Digital Product Passports Drive Circular Economy Value Through Inter-Organizational Data Sharing

Why It Matters

Understanding the value ecosystem of DPPs is crucial for designers and businesses aiming to implement circular economy strategies. It highlights the interconnectedness of stakeholders and the critical role of data in enabling sustainable product management and resource efficiency.

Key Finding

Digital Product Passports significantly boost transparency, regulatory adherence, and sustainable practices by providing comprehensive product lifecycle data, thereby supporting the transition to a circular economy.

Key Findings

• DPPs enhance transparency across product lifecycles.
• DPPs facilitate regulatory compliance.
• DPPs support sustainable practices through detailed lifecycle data.
• Clear data-sharing guidelines are essential for DPP effectiveness.
• DPPs play a multifaceted role in advancing the circular economy.

Research Evidence

Aim: How can the value ecosystem of Digital Product Passports be modeled to identify key actors, their needs, and interconnections for effective circular economy implementation?

Method: Systematic Literature Review, Secondary Data Collection, e3-Value Modeling

Procedure: Researchers conducted a systematic literature review, gathered data from existing DPP implementations, and analyzed gray literature to construct an e3-value model. This model visualizes the interactions and value flows between stakeholders like manufacturers, suppliers, consumers, end-of-life handlers, and regulators, using the EU Battery Regulation as a case study.

Context: Digital Product Passports, Circular Economy, Product Lifecycle Management, Industrial Ecology

Design Principle

Design for Data Transparency and Lifecycle Management to enable Circularity.

How to Apply

When designing products intended for circularity, map out the key stakeholders and the data required at each lifecycle stage to inform the design of a Digital Product Passport system.

Limitations

The study's findings are based on existing literature and secondary data, and the practical implementation of DPPs is still evolving.

Student Guide (IB Design Technology)

Simple Explanation: Digital Product Passports are like a digital ID for products that helps everyone involved (makers, users, recyclers) share information about the product's life. This makes it easier to reuse, repair, and recycle things, which is good for the environment and the economy.

Why This Matters: This research is important because it shows how digital tools can help make products more sustainable by tracking their entire journey, making it easier to recycle and reuse materials, which is a key goal in many design projects.

Critical Thinking: To what extent can the current technological infrastructure support the widespread implementation of comprehensive Digital Product Passports across diverse industries?

IA-Ready Paragraph: The concept of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) offers a framework for understanding how inter-organizational data sharing can foster circular economy principles. By modeling the value ecosystem of DPPs, as explored in research by Gieß and Möller (2025), designers can identify key actors, their needs, and the critical data flows required to enhance product transparency, regulatory compliance, and sustainable practices throughout a product's lifecycle.

Project Tips

• Consider how your product's lifecycle data can be captured and shared.
• Identify the stakeholders who would benefit from or contribute to a product's data.
• Research existing digital product passport initiatives in relevant industries.

How to Use in IA

• Use the concept of value ecosystems to analyze the stakeholders and data flows for your design project.
• Discuss how your design could incorporate or benefit from a Digital Product Passport.
• Reference the importance of data sharing for circularity in your project's context.

Examiner Tips

• Demonstrate an understanding of how digital technologies can support sustainability goals.
• Clearly articulate the value proposition of your design in the context of a circular economy.
• Consider the data requirements and sharing mechanisms for your product.

Independent Variable: Implementation of Digital Product Passports

Dependent Variable: Value creation in the circular economy (e.g., transparency, compliance, sustainability)

Controlled Variables: Industry sector, regulatory environment, specific product type

Strengths

• Provides a structured model (e3-value) for analyzing complex value ecosystems.
• Uses a case study (battery passport) to illustrate practical application.
• Integrates insights from literature, industry data, and gray literature.

Critical Questions

• What are the potential data privacy and security concerns associated with DPPs?
• How can DPPs be designed to be accessible and beneficial for smaller businesses and consumers?
• What are the economic incentives for different stakeholders to actively participate in a DPP ecosystem?

Extended Essay Application

• Investigate the feasibility of a DPP for a specific product category, analyzing the required data and potential value creation.
• Develop a conceptual model for a DPP that addresses specific sustainability challenges within a chosen industry.
• Explore the ethical implications of data ownership and access within a DPP framework.

Source

Exploring the value ecosystem of digital product passports · Journal of Industrial Ecology · 2025 · 10.1111/jiec.13621