Call for an ambitious Digital Product Passport: analysing the results of Generation Climate Europe survey

Generation Climate Europe (GCE) is the largest climate coalition of youth-led networks at the European level, pushing for stronger action from the European Union on climate and environmental issues. GCE brings together 381 national organisations across 46 countries in Europe. We are guided by the voices of over 20 million young Europeans, and work every day to make these voices heard across the continent. Additionally, we have the ambition to encourage young people to share their initiatives and empower them, by giving them the tools to defend their ideals.

The Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) was launched in 2020 by the European Commission, through a first public consultation held from September to November. It has the aim to make products on the EU market more sustainable, durable, reusable, and energy-efficient, and thus contribute to reaching the objectives of the EU Green Deal and the new Circular Economy Action Plan. Put simply, the goal is to change consumption patterns and increase the lifespan of products to reduce their environmental impact. The SPI will revise the 2009 Ecodesign directive, and will widen its scope beyond energy-related products. Additional legislative measures should also be proposed. Legislation is expected to be adopted by the end of 2021, following a public consultation process carried out in Spring 2021. 

Among the innovations within the Sustainable Products Initiative is the Digital Product Passport – DPP for short. This project aims to allow key supply chain actors to access a wealth of information on any given product, particular;y regarding environmental and social impacts. Potentially accessible to all producers and customers, this digital platform would enable users to make informed choices and facilitate the selection of more socially and environmentally responsible products. 

Although it would be first applied to a restricted set of products, the Digital Product Passport could potentially be expanded to a wider range. The first stage is expected to focus on electronic devices, due to their significant environmental footprint and their high potential for circularity. 

Take for instance the tremendous impact of a mobile phone, a device that most of us possess and use every day. It takes roughly 55 kg of carbon emissions to produce the average phone, and in the process 85 kg of waste is generated. This needs to be understood under the dimension that every second, 6.7 phones are sold in Europe. The average smartphone has a lifespan of five years at most, with most consumers replacing their phone every two years. Each year, we produce around 50 million tons of electric and electronic waste around the world. Less than 20% is properly recovered and recycled. This is a sector in dire need of a more circular model.

Take for instance the tremendous impact of a mobile phone, a device that most of us possess and use every day. It takes roughly 55 kg of carbon emissions to produce the average phone, and in the process 85 kg of waste is generated. This needs to be understood under the dimension that every second, 6.7 phones are sold in Europe. The average smartphone has a lifespan of five years at most, with most consumers replacing their phone every two years. Each year, we produce around 50 million tons of electric and electronic waste around the world. Less than 20% is properly recovered and recycled. This is a sector in dire need of a more circular model.

The Digital Product Passport project is still in its infancy and the breadth of information implicated is yet to be decided upon. Therefore, we at Generation Climate Europe wanted to get the feedback of young Europeans on whether the DPP would be useful to them and what its ambition should be. 

To do so, we designed a digital survey addressed specifically to young people living across Europe. The survey was accessible online for six weeks, from May to June 2021, and was disseminated on Generation Climate Europe’s social media networks. Furthermore, members of the GCE Team also shared the survey through their personal accounts to have a broader reach. 

In total, 256 people answered the survey. Of the respondents, 88% were younger than thirty-six, with the majority (71%) being twenty-five years old or younger. It is important to note that only 25% of respondents were affiliated to GCE. However, we recognise that this sample is not fully representative of the diversity in opinions young Europeans may have. This is because 80% of the respondents were located in only five European countries (France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, as well as the United Kingdom). 

Approximately two thirds (66%) of respondents indicated being aware of the environmental and social impacts of the digital sector. Among those, there was a visible understanding of the diversity of these impacts, especially regarding the following:

• high energy consumption related to data and technology use (65 mentions);
• rare earth materials extraction and the resource depletion that follows (50 mentions);
• North/South power imbalance, and exploitation and human rights abuses related to working conditions (41 mentions);
• waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and related recycling challenges of the sector (38 mentions).

Respondents also widely mentioned general considerations, such as impact on climate change and general environmental pollution and/or degradation. 

However, although awareness is high, results indicate that it does not translate into actions. Only a fifth (19%) of those aware of the negative impacts of the sector (66%), ever considered these as a purchasing criterion. The main reasons being:

• price difference (61 mentions);
• lack of known alternatives (49 mentions);
• lack of interest in the issue (27 mentions);
• lack of awareness at time of purchase (27 mentions).

Respondents who indicated having considered the impacts of the digital sector when purchasing a new phone mention having bought second hand or reconditioned ones to minimise their personal impact. 

Results indicate nevertheless a potential for a shift in consumers’ behaviour.  When asked if they would consider sustainability as a criteria when buying an electronic product, 61% of respondents answered yes, even if this meant paying more.

When analysing the answers of those 155 respondents (61%), it appears that for 72% of them (111), price was not the reason they had not considered sustainable alternatives before; they simply had not taken into consideration the social and environmental impact of their purchase. Going through the survey potentially resulted in increased awareness of these impacts, leading to a shift in mentality. Although such results are declarative and may not translate into action, they show a potential for consumer behaviour to evolve due to more awareness. 

Interesting as well is the fact that half of the respondents declaring to be aware of the impacts of the digital sector also indicate using applications that provide information on components, origins, and/or environmental and social impacts of products. The growing success of these applications show that sustainability as a purchasing criteria is gaining momentum, for some consumers at least. 

Therefore, even though there are for now no clear signs that awareness leads to systematic action, our results show that there is a potential for a tool such as the Digital Product Passport to influence have an impact on over-consumption and purchasing behaviours. The Digital Product Passport could indeed contribute to increasing consumer awareness of the external impacts of a given product, and therefore ultimately influence consumers’ choices. 

To have such an impact, the Digital Product Passport needs to be ambitious in its content. What our respondents expect from the DPP is an accessible mix of technical, social, and environmental information.  The information deemed most valuable was: the expected lifespan of a product, the social conditions along the value chain, and the impact on biodiversity. 

Similarly, it was important for the majority of respondents (76%) to know the source of the product information. This could suggest that consumers are increasingly aware that various industries are using greenwashing and misleading claims in their advertising

Finally, most of the respondents (84%), both aware and unaware of the impacts of the digital sector,  suggest that companies should be required to provide all Digital Product Passport-mandatory information to access the EU market. Consumer demand and legislative requirements can together drive the change needed for a more sustainable EU market. 

• Consumers are increasingly aware of the impacts of the digital sector, but currently rarely act upon it, despite a readiness to consider sustainability as a purchasing criteria. 
• The Digital Product Passport could contribute to bridging the gap between information and action, by providing consumers with verified, clear and comprehensive information. 
• To be impactful, the Digital Product Passport must be mandatory, transparent, and include relevant content for all consumers.