Don’t Miss the Train: Circular Value Chains and the Digital Product Passport
The shift toward a circular economy is redefining how European companies manage their value chains. Transparency, traceability, and sustainability will become key requirements, and are at the heart of this transformation. This article explores what it can look like when as part of the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) comes along the requirement for Digital Product Passports (DPPs).
The DPP is a standardized, product‑specific data set that enables circular value creation by connecting manufacturers, suppliers, users, and recyclers through verified information on materials, composition, durability, recyclability, and environmental impact. In practice, it acts as a digital identity for every product, enabling data‑driven decisions and improving circular flows across the entire lifecycle.
Forward‑looking companies already view the DPP as a strategic instrument.
We have hand-picked five interesting, concrete DPP company cases:
Image Wear & partners (workwear) participates in an EU backed Finnish pilot where DPPs are used to manage maintenance and recycling of professional textiles, directly supporting circular workwear systems.
Read more about it here.Dondup is a mid‑sized Italian fashion brand in the affordable luxury segment currently scaling Digital Product Passports from compliance to connected services. Read more about it here.
Filippa K in Sweden invests in digital product passports to enable circular fashion and product traceability. Read more about it here.
Siemens, a global technology and industrial company based in Munich, Germany, is creating a Digital Battery Passport to provide full lifecycle transparency and traceability. Their Battery Passport Offer Overview can be read here.
Volvo Cars have made Digital Battery Passports currently available both in the Volvo EX90 and ES90. Read more about it here.
When integrated early, DPP enhances supply‑chain transparency, operational efficiency, and brand credibility while paving the way for new circular business models. Addressing key decisions early creates space for smoother collaboration, clearer data flows, and more room for meaningful innovation. We have highlighted following four opportunities from our Pactical Guide to Digital Product Passport:
1. New business models and revenue streams
Digital Product Passports will open opportunities to find new circular business models by providing trusted product data that supports services like product-as-a-service, repair, refurbishment, takeback, and secondary markets. With better transparency, companies can monetize circular offerings and generate revenue beyond the initial sales-as-a-service, repair, refurbishment, takeback, and secondary markets.
2. Streamlined processes through data and visibility
Implementing DPPs pushes companies to fix fragmented data flows and modernize outdated systems. The resulting data improves supply chain visibility, reveals inefficiencies, and supports more informed strategic decisions.
3. Brand image and market trust
Smart use of DPPs helps companies communicate sustainability, traceability, and compliance in a structured way, turning regulatory requirements into an opportunity to build trust and stand out from competitors.
4. Customer loyalty
DPPs strengthen loyalty by increasing transparency. Consumers gain confidence through clear information on origin, sustainability, and repairability, while B2B partners benefit from reliable data on compliance and lifecycle performance.
Start now, early movers gain a clear advantage: by building adaptable data systems, linking DPP insights to design and procurement processes, and using product data to demonstrate real sustainability performance, they set the standard for circular value chains of the future.
Download your copy of our Practical Guide to Digital Product Passport co-authored together with Bluugo: Practical Guide to Digital Product Passport - Ethica or get in touch with Paula Vastela, Head of Consulting, paula.vastela@ethica.fi, +358 400 878762