Digital product passport (DPP): preparing your PLM

The digital product passport (DPP) is one of the flagship measures of the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781). The principle: making reliable information on a product’s composition, origin, repairability and recycling accessible via an identifier (QR code, chip, etc.).

A phased timeline, starting with batteries

The first mandatory passport covers batteries, from 18 February 2027 for industrial and electric vehicle batteries within the scope of the Batteries Regulation. For other product groups, the obligation will apply group by group, as the European Commission adopts the corresponding delegated acts, with a transition period. The announced priorities include iron and steel, aluminium, textiles and tyres. The exact timeline should be followed in the official texts.

What the passport really requires: data

Behind the QR code, the passport is above all a product data issue: part identification and classification, materials and substances, recycled content, environmental footprint, repair and end-of-life instructions. Much of this information already exists, but it is scattered across the design office, purchasing, quality and suppliers.

the bill of materials and materials are in PLM;
supplier data (origin, substances, recycled content) comes in through purchasing and quality;
manufacturing data (batch, site, date) is in ERP and MES;
service data (spare parts, repairability) falls under after-sales.

The central role of PLM

PLM is best placed to become the backbone of the passport: it holds the product definition, its revisions and its bill of materials. It can structure environmental attributes at part level, consolidate material compliance across the entire bill of materials and ensure that a design change properly updates the published information.

Where to start?

Identify the products concerned and their regulatory timeline.
Map the required data and its current source (PLM, ERP, suppliers, files).
Organise supplier data collection now: this is often the longest path.
Enrich the PLM data model (material, substance and recyclability attributes) and the associated change management.
Plan for publication: unique identifier, exchange format, hosting and updating of the passport.

Anticipating the digital product passport is also an opportunity to make digital continuity between design, manufacturing and service more reliable. Let’s discuss your roadmap.