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As the delegated acts for Digital Product Passports are still being worked on, we're still in the dark as to the exact types and precision of data that will be required. But we might be able to get an idea by studying the EU Deforestation Directive which entered into force on 29 June 2023.
The EU deforestation directive might not apply to you (as 6 of the 7 product categories covered by the directive are food-related and therefore not subject to the Digital Product Passport directive). But it may very well serve as an indication of what kind of data you will be required to provide in the DPP.
Being able to trace products back to where they originated for example? Where the trees grew. Or the coffee or cocoa plant. Or the soybeans. By geographic coordinates down to meters! How would you obtain that info for your products? How would you verify such data? And keep it valid? The Deforestation Directive is less tough for small or medium-sized businesses, but still it serves as an indication.
For a composite product, like a piece of furniture, the requirement for traceability applies to every single component. For products in bulk, maybe from different suppliers, you need to make sure that everything is traceable or else it will ALL be deemed to be non-compliant.
We know that this is a bit Kremlinology-like but still think it is interesting food for thought.
Who is prepared to provide this kind of detailed data on their products on an ongoing basis?
It might give us an idea of what's lying ahead of us.
Image by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash