The role of blockchain in the Digital Product Passport
The European Union introduced the Digital Product Passport framework under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. Many software vendors claimed blockchain was required to build it. Real technical work shows a different picture.
The CIRPASS project studied architecture models for the system. CIRPASS Deliverable D3.2 on DPP System Architecture and the ongoing demonstrations in CIRPASS-2 show that blockchain is neither mandatory nor central to the core DPP architecture. Public and consortium blockchains bring high costs, legal problems, and technical limits to DPP projects. Organizations must separate practical technology from vendor claims.
What CIRPASS specifies
The initial CIRPASS consortium mapped requirements across electronics, batteries, and textiles. It created a plan for how DPP data moves between companies, governments, and consumers. Its reports specify two parallel, interoperable approaches.
Approach 01
Web-native
HTTP URIs, DNS, RESTful APIs, and established standards such as GS1 Digital Link use the infrastructure companies already operate.
Approach 02
Decentralized identity
Decentralized Identifiers and Verifiable Credentials manage identity without one central authority. DIDs can resolve peer-to-peer, through did:web, federated registries, or a ledger such as EBSI.
Why blockchain struggles with DPP requirements
Data accuracy and physical reality
A blockchain proves that someone submitted data with a key at a certain time. It cannot prove that a physical product contains the claimed recycled material, chemical composition, or carbon footprint.
High volumes and high costs
Industrial supply chains handle tens of billions of serialized items. Gas fees, block times, shared node governance, and custom updates add cost that secure HTTPS APIs avoid.
Privacy laws and business secrets
Append-only records can conflict with GDPR erasure rights, while shared ledgers can expose sensitive bills of materials, supplier relationships, and commercial data.
Data checks happen in the physical world through testing labs, audits, and sensors. Traditional cryptographic signing with PKI and X.509 certificates provides non-repudiation off-chain without the cost and complexity of a ledger.
Blockchain versus standard web technologies
| Dimension | Blockchain and DLT | Open web and federated APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Interoperability | Separate protocols require bridges or custom code between networks. | HTTP, REST, and open W3C and GS1 standards are already ubiquitous. |
| Throughput | Limited by block times, consensus rules, and node updates. | Fast responses through standard web servers and cloud networks. |
| Operating cost | Unpredictable gas fees or costly consortium-node operations. | Predictable server costs and low cost per scan or query. |
| Privacy and erasure | Deletion is difficult and often requires complex privacy tools. | Access controls, updates, and complete deletion are supported. |
| Supplier onboarding | Requires wallets, private keys, and unfamiliar software. | Connects to ERP systems and secure webhooks suppliers already use. |
Legitimate uses for distributed ledgers
- Accreditation registries: A root-of-trust registry can show whether an auditor certificate is active, expired, or revoked.
- Luxury asset provenance: High-value goods and art can use tokenized ownership records to support provenance and anti-counterfeiting.
- Multi-party industry quotas: Competitors can use zero-knowledge proofs to verify shared recycling targets without disclosing private operating data.
Next steps for organizations
- Use open identifiers: Choose standards such as GS1 Digital Link and W3C DIDs that separate the physical barcode or tag from the back-end database.
- Build federated access controls: Use access management, verifiable credentials, and secure API gateways so suppliers can protect private data while sharing required records.
- Review vendor claims: Ask all-in-one blockchain vendors how their systems handle GDPR, millions of product records, supplier onboarding, and ongoing integration costs.
The Digital Product Passport will change product sustainability. It will succeed through open, low-cost, standard web tools rather than distributed ledgers.
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