The latest from the EU when it comes to DPP
Aug 18, 2025
Digital product passports are coming but what do you need to put in yours, when do you need to have them ready and what other details do you need to know? Here’s the latest from the EU on DPP to keep you briefed.
Background to DPP – how did we get here The short background is that in 2019, the EU came up with the ‘European Green Deal’ with the aim of making the EU a net-zero emissions territory. They also wanted to ensure a fully circular economy (where everything gets used again and again and again), eliminate pollution, boost competitiveness and ensure the green transition happens in a fair way for everyone. No pressure then!
Let’s focus on one of those lofty goals – making the EU fully circular. To achieve this, they came up with the CEAP (circular economy action plan). Within CEAP are a series of laws and regulations and one of those is called ESPR (the Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation). And within ESPR, we’ve got DPP, the Digital Product Passport requirement. The ESPR legislation describes a digital product passport as a way to ‘electronically register, process and share product-related information amongst supply chain businesses, authorities and consumers.”
Here’s what we know so far about DPP The latest information came in April 2025. The EU published their ‘Ecodesign for Sustainable Products and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2025-2030’.The plan shows that the EU wants to replicate the success of the Energy Labelling Framework. You know those signs on the side of the cookers and other kitchen appliances in the electronics store that give you an indication as to how energy efficient the product is? The goal with ESPR is to do the same but to cover a range of sustainability factors.
The Energy Labelling has, according to the EU, led to a 12% reduction in final energy consumption in 2023*, more than the combined final energy consumption of Belgium and the Czech Republic. *https://environment.ec.europa.eu/document/5f7ff5e2-ebe9-4bd4-a139-db881bd6398f_en - page 4 In the same way, the EU wants digital product passports to give sustainable brands an edge and force other brands to follow suit by making sustainability information clear and transparent. Now, what exactly is in a digital product passport? This is what we don’t know exactly but the EU is promising clarity by the end of 2025 or early 2026, at least for a few industries. It’s a complex one since one industry is going to have different criteria to measure and highlight than others.
What they have said in the April 2025 working plan is they are looking at Product performance categories such as durability, availability of spare parts, minimum recycled content etc, as well as Product information categories such as key features, carbon footprint etc. In previous documents, the EU has included specific information such as
- Product identification number
- Transparent information on the entire product lifecycle. This includes where the raw materials come from, where it was manufactured, how it was transported and what to do with the product at the end of life such as repair or recycling opportunities.
- Care information helping customers know how to extend the lifetime of the product
The EU did a study, released in June 2024 highlighting sixteen possible criteria to be communicated in a digital product passport for the fashion industry. These exact criteria, which we hope to see in late 2025/early 2026, are referred to by the EU as ‘delegated acts.’Watch this space.
What industries are effected by DPP? In the April 2025 working plan, six industries were highlighted as top priorities. There are four ‘final products’ (products that you and me can buy in a store down the road) and two ‘intermediate products’ (products that are used to make those final products).
What is the timeline?
For all the areas above, the EU has stated in the ESPR Regulations (which were set in June 2024) that there would be an 18-month window to get everything in order. So, if the EU say January 2027, then they mean that everything needs to be live and ready by mid 2028. But it also means that you should really be up and running as early as possible in 2027 and ensure you’re compliant and then start seeing how you can refine and improve your digital product passports to make the most of them. These are the dates that they’ve set so far in the April 2025 working plan. The final products:
- Textiles/apparel - 2027
- Furniture - 2028
- Tyres - 2027
- Mattresses - 2029
Intermediate products
- Iron & Steel - 2026
- Aluminium - 2027
What else do I need to know?
When it comes textiles and apparel, footwear is not included but has instead been put into a separate category “due to the distinct use of materials, product functionality and supply chains.” But a study will be commissioned to evaluate the potential to improve the environmental sustainability of footwear under the ESPR and will be completed by the end of 2027.
Chemicals was a highly ranked area before and expected to be one of the early industries to need DPP’s but it’s also very complex and has been given more time as a result. A study is being done at the end of 2025 to define more precisely the potential chemicals in scope and potential focus areas to be included. Stay tuned here. We’ll be keeping a close eye on developments and publish any news as it comes in. Get in touch if you want to start your DPP journey today. We’re working closely with several PIM suppliers to provide a full end to end DPP solution.