The European Green Deal, launched in December 2019, aims to achieve far-reaching climate targets, such as climate neutrality across the region by 2050, in an effort to address global climate change.
Several ground-breaking laws have been brought forth that promote sustainability and transform business practices to align with a new circular economy approach – including the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).
Regulating many physical products sold or manufactured within the EU, the ESPR supports the European Commission’s vision for a circular economy through various groundbreaking sustainability initiatives. One of these initiatives states that affected industries must implement Digital Product Passports, some as early as 2027.
What is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR)?
The EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) was adopted in March 2020, and aims to address consumption and waste across the region.
As part of the CEAP and replacing the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), brought into force on the 18th of July 2024, is a wide-ranging piece of legislation that establishes sustainable design requirements for physical products to tackle this waste at a product level.
For instance, in 2019, 50% of plastic waste in the EU was sent to landfills, 19% was incinerated, and much of the leftover plastic waste was mismanaged.
These figures demonstrate the need for improved end-of-life processes for products, especially for those with a high plastic content – something the ESPR directly tackles by mandating eco-conscious product design and enhanced end-of-life product management.
Under the previous legislation, ecodesign requirements were limited to energy-related products. The ESPR extends the coverage and scope of these requirements to include a broad spectrum of products from a range of industries to improve product circularity and sustainability.
The strengthened sustainability criteria for all physical products regulated by the ESPR include:
1. Durability
- Products must be designed for longer lifespans to reduce waste.
- Specific numerical targets for durability will be defined in delegated acts for each product group (e.g., textiles, electronics).
2. Recyclability and Recycled Content
- Packaging products must include at least 25% recycled plastic by 2025, increasing to 30% by 2030.
- Electronics and textiles are expected to meet specific recycled content thresholds, as outlined in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan.
3. Energy Efficiency
- Targets for reduced energy consumption are a continuation of existing goals under the Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC), such as:
- Household appliances achieved annual energy savings of 230 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) by 2020.
- Future ESPR delegated acts will expand these targets to include ICT and other products.
4. Reduction of Hazardous Substances
- The regulation aligns with existing REACH standards to reduce hazardous chemicals that hinder circularity.
The ESPR also introduces a direct ban on the destruction of unsold and returned textiles, encouraging businesses to remanufacture and recycle these products. The combination of all these requirements will help the EU achieve its goal of doubling its circular material use rate by 2030 from the current levels – 11.5% in 2022.
To ensure that these strengthened sustainability criteria are met, the ESPR mandates the use of Digital Product Passports for all covered products.
What are Digital Product Passports (DPPs)?
Digital Product Passports are a mechanism for sharing critical product data throughout the product’s lifecycle.
Via a data carrier, such as a QR code, RFID tag, or NFC technology, DPPs can be attached to physical products to give a holistic view of their lifecycle from manufacture to sale, through their eventual recycling, resale and beyond.
DPPs can carry various types of data, including:
- Raw Material Composition
- Manufacturing Information
- Supply Chain Journey
- Sustainability/Carbon Footprint
- Recyclability
- Ownership
- Warranties
This data is to be structured to meet the needs of regulators and for businesses to use practically to increase the overall sustainability of their operations. Designed for interoperability, DPPs will be required to integrate into existing databases and digital systems.
Giving stakeholders reliable access to this data can drive sustainable consumer decision-making, maximise product recyclability, and encourage circular economy principles, making DPPs one of the core drivers of the ESPR.
The ESPR requires the information contained within DPPs to be transparent and verifiable. This revolutionary system of information sharing will form the foundation for proving compliance with the ESPR, whilst simultaneously helping organisations to comply with other sustainability directives, such as the CSRD.
Who does the ESPR affect?
The ESPR will apply to physical products manufactured and sold on the EU market, including those manufactured outside the EU. This means that organisations with supply chains extending to other parts of the globe are not outside the legislative scope.
The legislative scope is not limited solely to product manufacturers. It relates to the entire value chain of a business, including retailers and distributors on the sales side, for example, and waste management and recycling companies on the end-of-life side of the product lifecycle.
There are plans to expand the ESPR to include products from as many as 70 industries, with certain priority industries earmarked to lead the way. Some of the highest-priority industries are likely to be:
- Batteries
- Chemicals
- Construction
- Electronics
- Furniture
- Luxury Goods
- Plastics
- Textiles
- Toys
These industries have been identified as high-priority due to the significant adverse impact that producing and disposing of their goods can have on the environment. Further industries are due to follow suit over time, and industry-specific ecodesign requirements will be codified into the new law via delegated acts.
ESPR Timeline
While the ESPR has been ratified and entered into force on 18th July 2024, there are several key milestones that have been laid out by the European Commission for the coming years.
For example, in the first half of 2025, the first ESPR Working Plan is due to be adopted, setting out in detail the products that are due to be prioritised by the legislation over the next few years, followed by the development of product rules, impact assessments, and stakeholder consultation.
Later in 2025, there is expected to be a public consultation on the ESPR’s Delegated Acts, the series of acts that will govern the requirements for the priority product groups.
One of the key milestones to be aware of is December 2025, when the harmonised standards for Digital Product Passports are due to be released. This will define the technical standards and scope of these key pieces of infrastructure ahead of the proposed DPP implementation deadlines, which will come as early as 2027 for some industries.
How can businesses prepare?
In order to prepare for implementing Digital Product Passports and for ESPR compliance as a whole, organisations must take several key steps.
Firstly, organisations must map out their value chain and data sources. Much of the data that is required by DPPs will not be available internally but from suppliers, manufacturers and other stakeholders.
Engaging internal and external stakeholders will be key to unlocking the necessary levels of collaboration, both within your organisation and throughout the value chain, to ensure a successful DPP integration that complies with the ESPR.
Organisations must then proceed to develop the necessary digital infrastructure to collect, manage, and share product data, aligning with the standards set out within the legislation itself. To help ensure that this whole process goes smoothly, organisations should engage with a Digital Product Passport Consulting partner and Digital Product Passport Solution provider.