What is the Digital Product Passport?
With the Digital Product Passport (DPP), the EU has created a tool that will fundamentally change the way product-related information is handled. This machine-readable record contains verified information about a product’s identity, materials, environmental impact, repairability, and end‑of‑life handling. It is part of the EU’s push toward sustainability, circularity, and transparency in all physical goods placed on the European market.
Information from the DPP creates transparency throughout the value chain and supports informed decision-making regarding the purchase, use, and disposal of products.
For companies, the DPP sets new requirements for information and data management, documentation processes, and collaboration along the supply chain. Structured and reliable product information can help improve internal processes, develop new services, and support fair competition in the European market.
Against this backdrop, tcworld GmbH, in collaboration with tekom, hosted the “Digital Product Passport Focus Day” in June 2026. More than 60 members shared information about the legal and technical framework, discussed practical challenges, and developed initial solutions. In five working groups, participants identified the challenges facing various industries and the actions organizations can take today.
As an outcome of these presentations and discussions, the working group established first steps for the gradual implementation of the DPP, outlined below.
First steps for technical communication departments
1. Determine which products are impacted by the DPP
The Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR) forms the legal basis for the DPP. The ESPR applies to nearly all physical goods sold in the EU, except food, feed, medicinal products, living organisms, and products already covered by other dedicated regimes. Several product groups, such as batteries and construction products, are regulated under their own separate rules.
To do:
- Identify relevant product groups and delegated acts
- Monitor timelines and regulatory developments
- Prioritize urgent product areas
2. Highlight the significance for the company
The DPP is a prerequisite for access to products in the European single market. It requires a systematic approach to product information. Therefore, companies can no longer afford to dismiss technical documentation as a burdensome formality. Instead, technical communicators can act as “translators” of the DPP and ensure that information is properly adapted for different target audiences. The DPP should not be viewed as merely a compliance project, but as a strategy embedded at the C-level. Only when senior management views the DPP as a key strategic initiative for the future and actively drives it forward can it achieve the necessary impact throughout the entire company.
To do:
- Outline the impact on market access and compliance
- Identify potential benefits of structured product data and information
- Secure support from management
3. Define responsibilities
Companies need to determine who coordinates the preparations for the introduction of the DPP and who will be responsible for the individual data and information sets.
To do:
- Designate central coordination
- Involve relevant departments
- Define technical responsibility for data
4. Identify data, information, and systems
Even though specific content requirements for DPPs are still lacking in many areas, now is the time to set up the infrastructure for the DPP, the so-called DPP system, and identify what relevant information is already available and where it is maintained. As a first building block, organize information and data, ensure their quality, consolidate metadata in a standardized way, and establish a unique product identifier.
To do:
- Document existing data sources and systems
- Identify a reliable source for each piece of information
- Distinguish between document-based and structured data
5. Check data and information quality and identify gaps
Finally, companies need to verify that the available data and information is complete, unambiguous, up-to-date, and reliable.
To do:
- Compare data and information sets and identify inconsistencies
- Document missing information
- Define requirements for quality and updating
The DPP supports fair competition in the European single market and streamlines the work of market surveillance and customs authorities. Anyone who is still hesitant to act today is putting off a task that cannot be avoided in the near future – and one whose economic value extends beyond simply fulfilling obligations.
Want to learn more?
The DPP will be a major focus at this year’s tcworld conference. Tune in to the keynote by Prof. Dr. Thomas Knothe from the Fraunhofer Institute on November 10 at 9 AM (CET):
The Digital Product Passport: The (Not Yet) Perfect Game Changer
Hardly any other topic divides companies, associations, and regulators as much as the European Digital Product Passport. It is often described as a dysfunctional EU monster concocted by clueless Brussels bureaucrats who are exacerbating our dramatically deteriorating global competitive position. On the other hand, there are also many promises, for example, that it is the missing piece of the puzzle to create an efficient and sovereign product data ecosystem for seamless interoperability between manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and authorities.
The presentation will first briefly lay the groundwork: How does the EU DPP work? Who is affected by the regulations? What standards must be met? What issues remain unresolved, and what isn’t working (yet)? Drawing on experiences from implementation and application in various companies, the audience will learn about opportunities and risks, common mistakes, and useful technical tools (as well as those that have not proven useful so far). Finally, the presentation will conclude with guidance for action.
Takeaways
- How the European Digital Product Passport works
- The benefits for companies’ technical communication
- Experiences from implementation and application at large and small companies
- Why the EU DPP is not yet perfect