With the entry into force of the so-called Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), now also known as Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 on 18 July 2024, the Digital Product Passport (DPP) is one step further to become reality. As a branch heavily relying on digitalisation, the e-commerce ecosystem is eagerly awaiting the roll-out of the DPP, a tool digitalising product information and streamlining data flows along the entire value chain, up to the customers. Moreover, e-retailers and online marketplaces, who act as intermediaries between European consumers and manufacturers from all around the world, are key to deliver exhaustive product information, notably on sustainability aspects, and thus contribute to encouraging environmentally friendly consumption. Finally, the DPP has the potential to connect the dots on overall product compliance by digitalising and standardising relevant product information, resulting in more widespread compliance and a level-playing field among products.
To ensure that the legal framework accompanying the development and the concrete deployment of the DPP takes into account the needs and capabilities of the e-commerce sector, Ecommerce Europe recently published its Position Paper on the DPP, laying out its vision in three main pillars.
1. A Digital Product Passport becoming the reference tool for digital consumer products information
While the DPP is expected to serve different purposes, the DPP objective to improve consumer information should be clearly stated. In practice, this means that the DPP should be easy to use and its content clear for end-users, for instance the granularity and type of information (e.g., related to sustainability or to other product aspects, such as safety).
For this information to be duly uploaded in the DPP and passed on along the value chain, EU policymakers should make sure to design investment-worthy requirements and workable obligations. In this process, finding the right balance among diverging interests and approaches to product information transparency should be the priority. Furthermore, the delegates acts introducing a product or product-category specific DPP should always include a clear scope and the related exemptions, notably for handmade products and products made in small quantities. Finally, given that DPP information requirements will stem from different primary or secondary legislation, companies should be supported in tracking and making sense of the various set of rules feeding into the DPP.
2. A Digital Product Passport adapted to the reality of omnichannel commerce
The issue of granularity is not only key to determining the right level of information (i.e., item, batch or model) for the purpose of consumer information, but also to setting feasible requirements for businesses making the DPP possible. For instance, on an online interface selling products produced in large batches, only a product model can typically be identified, as it is nearly impossible to show a potential customer the batch or unit of the product that they are likely to buy. For handmade products, such identification is even more difficult as many of these items are bespoke or handled by a shop of one. Therefore, requirements to produce a DPP with a specific product granularity should take these technical considerations into account.
3. A Digital Product Passport ecosystem linking the dots on overall product compliance
Compared to the previous Directive, the Ecodesign Regulation introduces stronger provisions on market surveillance for products under the scope of the rules, as well as new customs formalities related to the DPP. For the DPP to serve these purposes, its regulatory framework must be compatible with EU harmonisation legislation, other Union acts regulating product compliance and not least with EU Customs legislation.
Concretely, EU policymakers must ensure alignment with the definitions and rules laid out in other horizontal or vertical legislation. For example, the DPP should become part of the so-called New Legislative Framework, an instrument which already proved useful for economic operators to become familiar with “common reference provisions”, which are equally applicable across EU law on product conformity. A better alignment with the safety net provisions introduced by Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (General Product Safety Regulation, short GPSR) could also allow the DPP to properly convey information beyond sustainability. Finally, the DPP should be conceived in a way that is coherent and complementary with other existing systems for the provision of product information digitally, such as EPREL (European Product Registry for Energy Labelling) or SCIP, thus avoiding the multiplication of codes and identifiers. To support companies in their compliance journey, we invite the Commission to produce an overview of the information requirement obligations placed on the traders, including as a result of the introduction of DPP-related provisions.
Furthermore, for the DPP to become an asset for both market surveillance and customs authorities to increase product safety, we recommend the Commission carries out a mapping exercise of existing solutions and initiatives in the field of customs and ensure that the DPP-related formalities are well fitted in the overall hierarchy of the existing infrastructure. For instance, we suggest clarifying which stakeholder will need to provide customs with the DPP or the unique registration identifier (URI).
Next steps
The development of the legal framework around the Digital Product Passport (DPP) as well as its technical aspects, including DPP-piloting projects and standardisation work, will continue run until at least 2027. Ecommerce Europe will make sure to follow the different workstreams and represent the interests of the e-commerce sector overall. If you want to find out more about Ecommerce Europe and our policy activities, contact us at info@ecommerce-europe.eu.