used. The regulation looks at the entire life-cycle of products, from the extraction or growing of raw materials to how they are disposed in the end, hopefully having been reused or recycled several times over in-between, either entirely or by components.
As the EU express it, "A sustainable product is likely to display one or more of the following characteristics":
Uses less energy (than alternatives)
Lasts longer
Can easily be repaired and/or parts replaced
Parts can easily be disassembled and put to further use
Contains fewer substances of concern
Can easily be recycled or reused
Contains more recycled content
Has a lower carbon and environmental footprint over its entire lifecycle (i.e. including extraction, transportation and disposal)
Within the ESPR framework
As the ESPR is a framework regulation, there are sub-measures within it:
Digital Product Passports – our focus. Aimed at improving the possibility for consumers to make environmentally well-informed purchasing decisions based on improved availability and comparability of trustworthy information on circularity and environmental impact. Purchasing decisions which will, in turn, drive producers to design more environmentally sound products.
Rules to adress destruction of unsold consumer products – A major problem is the practice of destroying unsold products. A problem we guess grows with the free returns of online shopping. The ESPR introduces a ban on destruction of unsold textiles and footwear, and opens the way for similar bans in other sectors, if needed. Companies over a certain size will have to disclose annual information on quantities of discarded products.
Green Public Procurement – Adding pressure on producers, the EU will also use it's purchasing power by introducing Green Public Procurement criteria when spending its' around €1.8 trillion on purchasing works, goods and services.
As you can see, the Green Deal initiative roll-out continues as planned. By end of 2027, it's time for Digital Product Passports to start getting implemented for the first industries. Are you on track to be ready? We are.
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