Article: A proposed universal definition of a Digital Product Passport Ecosystem (DPPE): Worldviews, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652622051125
This paper contributes new knowledge and understanding about the role that Product Passports might play in advancing sustainable business practices towards a Circular Economy. The significance of this research is the proposed universal definition of a Digital Product Passport Ecosystem (DPPE) for international policy, industrial and technical communities. The novelty of this research lies in the systems thinking approach, coupled with systems engineering, to define and model a DPPE as a System of Systems to derive a definition. Stakeholder perspectives and requirements concerning Product Passports were synthesised using data and analysis from the European Commission's (EC) open consultation on the Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI). Nine high-level capabilities of a DPPE have been identified, and each is explored by mapping a list of information requirements discussed within the consultation. It is shown that different Product Passport applications benefit (or detriment) different stakeholder groups.