Matthew Ekholm, Digital Product Passport and Circularity Specialist at Protokol, discusses three key milestones businesses need to consider to stay ahead of ESPR and DDP legislation.
Over the last few years, the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) has gone from an obscure governance exercise on the horizon to a tangible priority for the technology sector.
Having come into force in mid-2024 to make sustainable products the norm in the EU, businesses globally have been getting to grips with the details we know about so far, including who it will impact (anyone placing products from the priority sectors within the EU market), to the requirements we know so far for compliance such as the implementation of Digital Product Passports (DPPs).
With its uniquely complex supply chain considerations and the added scrutiny it receives due to the amount of e-waste it generates, the electronics sector, and more broadly, the technology sector, has an extensive task ahead when it comes to compliance. This eco-focus from the EU is perhaps unsurprising when you note that, as of 2022, approximately 62 million metric tons of e-waste were produced worldwide, yet only about 22.3% was formally collected and recycled.
To support electronics businesses that want to stay ahead of the regulation, the following three milestones are key to keep on the radar if the aim is to best position themselves for an eco-compliant future.
Milestone 1: The EU’s ESPR and Energy Labelling Working Plan (April 2025)
After the ESPR came into force in July 2024, there has been a long wait for more clarity on the tasks for businesses across priority sectors. Finally, in April this year, the Working Plan was published, outlining its horizontal requirements such as repairability scoring (which likely includes consumer electronics), recycled content, and the recyclability of electronic equipment.
The Working Plan states that every product for which ecodesign measures will be adopted will have a DPP (a digital record of information about the product), enabling the opening up of product data for businesses, consumers, and public authorities.
Knowing early on that this will be mandatory allows electronics providers to start developing strategies for deploying DPPs, identifying where the necessary data resides, and engaging with DPP solution providers.
Milestone 2: The release of the Delegated Acts (Expected by 2027)
By 2027, the EU is expected to have outlined its first set of delegated acts, which will provide guidelines detailing the exact requirements for the data needed in DPPs for each priority group. The release dates will vary depending on the industry and product group, with some, such as the act for iron and steel, expected to be announced sooner, and others, like the one for furniture, expected in a few years (between 2026 and 2028, respectively).
In broad terms, the delegated acts will outline requirements to provide transparent data concerning the durability, repairability, recycled content, and resource efficiency of products within each specific group. For the electronics industry specifically, this could be the carbon footprint of production and/or guidelines on how to recycle or dispose of hazardous elements of the product. By this time, businesses should have a clear view of where any required data resides within the business or supply chain and be in a position to begin piloting with a trusted partner.
Milestone 3: The Deadline for Compliance (Expected 2027 to mid-2028)
The deadline for compliance is expected to be up to 18 months from the publication of each delegated act; however, the EU can shorten this period if it is well justified, for example, due to environmental urgency or alignment with other policies.
Following the publication of the delegated act, electronics businesses should be well-positioned to learn from their pilots and be confident in their DPP implementation plan to achieve compliance. They can also look to industries that have been higher up the priority list (such as Iron and steel, which is expected to see the publication of a delegated act in 2026 rather than 2027) to see what has worked well for them.
While the compliance deadline is a few years away, each milestone presents a crucial opportunity for electronics businesses to consider securing their path to regulatory compliance ahead of schedule.
