From engaging with the logistics community, as well as in discussions with companies and government authorities two things become evident. First, more and more new regulation requires data and insights from deep into the supply chains of companies placing products on the EU market. As a result, many businesses are deeply concerned how to collect and make available that information for compliance purposes. Secondly, authorities are concerned how they can monitor the implementation of such regulations and trust data that comes from countries way beyond the EU’s jurisdiction.

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is one example of a regulation that requires extreme levels of transparency and timelines of implementation are approaching fast. Many businesses are facing this regulation with big concerns of what to do and how to be compliant, looking for quick solutions to meet the regulatory deadlines. At the same time, we see relevant developments such as Digital Product Passports (DPP) and related pilots driven by other regulations (e.g. the Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR)), with different timelines, which may bring pieces of the puzzle needed to address challenges related to the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) but potentially also others. A big question then remains: how to be compliant in the short run to meet the requirements of EUDR, while keeping an eye on the future to avoid investing in silo solutions for every new legislation.

In this paper we will not give a specific solution and answer, as the solutions and answers will depend on the specific company’s situation and how companies decide to act. However, what we will do is provide an overview of some current developments, reports, and pilots related to Digital Product Passports. While these developments related to DPP may be very well known for people working in that area, for many parties that have not yet been affected by legislative developments that require DPP but already need to comply with legislations such as EUDR and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) this overview may be informative and insightful. It is this audience that this paper aims to reach. We hope that by providing insights into the DPP developments to parties not yet affected and aware of these developments but affected by other legislations, this will allow them to take a broader perspective and rethink their strategies, taking a broader view and a long-term perspective.@en