Get your bearings on terms fast

The circular economy is an economic model in which products, materials and raw materials are used for as long as possible and kept in the economic cycle. The goal is to avoid waste, use resources efficiently and reduce the need for new raw materials. This is achieved, among other things, through durable products, repair, reuse, refurbishment and recycling.

A delegated act is a legal instrument issued by the European Commission that supplements existing EU laws with specific technical or subject-matter requirements. It serves to further specify general statutory provisions without changing the actual legal text. Under the ESPR, delegated acts define, among other things, the specific requirements for individual product groups, for example which information must be included in the Digital Product Passport.

A digital identifier is a unique marking used to digitally identify and retrieve a product or product record. In connection with the Digital Product Passport, the digital identifier serves to uniquely reference and make accessible a product's DPP. It forms the link between the physical product and the associated digital information. Digital identifiers can be made accessible on products via, for example, QR codes, RFID tags or other data carriers. Standardized identification systems such as GS1's Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) are frequently used for this purpose.

The DPP ecosystem encompasses all actors, systems, standards and processes required for creating, managing, exchanging and using Digital Product Passports. This includes, for example, manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, DPP service providers, repair and recycling companies, authorities, as well as the technical standards and systems that enable the exchange of product information.

A Digital Product Passport service provider is a company that supports economic operators in the technical implementation and operation of Digital Product Passports. This includes, among other things, the storage, processing, registration, updating and provision of DPP data. Digital Product Passport service providers act as independent service providers on behalf of the responsible economic operators. The ESPR provides that the European Commission will set specific requirements for Digital Product Passport service providers through a delegated act. These are intended to ensure, among other things, the security, reliability, interoperability and long-term availability of DPP data. The introduction of a certification system to demonstrate compliance with these requirements is also being examined.

A data model describes what information is captured, how it is structured and how it relates to other information. In connection with the Digital Product Passport, a data model defines which product information can or should be stored and how it is described consistently. This allows different systems to consistently capture, exchange and process the same information. Data models thus form an important foundation for the machine-interpretability and interoperability of DPP data.

A data format specifies the technical form in which information is stored, transmitted or exchanged. Examples of data formats include PDF, HTML, JSON, XML and CSV. Data formats differ in their structure and intended use. While PDF primarily serves to present information to humans, formats such as JSON, XML or CSV are often used for the machine-readable exchange of data between different systems. In connection with the Digital Product Passport, machine-readable data formats in particular play an important role, as they enable the automated exchange and processing of product information. Unlike a data model, however, a data format does not describe the meaning or relationships of information, but only its technical representation. Example: the same data model can be implemented in both the JSON data format and the XML data format.

Ein Durchführungsrechtsakt legt fest, wie bereits bestehende Vorgaben einer EU-Verordnung in allen Mitgliedstaaten einheitlich umgesetzt werden. Er kann beispielsweise technische Verfahren, Datenformate, Registrierungsprozesse oder konkrete Abläufe näher bestimmen.

Im Unterschied dazu ergänzt oder konkretisiert ein delegierter Rechtsakt nicht wesentliche Inhalte einer Verordnung, etwa die Anforderungen für eine bestimmte Produktgruppe.

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is a European regulation. It aims to promote the transition to a circular economy by making products more sustainable and keeping resources in the economic cycle for longer. To this end, it forms the legal framework for the Digital Product Passport and defines the fundamental legal and technical conditions for its design. It specifies for which physical goods placed on the market or put into service in the EU a Digital Product Passport is to be introduced, and prioritizes certain product groups for initial concrete implementation. Which requirements and data apply in the Digital Product Passport for the respective product group, however, is defined in product-specific delegated acts.

The ESPR uses the term economic operator to refer to natural or legal persons who, in the course of their business activities, manufacture, import, distribute, make available or place products on the market. The most important economic operators include manufacturers, authorized representatives, importers and distributors. Depending on their role, they take on different tasks and obligations in connection with products and the Digital Product Passport. Responsibility for compliance with statutory requirements is assigned in each case to the economic operator who, under the applicable legal provisions, is responsible for the product in question.

EPCIS is a GS1 standard for capturing and exchanging event and traceability data in a standardized, machine-readable form. EPCIS allows events along the value chain to be exchanged. This includes information about what happened to a product, when an event took place, where it took place and who was involved. This information can be processed and interpreted across systems. In connection with the Digital Product Passport, EPCIS can thus help provide product movements, supply chain events and other product-related information in a standardized and interoperable way.

