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Digital Product Passports Beyond Europe: Which Countries are Taking Action, and How Do They Compare with the EU?

Apr 28, 2026 Digital Product Passports Beyond Europe: Which Countries are Taking Action, and How Do They Compare with the EU?

This blog was originally posted on 28th April, 2026. Further regulatory developments may have occurred after publication. To keep up-to-date with the latest compliance news, sign up to our newsletter.

AUTHORED BY ANDREW O’NEILL, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE SPECIALIST, COMPLIANCE & RISKS

Key Insight

The EU remains the clearest global benchmark for digital product passports because it has already created a legally anchored, cross-product framework through the ESPR and related battery rules. Other jurisdictions are moving in the same direction, but most are still at the stage of research, pilots, policy discussion, or narrower sector-specific systems rather than full EU-style implementation.

Table of Contents

Introduction: EU is the Benchmark

The EU remains the global benchmark for the modern digital product passport. Under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the Digital Product Passport is designed as a structured, machine-readable product information system linked to a data carrier and intended to support sustainability, repairability, circularity, and market surveillance. The European Commission described it in April 2025 as a key innovation under the ESPR, accessible to consumers, businesses, and public authorities. In parallel, the EU battery framework is already embedding lifecycle data logic into battery regulation, which is why many non-EU jurisdictions are now studying the model closely.

What makes the EU model distinctive is not just the use of QR codes or digital records. It is the combination of a legal framework, product-by-product delegated acts, harmonised data architecture, and a policy objective that reaches beyond traceability into ecodesign, environmental performance, and circular economy outcomes. That is the standard against which other countries should be compared.

For more on the EU Digital Product Passport, check out our webinar-on-demand and guide.

China: Building Capability and Policy Understanding First

China looks like one of the strongest non-European markets to watch. The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology published a 2025 research report specifically on digital product passport technology, signalling that the concept is being studied at a serious institutional level. That is an important step, but it is still different from the EU position: the evidence currently points to structured national research and policy development rather than a binding, economy-wide DPP regime already anchored in a framework law comparable to the ESPR. In other words, China appears to be building capability and policy understanding first, whereas the EU has already moved into formal legislative implementation.

Japan: Developing the Institutional and Industrial Foundations

Japan is further along than many people assume, but its approach is more ecosystem-based than command-and-control. METI’s mobility digital transformation strategy refers directly to DPP developments, including work around resource circulation and product passport concepts, and METI-linked materials discuss data sharing in value chains with a focus on DPP. That suggests Japan is aligning industrial architecture and interoperability with the direction of travel in Europe. The difference from the EU is that Japan does not yet appear to have a single umbrella law making DPP mandatory across future product groups; instead, it is developing the institutional and industrial foundations that would allow Japanese industry to operate within DPP-type systems.

South Korea: Pilot and Sector Testing Phase

South Korea is also a serious jurisdiction to monitor because it has moved into practical pilots. In 2025, a government-supported project invited textile-fashion companies to participate in a DPP introduction initiative, and Korea has also publicised battery-passport demonstrations tied to lifecycle management. Compared with the EU, Korea still appears to be in a pilot and sector-testing phase rather than operating under a comprehensive cross-sector legal framework. The strategic direction is clear, but the regulatory maturity is still below the EU model.

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Australia: Policy Exploration Stage

Australia is best described as being in the policy-exploration stage. The strongest signals are coming from circular economy and traceability work, including submissions to the Productivity Commission urging interoperable digital labelling and digital product passports, along with official guidance on recycled-content traceability. That matters because it shows Australia is not treating DPP as a fringe concept. Still, Australia does not yet appear to have announced a mandatory national DPP scheme comparable to the EU’s ESPR architecture. Relative to the EU, Australia is discussing the infrastructure and use cases, but not yet imposing a passport regime through product law.

The United States is more fragmented. There is visible activity around battery data, labelling, and safety, including EPA work on voluntary battery labelling guidelines and discussion materials that reference a “digital passport” for large-format batteries. That is meaningful, especially in the battery space, but it is not the same as a national DPP framework. Compared with the EU, the US is currently much narrower and more sector-specific: it is exploring battery-related data tools and traceability, whereas the EU has established a broader product-policy architecture capable of expanding across many categories.

Russia: Industrial Product Information and State Information Management

Russia is an important outlier because it already has a formal “digital passport” regime, but it is not the same thing as the EU’s digital product passport in policy purpose or structure. Russia approved rules on the formation and use of digital passports for industrial products, and later ministerial acts addressed associated administrative forms and updates. That means Russia has gone beyond exploration. However, the available official texts indicate a system focused on industrial-product information and state information management, not a broad sustainability-and-circularity passport for consumers and market actors in the EU sense. Relative to the EU, Russia looks more advanced than many countries in formalisation, but narrower in purpose and less clearly tied to consumer-facing environmental transparency.

Malaysia: Policy Positioning Phase

Malaysia is at an earlier stage, but the concept is explicitly on the policy agenda. Malaysia’s Circular Economy Policy Framework for the Manufacturing Sector refers to digital product passports in its benchmarking and policy framing. That is a strong signal that the government is aware of the instrument and sees it as relevant to circular manufacturing policy. But based on the official material available, Malaysia has not yet translated that into a mandatory national DPP regime. Compared with the EU, Malaysia is still in the policy-positioning phase rather than implementation.

Conclusion: A Mixed Batch of Policy, Testing and Discussion

Taken together, the global picture is becoming clearer. The EU is still the only jurisdiction in this group with a mature, legally anchored, cross-product DPP framework designed to be activated through secondary legislation. Russia has formal passport rules, but for industrial-product administration rather than the broader EU-style sustainability passport. China, Japan, and South Korea are the most credible Asian jurisdictions to watch for next-wave development, with South Korea strongest on pilots, Japan strongest on ecosystem alignment, and China strongest on state-backed strategic study. Australia and Malaysia are both in active policy-discussion territory, while the US remains a major but currently sector-specific player.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What makes the EU digital product passport model distinctive?
    What makes the EU model distinctive is not just the use of QR codes or digital records. It is the combination of a legal framework, product-by-product delegated acts, harmonised data architecture, and a policy objective that reaches beyond traceability into ecodesign, environmental performance, and circular economy outcomes.
  2. Which jurisdictions are the most credible Asian markets to watch for digital product passport development?
    China, Japan, and South Korea are the most credible Asian jurisdictions to watch for next-wave development, with South Korea strongest on pilots, Japan strongest on ecosystem alignment, and China strongest on state-backed strategic study.
  3. Is the United States developing a national digital product passport framework?
    The United States is more fragmented. There is visible activity around battery data, labelling, and safety, but it is not the same as a national DPP framework.
  4. How does Russia compare with the EU on digital product passports?
    Russia has gone beyond exploration and already has formal passport rules, but the available official texts indicate a system focused on industrial-product information and state information management, not a broad sustainability-and-circularity passport for consumers and market actors in the EU sense.
  5. Is Malaysia implementing a mandatory national digital product passport regime?
    Based on the official material available, Malaysia has not yet translated digital product passports into a mandatory national DPP regime. Compared with the EU, Malaysia is still in the policy-positioning phase rather than implementation.

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