Enhancing evaluations of future energy-related product policies with the Digital Product Passport

The concept of a Digital Product Passport (DPP) has recently been developed. A DPP is a structured collection of product related data (e.g. on energy consumption, sustainability, circularity) with predefined scope and agreed data ownership and access rights conveyed through a unique identifier. In the EU, it will be a decentralised system with a central registry and the DPP is of considerable strategic relevance in the implementation of the European Green Deal, of the Circular Economy Action Plan and of the proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Against this background, the aim of this paper is to explore the possibilities that DPPs may offer to future evaluations of product-oriented energy/environmental policies. The paper presents the rationale behind and the origins of the DPP. Then, the evaluation approaches for the current product policies are summarized. Later, options and requirements for the technical implementation of a DPP are briefly explained to show the general infrastructural requirements. Thereafter, the DPP is considered concretely in its integration and role in the context of the future Batteries Regulation, which will be the first regulation with a DPP. Based on this case and the forthcoming ESPR, the paper explores the possibilities but also discusses the limitations of using DPPs for evaluation purposes, and drafts a further outlook on other potential fields of application. In general, the DPP is expected to enhance and facilitate the data collection and theevaluation of product policies, however, this will have to be proven after the implementation of the first DPP.