Introducing Digital Product Passports (DDPs) will help manufacturers better trace the origins and histories of material and give them a reliable understanding of what can be recycled at the end of a product’s life, according to researchers at Durham University Business School.

Starting this year, the European Union is implementing new regulation requiring nearly all products sold in the EU to feature a DPP as part of its Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

The DPP will include details such as a unique product identifier, compliance documentation, and information on substances of concern.

It will also provide user manuals, safety instructions, and guidance on product disposal.

A study from Durham's Business School says that having this type of data can allow businesses to “clean up their supply chains”, reduce waste, and lower costs.

Durham's research said that manufacturers in particular face significant pressure to adapt their practices to become more sustainable, with electronic equipment production prioritised as one industry under the new rules, along with electric vehicles, textiles and construction.

As part of the study, researchers at Durham conducted interviews with three Original Equipment Manufacturers, engaging staff who work across functions including product engineering, compliance, quality, remanufacturing, materials and supplier collaboration.

The interviews found that improving decision-making to transition towards a circular economy; ensuring greater regulatory compliance; improving transparency across supply chains; and enhancing customer engagement, are key motivations for DPP adoption.

They also revealed common barriers to DPP implementation, like developing and communicating the business case for DPP adoption across industry and the increased need for better data, data standards and ensuring effective information exchange and analysis between IT systems.

Other challenges highlighted were the extent of effort needed for implementation and ensuring data security and integrity.

The study presents a compelling case for progress of DPPs, with researchers saying that continuing to delay making such a change will "only bring damage to environment and to industry."

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said that correspondence from the Department for Business and International Trade suggests that ESPR is not likely to be enacted in Great Britain imminently, although it will apply in Northern Ireland.

Professor Chaudhuri, who conducted the study, pointed to electronics equipment manufacturers, who develop a large variety of products, with different sizes, weights, and material content.

These items can include precious metals like copper, gold, and silver, which are all critical and rare materials used for things like integrated circuits, magnets in small motors, hard drives, capacitors, and plastics for multiple parts.

“Such companies recognise that manufacturing the parts has a significant environmental impact in terms of resource consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and electronic waste," explained Chaudhuri. "Not only that, but the raw materials used are ever more scarce, driving up costs.”

He went on to say that DPPs can help to smooth the transition to circularity by proving an item’s value retention and suitability for reuse, remanufacturing and recycling, cutting down waste and saving costs on sourcing new raw materials, as well as helping companies with their regulatory compliance.

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