Your next smartphone needs a passport

We are all familiar with the dream of a circular economy – a world where waste is designed out, products are reused and materials are continuously regenerated. It is a powerful vision, but for decades, it has remained largely aspirational.

The main obstacle? A fundamental lack of information. We simply do not know enough about the products we buy. Where did their materials come from? How were they assembled? And most importantly, what should we do with them when they are no longer needed?

This is where the concept of a Digital Product Passport (DPP) comes in. A recent study by researchers at Aalborg University in Denmark offers crucial insights into how to make the DPP a workable reality. Their work goes beyond theory and answers the practical question: What data must be included in these passports for the circular economy to function?

For too long, conversations about DPPs have been driven by policymakers and compliance. The European Union, for instance, is pioneering DPPs for batteries and textiles. But as the researchers argue, a passport designed purely to meet regulatory requirements is a missed opportunity.

The real power of a DPP lies not in its existence but in its data. It should be a dynamic decision-making tool at every stage of a product’s life. Instead of a static birth certificate, think of it as a living travel log, chronicling a product’s entire journey. The key insight from the Aalborg study is that the data shifts depending on who uses the passport and at what stage.

For designers, the passport should contain material composition, disassembly instructions and the identity of every component. This allows products to be designed for repairability and recyclability from the start.

For repair technicians, it must provide instant access to diagnostic histories, repair manuals and lists of compatible spare parts. This turns guesswork into efficient restoration.

For recyclers – perhaps the most critical users – the data must go far beyond labelling something as a smartphone. They need to know it contains 0.15 grams of gold, 12 grams of copper and specific plastic polymers that can be profitably recovered. Without such detail, recycling becomes downcycling, or worse, waste.

The study underscores the consequences of getting the data wrong. If it is incomplete, inconsistent or inaccessible, the entire system collapses. A recycler given vague information will landfill a device. A reseller without verifiable maintenance records cannot confidently certify a used product.

The researchers highlight a major hurdle: current data systems are a toxic mixture of fragmented information locked in proprietary silos across global supply chains. One company may have the bill of materials, another the recycling specifications, and another the repair history — none of which communicate with one another.

The DPP must become a universal, interoperable vessel that consolidates this information. This is not just a technical challenge but an immense task of corporate diplomacy and standard-setting. It requires competitors to agree on common product data standards.

So what is the way forward? Start with the decisions, not the data. We must reverse-engineer data requirements.

First, identify the critical circular economy decisions – “Can this battery be refurbished?” or “Is this polymer pure enough to be remade?” – and then determine the specific data points needed to make those decisions.

Second, embrace granularity. Categories like “plastic” are useless. We need precise polymer types, additives and contaminants. This level of detail enables genuine material recovery.

Third, build trust. Data in a DPP must be verifiable and tamper-proof. Blockchain may play a role, but the core issue is accountability: who verifies the accuracy of the data?

The findings by Jensen, Kristensen, Adamsen, Christensen and Waehrens offer a vital blueprint. They show that the digital product passport is more than a policy tool – it is the central nervous system of the circular economy.

By focusing on life cycle data that supports real-world decisions, the DPP can evolve into a dynamic guide that shepherds products from cradle to cradle – never again to the grave.

The future of sustainable consumption depends on this invisible, data-rich backbone. It is time we began building it.

As Malaysia embarks on its circular economy journey, the DPP must be a core feature of the product traceability agenda.

Palm oil-based products, often scrutinised for sustainability, could use the DPP to demonstrate compliance and strengthen market confidence. For a start, it is time to invest in the DPP for palm oil.

The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.