Consumers are thinking more and more about sustainability, and as a company you must be able to respond to this. The political world wants to take it a step further as well, which is why the EU is proposing a European Digital Product Passport. This is released as part of the EU’s Green Deal, which includes the goal of becoming the first climate-neutral region by 2050. What is the European Digital Product Passport? For which sectors will the Digital Product Passport become mandatory? How can you prepare for this shift as a company? We will look into this in this blog!
will there be a european digital product passport?
WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN DIGITAL PRODUCT PASSPORT?
The fact that products must have a kind of passport is not new. The real change is that this is now happening through legislation and using both green and digital transformations. The new legislation states that “the product passport contains a set of data specific to a product, which contains specific information and which must be accessible by electronic means”.
The general goal of the proposal is to reduce the environmental impact of products during their life cycle. The EU wants to encourage the industry to look for durable goods and to invest in sustainable production. The law provides new obligations and rights for manufacturers, importers and distributors, dealers, repairers, recyclers, maintenance professionals, customers, end users, consumers, national authorities and public interest entities.
WHICH PRODUCTS WILL NEED TO HAVE A DIGITAL PRODUCT PASSPORT?
Only a few sectors (such as foods, animal feed and pharmaceuticals) are exempt. It will apply to all physical goods, including parts and semi-finished products, placed on the market or put into service in the EU. This definition includes products manufactured in Europe or exported to the EU. The new legislation will thus have an impact on world trade.
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE AVAILABLE ON THE EUROPEAN PRODUCT PASSPORT?
To comply with the new legislation, you will have to make information available about your products. The purpose is to:
- Ensure that all actors in the value chain (consumers, other companies and competent national authorities) can access relevant product information for them.
- Improve the traceability of products along the value chain.
- Facilitate product compliance checks by the competent national authorities.
- Enable the tracing of hazardous or sensitive substances throughout the life cycle of the affected products.
MASTER DATA MANAGEMENT AND THE EUROPEAN PRODUCT PASSPORT?
It is good to know that this legislative proposal on the European Product Passport refers several times to global and open information. This indicates the important role Master Data can play in meeting both industry and regulatory requirements. From proposal to active legislation takes a long time, but it is good to already consider how you will make the information available. Are you joining a data pool? Are you tackling the structure of your data? Master Data Management gives you a step ahead, so you can respond quicker to changes in the information that must be made available to the entire chain, and you have less chance of (human) errors.