Researchers from NILU are co-organizing and presenting at the DPP4EU 2026 conference in Brussels on June 1-3. This is the largest conference on Digital Product Passports (DPPs) in Europe. Experts from research, industry, and policy will gather to discuss the future of DDP and their role in Europe’s green transition.
The conference will focus on how digital product data can support circular economy goals, improve transparency across value chains, and help implement new EU sustainability regulations. NILU contributes to this conference in several ways (see infobox).
The NILU coordinated project CE-RISE, funded by EU, are also having their Annual Event on June 1st in Brussels as a side event of the DPP4EU conference.
What is a Digital Product Passport (DPP), and why is it needed?
A DPP provide information on a product’s material content, its environmental footprint and data that will enable better informed purchasing decisions for the customer, more repairability and an easier recycle process.
For more information, see this video from CE-RISE:
Assessing the quality and interoperability of digital passport models
At the DPP4EU conference Riccardo Boero and Miguel Las Heras Hernández from NILU will present “Digital Passport Model Assessment Workbench: SHACL-Based Metrics for Comparative Assessment of Digital Passport Data Models and Use-Case Coverage.”
Their work addresses a growing challenge in the development of Digital Product Passports and Digital Material Passports: how to evaluate and compare increasingly complex data models in a transparent and reproducible way.
The researchers introduce a tool that can automatically analyse passport model specifications and generate metrics related to structural complexity, interoperability, maintainability, and constraint readiness. The approach allows developers and stakeholders to compare different model versions and identify improvement areas without relying on representative datasets.
According to the researchers, the methodology can help accelerate the development of interoperable and scalable DPP systems while improving consistency across initiatives and sectors.
Supporting Europe’s transition to a circular economy
Digital Product Passports are becoming a key element of the EU’s sustainability policy framework under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). They are intended to provide structured information about products throughout their lifecycle, including materials, repairability, environmental impact, and recycling potential.
At DPP4EU 2026, researchers, policymakers, and industry representatives will discuss how common standards, interoperable data models, and collaborative research can support large-scale implementation of DPPs across Europe.
NILU’s contributions through the CE-RISE project demonstrate how research can help build robust digital infrastructures for circular economy solutions and sustainable product systems.