How to choose a DPP provider
by Sustainability Tracker 28/05/2026
Guide, Thought Starters
by Sustainability Tracker 28/05/2026
Guide, Thought Starters
This article was contributed by Sustainability Tracker.
Digital Product Passports are moving from “interesting future idea” to practical product infrastructure.
In Europe, the Digital Product Passport is a key part of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), designed to store and share product data about sustainability, durability and other environmental aspects with consumers, businesses and authorities.
For Australian brands, this matters even if local regulation is not moving at the same pace yet.
If you sell into Europe, work with global retailers, supply larger brands, or want your product information to be easier to find, prove and update, choosing the right DPP provider is worth doing carefully.
A good DPP provider should do more than create a QR code. It should help you structure product information, manage evidence, support future compliance needs, and turn product transparency into something useful for customers.
A Digital Product Passport, or DPP, is a digital record connected to a physical product. It can include product details such as materials, certifications, sustainability claims, care instructions, repair information, disposal guidance, traceability data and compliance documents.
The European Commission describes the DPP as a way to store and share relevant product data, helping consumers, businesses and public authorities make more informed decisions.
In practice, a DPP is usually accessed through a QR code, 2D barcode, NFC tag or similar digital trigger on packaging, labelling or the product itself.
The value is simple: instead of trying to fit everything on a pack, swing tag or PDF report, brands can connect each product to a live digital record that can be updated over time.
The DPP market is growing quickly, but not every solution is built for the same job.
Some providers focus on deep supply chain traceability. Some focus on compliance. Some focus on customer experience, resale, authentication or circularity. Others are more like QR landing page builders with limited data structure behind them.
That difference matters.
Deloitte notes that while DPP adoption is increasing, end-to-end implementation remains complex because brands often need to connect data across raw materials, repair, reuse and end-of-life systems.
So before choosing a provider, brands need to ask a better question than “Can this create a passport?”
The better question is: Can this provider help us create product data that is credible, useful, updateable and ready for where regulation, retail and customer expectations are heading?
Before you compare platforms, define what the DPP needs to do for your business.
You may need a DPP to:
A compliance-led DPP and a customer-facing transparency tool may overlap, but they are not always the same thing.
The strongest providers should help you meet practical needs now while preparing your data for future regulatory requirements.
DPPs need to work across systems, retailers, supply chains and markets. That means standards matter.
GS1 has been active in supporting Digital Product Passport standards, including the use of GS1 identifiers and GS1 Digital Link. Its guidance explains that a web-enabled structured path can allow consumers to scan a 2D barcode with a smartphone and access regulatory or other information without needing a separate app.
GS1 Australia also notes that industry has set a goal to enable next-generation barcodes at retail point of sale globally by the end of 2027.
When comparing DPP providers, ask:
*A GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is the standardised numeric identifier assigned to products by GS1 — the same number encoded in the barcode on most retail products today.
A DPP should not become another disconnected content page. It should be part of a broader product data system.t page. It should be part of a broader product data system.
A QR code is only the doorway. The real value sits behind it.
A good DPP provider should help you structure information clearly across areas such as:
This structure is important because search engines, AI systems, retailers and compliance teams need information they can interpret.
For Sustainability Tracker, this is where DPPs become more than packaging add-ons. They become part of a brand’s digital product infrastructure.
DPPs can help brands communicate more clearly, but they also make weak claims more visible.
In Australia, the ACCC says environmental and sustainability claims must be truthful and accurate, and businesses must have reasonable grounds for claims about future events.
That means your DPP provider should make it easy to attach, reference or manage proof.
Ask:
A DPP should make transparency easier. It should also reduce the risk of customers, retailers or regulators seeing claims without context.
Printed packaging is slow. Product information changes.
Ingredients change. Certifications expire. Recycling guidance updates. Supply chains shift. Claims get refined. Products are reformulated. New evidence becomes available.
Your DPP provider should allow authorised users to update information without reprinting packaging or relying on developers every time.
This is one of the biggest commercial benefits of DPPs. They give brands a more agile way to communicate product information after a product has already entered the market.
Look for:
A DPP may be designed for compliance, but real people still need to use it.
Customers should not land on a confusing data dump. They should be able to quickly understand what the product is, what it is made from, what evidence supports the brand’s claims, and what to do next.
A useful customer-facing DPP should be:
The European Commission has said that DPPs must be made available to consumers, businesses and public authorities, which means the experience needs to serve multiple audiences.
For brands, this is the opportunity. A DPP can support compliance while also improving product education, trust and customer engagement.
The EU’s first ESPR working plan for 2025 to 2030 prioritises product groups including steel and aluminium, textiles, furniture, tyres and mattresses.
The exact requirements will continue to develop through product-specific rules, so no provider should be promising a fully finalised solution for every future requirement.
What they should be able to show is a clear approach to monitoring regulatory updates, adapting data fields as requirements change, supporting product-specific information, working with recognised identifiers and standards and helping brands prepare before deadlines arrive.
Be cautious of any provider that treats DPPs as a finished, one-size-fits-all checklist. The better approach is a flexible system that can evolve as regulation, standards and market expectations become clearer.
A DPP should not only be treated as a compliance cost.
Deloitte’s 2026 analysis notes that DPPs can support customer engagement, repair and rental services, analytics, resource optimisation and supply chain risk management.
That means the right provider should help your brand use product transparency in ways that support business outcomes.
The best DPP is not just technically compliant. It is useful.
Some DPP solutions require heavy system integration, supplier onboarding and technical configuration. Others are lighter and easier to launch.
Neither is automatically better. It depends on your business.
For many brands, the smartest move is to start with the product information they already have, structure it properly, and build from there.
Use this checklist when comparing DPP providers:
| Data and standards Does it support GS1 Digital Link or recognised product identifiers? Can data be exported? Can it integrate with existing systems later? Compliance readiness Is it designed with ESPR and DPP regulation in mind? Can fields be adapted as requirements change? Does it support product-specific requirements? Evidence and claims Can claims be linked to proof? Can certifications and documents be added? Can information be reviewed and updated? Customer experience Is it mobile-first? Does it work without an app? Is the information easy to understand? Operational fit Can non-technical teams update it? Are there permissions and approval controls? Can it scale across products? Commercial value Does it support engagement, trust and product education? Can it help customers make better decisions? Can it improve how product sustainability information appears across digital channels? |
Sustainability Tracker Digital Labels help brands turn product-level sustainability information into clear, mobile-first digital experiences.
Instead of trying to squeeze every claim, certification, instruction or impact detail onto packaging, brands can connect products to a live Digital Label that customers can scan and understand.
Each Digital Label can support information such as product details, certifications, sustainability initiatives, ingredients or materials, care instructions, disposal guidance and supporting evidence.
It is designed to be practical for brands that want to move now, without building complex systems from scratch.
For businesses preparing for DPP expectations, it gives teams a clear place to start: structure the information, connect it to products, keep it updated and make it easier for customers to find and trust.
Choosing a DPP provider is a whole company solution.
It’s a technology decision. It is a product communication decision. A compliance readiness decision. A customer trust decision. And increasingly, a discoverability decision.
The right provider should help your brand create product information that is structured, credible, updateable and useful.
The future of product transparency will be won by the brands that make the right information easy to find, easy to understand and easy to trust when consumers go looking.