For organizations selling into the European market, the EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) is about to fundamentally change how product information is created, shared and verified across European value chains.
Introduced under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the new regulations mean manufacturers selling in Europe will need to provide an EU DPP for products in priority sectors that can have significant environmental impact, or for which there is a high potential for circularity.
This is no longer a future consideration. With the underlying infrastructure now live and mandatory requirements taking effect from February 2027, your organization needs to prepare now.
Read on to learn what your organization needs to know, the timeline of regulation that will impact your organization, and the actions you can take now to stay ahead and get compliant.
What is a Digital Product Passport (DPP)?
The EU DPP provides a structured, product-specific data record that acts as a digital identity for a product throughout its lifecycle. Underpinned by digital infrastructure including a central registry and web portal, the pre-defined scope of product information will be accessible via a QR code or similar route, enabling stakeholders across the value chain to access consistent, verified product information.
Information covered by an EU DPP includes sustainability credentials, material composition, performance characteristics and lifecycle data. Crucially, the specific data requirements are defined per product group through delegated legislation, meaning requirements will vary by sector.
What are the benefits of DPPs?
The level of product transparency that will be available thanks to DPPs will mean stakeholders including manufacturers, importers, regulators, recyclers and consumers can make informed decisions, whether around purchasing, compliance, procurement options, repairs or end-of-life processing.
This will improve transparency and traceability across supply chains, making it easier for businesses to share product information, enable product lifecycle sustainability - reducing waste and costs - and strengthen legal compliance through a digital, accessible mechanism.
Looking at the bigger picture, DPPs also have the potential to support the EU in a shift towards a more circular economy where, instead of discarding value after a single use, products, components and materials remain circulating within the economy at their highest possible value for as long as possible.
The economic and environmental logic of the circular economy is compelling, with over four in five (86%) people saying businesses and governments should prioritise circularity, but its widespread adoption hinges on a critical factor: trust. Research conducted by BSI and CISL found transparency about product lifecycle to be a key pillar of building trust and driving uptake of the circular economy. The introduction of DPPs has a critical role to play in supporting this shift.
A phased timeline: What is happening when?
In July 2026, the European Commission launched the first piece of DPP infrastructure; the DPP registry and a testing environment.
The European Commission has published a detailed implementation timeline for the upcoming milestones. The key dates you need to know are as follows:
Delegated acts – rulebook published, start preparing.
This is when the EU finalises the specific data requirements for a sector. DPP isn't mandatory yet, but this is the cue to start preparing.
Q4 2026: ESPR Delegated Act for Iron & Steel; Implementing Act for Battery access rights
Q1 2027: Delegated Act for DPP Service Providers; Delegated Act for Construction Materials under the CPR
Q2 2027: Delegated Acts for Unique Identifiers and for Repairability
Q3–Q4 2027: ESPR Delegated Acts for Textiles, Aluminium and Tyres
2028: Delegated Act for Furniture
2029: Delegated Act for Mattresses and Recycled Content
DPP becoming mandatory - compliance deadline, DPP is now required.
This is when the DPP requirement takes effect. No DPP = no market access.
February 2027: Battery DPPs become mandatory for EV batteries, industrial batteries (≥2kWh) and light means of transport (LMT) batteries — the first enforceable DPP requirement
2028: DPP becomes mandatory for packaging, iron and steel and construction products
2029: DPP becomes mandatory for ICT products, tyres, aluminium, textiles and detergents
2030: DPP becomes mandatory for toys
How your organization can prepare
The detailed requirements for many sectors are still being finalized. However, the core principles are clear - and early preparation will be a significant advantage. To stay ahead and get compliant, your organization should:
Monitor regulatory and standards developments: Requirements will continue to evolve through delegated acts and new standards throughout 2026, 2027 and beyond. Staying informed is essential to planning ahead.
Collect the necessary product data: Key product sustainability credentials such as carbon footprint and material composition are set to be central components of DPPs. Lifecycle assessments (LCAs) can help organizations understand, quantify and communicate the environmental impacts and sustainability credentials of their products with confidence.
Demonstrating product conformance will also be central to DPP credibility. Testing and certification can help your organisation verify product performance and meet the technical requirements of relevant regulations.
Map your supply chain data flows: Product data must be aggregated across the full value chain. You need to understand where your data originates, who holds it and how it moves - including any cross-border data transfer implications. Supplier audits can help you to gain transparency throughout your supply chain and minimise potential compliance, quality and sustainability issues.
Build product-level data capabilities: DPPs require structured, machine-readable data linked to individual products. Assess whether your current systems can support this.
Establish clear data governance: Responsibility for the passport rests with the economic operator placing the product on the EU market. Define ownership and accountability within your organization now.
The role of standards
Harmonized European standards, developed through JTC24, the CEN-CENELEC Joint Technical Committee on the Digital Product Passport, are a critical enabler of consistent DPP implementation.
Eight standards have been developed covering unique identifiers, data carriers, data storage and persistence, data exchange protocols and formats, system interoperability, APIs for DPP lifecycle management, access rights management, and data authentication and integrity. Six of these have now been published. The remaining two standards, covering access rights management and data authentication, reliability and integrity, closed their formal votes in mid-July 2026. Publication of both is expected around September 2026.
Organizations should monitor publication closely, as conformance to these standards will be central to compliance.
International standardization is also accelerating. A new ISO Joint Technical Committee on DPP, JTC5, is expected to begin operations in September 2026, reflecting growing global engagement with European standardization. CEN-CLC/JTC 24 aims to work in close cooperation with JTC5, with the goal of one coherent, globally aligned set of standards.
For organizations with international supply chains, this is a significant development to track.
BSI can support organizations across every dimension of the DPP compliance journey - from understanding what the regulation means for your business, to collecting and verifying data and building the systems and assurance capabilities you need.
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