GS1 is an international standardization organization that develops globally used standards for the identification, labeling and exchange of product information. In connection with the Digital Product Passport, standards such as the GTIN (Global Trade Item Number), the GS1 Digital Link and EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services) play a particularly important role. They support the unique identification of products as well as the interoperable exchange of product and event data along the value chain.

The GTIN is a globally standardized identification number that serves as a digital identifier for the unique labeling of products. A GTIN consists of a sequence of digits that uniquely identifies a specific product type internationally. Example: GTIN: 04012345678903.

This number can be used on packaging, barcodes or in product data. In connection with the Digital Product Passport, the GTIN can be used to uniquely identify products and link them to the associated digital product information.

The GS1 Digital Link is a GS1 standard that maps product identification numbers to a standardized internet address (URL). Example: https://example.com/01/04012345678903.

This URL directly contains the product's GTIN ("04012345678903"). This allows products to be uniquely linked via QR codes to digital information such as a Digital Product Passport.

Interoperability describes the ability of different systems to exchange data with one another and process it correctly. In the context of the Digital Product Passport, interoperability encompasses both the technical level of data exchange and the semantic level of a shared understanding of data. For data to be usable along the entire value chain, companies, software solutions and platforms must use common identifiers, data formats, interfaces (technical level) and terminology systems (semantic level). Interoperability thus enables the reliable exchange and further processing of product data between manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, repair businesses, recycling companies and authorities.

Machine-readability describes a system's ability to automatically capture and process data without it first having to be manually transferred or interpreted. Unlike documents, which are primarily created for humans, machine-readable data exists in a structured form that can be read and processed directly by software applications. Machine-readability is an important prerequisite for the automated exchange, further processing and use of DPP data across company and system boundaries.

Machine-interpretability describes a system's ability to automatically recognize the meaning of data and process it correctly. Unlike machine-readability, it is not enough for data to be technically readable; its structure and meaning must also be clearly described. Machine-interpretability is an important prerequisite for semantic interoperability and the automated processing of DPP data.

In common usage, the term placer on the market often refers to the economic operator who first makes a product available on the European market or places it on the market. Depending on the product and supply chain, this can be, for example, a manufacturer or an importer. In connection with the Digital Product Passport, the placer on the market is of particular importance, since responsibility for providing and ensuring the availability of the DPP generally lies with the economic operator who places the product on the European market or puts it into service.

Placing on the market refers to the first making available of a product on the European market. Under the ESPR, placing on the market is an important legal reference point. The requirements applicable to a product must generally be met by this point at the latest. This includes, in particular, the declaration of conformity with applicable regulations, the required product information and — where mandated — the Digital Product Passport. In addition, various ESPR obligations and deadlines are tied to the moment of placing on the market.

Putting into service refers to the first use of a product for its intended purpose within the European Union. Under the ESPR, putting into service is an important legal reference point, since various evidentiary and record-keeping obligations apply from this point at the latest.

Repairability describes a product's characteristic of being able to be restored to working order in the event of defects or wear. In the context of the ESPR and the Digital Product Passport, it is a key element of the circular economy. The goal is not only to enable repairs technically, but also to support them through access to relevant product information. For this purpose, the Digital Product Passport is intended to provide information on spare parts, maintenance, disassembly or repair procedures and — depending on the respective access rights — make it available to independent repair businesses and other actors as well.

Recyclability describes a product's characteristic of being able to be treated at the end of its useful life in such a way that the materials it contains can be recovered at the highest possible quality. In the context of the ESPR and the Digital Product Passport, it is a key element of the circular economy. The Digital Product Passport is intended to provide information that supports the identification of materials, the disassembly of components and the handling of relevant substances.

Semantic interoperability describes the ability of different systems to interpret the meaning of data consistently. It ensures that the same information is understood the same way regardless of the system used. In the context of the Digital Product Passport, this is achieved through shared data models, standardized term definitions and controlled vocabularies. This ensures that data fields and their meaning are clearly defined across systems. For example, different systems understand the same information under terms such as a material, a recycled content share, a component or a repair status.

Technical interoperability describes the ability of different systems to exchange and process data via standardized technical mechanisms. In the context of the Digital Product Passport, it is enabled by common identifiers, data carriers, data formats, communication protocols and application programming interfaces (APIs). It ensures that product information can be transmitted, retrieved and further processed between different systems.

A value chain encompasses all actors and processes involved in the development, manufacture, provision, use and recovery of a product. In connection with the Digital Product Passport, the value chain plays a central role, since the information required for the DPP generally has to be provided by various actors along this chain. This includes, for example, raw material suppliers, suppliers, manufacturers, importers, distributors, repair businesses and recycling companies. In addition, the value chain is important for the DPP because relevant product information is meant to be made available and usable across the entire chain.