As the year draws to a close, we want to take a moment to reflect on our shared journey and look ahead. Together, we’ve made great strides toward realising the large-scale adoption of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) — a vital step in accelerating the transition to a more circular economy. We’d like to point out some of the highlights of the past year:
🇪🇺 Confirmation that the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation will come into effect in 2027. This means our efforts have now become part of the official European legislative framework. We hope it speeds up the circular, digital transition.
👣 Launch of our bluepaper: 5 steps towards a scalable DPP. This joint effort with PwC, GS1, SRC System Integrators and 30+ industry representatives from retail brought clarity and a clear roadmap for companies that want to get started with DPPs. Part of this process was setting up use cases for Intergamma, Intersport (EKretail) and FlexIT, supported by -amongst others – Hanshow and Zebra, which tought us a lot about available data and how to use existing building blocks.
🚀 European projects started:
Revalue: developing and scaling a hemp-wool yarn in a circular system
MAST: developing a framework to manage sustainability tradeoffs in product design of high-tech products.
🤜🤛 Cooperations: academical and to connect with other expertise:
Bexter, Cibutex, TI-COAST, CPI, Hogeschool Zuyd, HU, Hochschule Niederrhein and many others.
♻️ Circular developments, from strategy to actual products:
With Poūr Product, DenimX, Alpheios, Center Parcs, Jumbo, Envalior, Elten, EMMA and many others.
📣 Spreading the word:
– We (co-) hosted 10 webinars
– Spoke at 11 events
– Attended another 6 events to learn, share, and connect
– Joined the Cirpass -2 community of practice
As the backbone to all of this, Cirmar has seen lots of technological developments throughout 2024. We started the year by adding impact scopes to our automated calculations, allowing for Cradle to Gate and Cradle to Grave calculations besides the standard LCA+. The visualisation of product assemblywas improved significantly, as well as the PDF export feature.
The summer saw some exciting next steps, as we added the possibility to import and export data to further improve the scalability of C_passport®. This streamlined using DPP-data for CSRD-reporting as well. The limited access to C_passport® elements was expanded, and both C_passport® and C_dashboard® were equipped with extensive simulating features.
The latest developments included the addition of labels and certificates to C_passport®, as well as the introduction of dummy weights for incomplete DPPs and UX-focused improvements to C_dashboard®.
➡️ Looking ahead to 2025, we recognise that European legislative developments remain in progress. While the details of the regulatory framework continue to evolve, one thing is clear: the value of Digital Product Passports is already undeniable. Companies don’t need to wait for every policy to be finalised. The opportunity to drive sustainability, shape new circular business models, and stand out in a competitive market is here today. Notwithstanding the harsh climate for some actors in the circular economy – we have to continue.
Build on your circular proposition, supported by DPPs. This will help you:
We’re excited to continue this journey with you. Let’s make the most of DPPs and circular change.
Thank you for being part of the transition towards a circular economy. We’re grateful for your trust and partnership, and we look forward to a bright and impactful year ahead.
Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a successful New Year.