The Strategic Durability of Digital Product Passports: A New Perspective to Raise the Ambition

Digital product passports (DPP) are identified as a key element to contribute to the circular economy. DPP focuses primarily on the collection of product and material information from a manufacturing perspective all the way throughout the supply chain and is planned to be implemented through policy development toward 2030. However, we argue that if we unfold the strategic potential of DPP to make it more attractive to companies, we can speed up this implementation. Accordingly, this paper goes beyond the environmental benefits of DPP by proposing a conceptual framework for DPP services that can increase the product’s value both from a user, market and company perspective. Through the concept of strategic durability, the paper contributes with a new perspective on DPPs, namely how companies through digital passport services can: 1) strengthen relationships to customers, 2) sustain and accentuate the company’s values and competencies, and 3) generate long-lasting competitive advantage in the market. Finally, the paper qualifies the new concept for digital passport services based on a company case (Fritz Hansen A/S) to exemplify what this conceptualization will mean in the furniture industry.