Digitala produktpass - Ett styrmedel för att främja hållbar konsumtion?

Sammanfattning: The transition to a sustainable economy requires smarter management of product-related data over the entire product life cycle. Most of this information is currently not optimized to be easily accessible to businesses and consumers. Therefore, politicians have an important role to play in implementing various environmental policies and product related instruments, to reduce the environmental impact of production and to make consumers buy fewer newly produced goods. Digital technology provides the ability to label, track, locate and share product-related data, which is why it has the potential to improve the information available to companies, increase resource efficiency and give consumers the opportunity to make sustainable choices. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether Digital Product Passports (DPP) might be an appropriate instrument to promote sustainable consumption. Through a literature review and contact with experts, this study shows that one of the main drivers for implementing DPP is its capability to make product information more available and transparent to consumers and other market participants. Furthermore, it has potential to promote sustainable production and development of circular business models. However, some of the main challenges are handling of product data, design, and data content, as well as legal barriers. Overall, there is a great demand for further research and investigation on different issues concerning DPP. The main question is how DPP can relate to existing product regulatory instruments within EU and on a national level. DPP is unlikely to be a complete solution to achieving a circular economy, but its realization may be particularly meaningful as a key instrument in the existing policy mix.