Advancing Circular ICT: Eco-design, E-waste and Digital Product Information Systems (DPIS)

Elisa Tonda argues that digital product passports and digital product information systems are central tools for advancing sustainable consumption and production. In her view, sustainability and circularity cannot be achieved at scale unless product information becomes accessible, reliable and useful across value chains.

She explicitly links UNEP’s engagement on this agenda to its mandate on sustainable consumption and production, saying it would be very difficult to move production and consumption towards sustainability and circularity without conveying product information effectively . She further presents digital product passports as a way to create shared information around products and make that information valuable across the production and consumption system .

Elisa Tonda says the current product information landscape is fragmented, which creates problems for producers, downstream actors and consumers. She argues that common data on issues such as material composition, environmental performance, repairability, durability, recyclability and responsible sourcing is needed to overcome this fragmentation and support circularity.

She describes the existing landscape as fragmented, noting that producers do not always know where materials come from, downstream actors struggle to verify product claims, and consumers are often disoriented by product information in the market . She then lists the types of information that digital product passports should carry, including material composition, environmental performance, repairability, durability, recyclability and responsible sourcing .

Elisa Tonda argues that digital product passports create value for multiple stakeholder groups rather than serving only one audience. They improve resource efficiency and supply-chain visibility for producers, support business compliance, increase consumer trust, and give policymakers a stronger evidence base.

She explains that digital product information systems enable producers to use resources more efficiently and gain supply-chain visibility . She also states that they help businesses comply with sustainability requirements, consumers trust what they buy, and policymakers base policy development on more solid information .

Elisa Tonda warns that if countries and regions build separate passport schemes independently, they may worsen fragmentation rather than solve it. Because product value chains are global, she argues that governance discussions and solutions also need to be global.

She says different jurisdictions are developing national or regional digital product passport schemes and warns that this creates a risk of further fragmentation if each proceeds in its own direction . She adds that partners have therefore tried to move the conversation into a global setting because product value chains are global in nature and require global solutions .

Elisa Tonda argues that digital product passport approaches are not limited to one product category but are applicable across sectors. She also connects these pilots to wider chemicals governance by suggesting they can improve management of chemical content in products and waste.

She notes that the discussion has referenced batteries but that the approach also applies to other products, giving textiles as an example of an ongoing pilot examining environmental performance across the life cycle . She further links this work to the global framework on chemicals, saying digital product passports can help better manage chemical content in products and deal with waste containing chemicals across sectors such as electronics and textiles .

Elisa Tonda presents digital product information systems as multifunctional policy tools. She argues that they can help businesses and governments pursue several sustainability agendas simultaneously, rather than treating climate, chemicals and circularity as separate tracks.

She says that with greater accountability and collaboration across value-chain actors, product information systems can help manage chemical content better and allow waste to re-enter the system . She then states directly that digital product information systems help businesses and governments achieve multiple sustainability objectives, specifically naming climate, chemicals-related and circularity objectives .

Elisa Tonda confirms that the scope of these systems extends beyond manufacturers to recyclers and other post-use actors. She argues that clearer information about product composition and history is necessary to make circular loops function safely and effectively.

In response to an online question, she states that recyclers and post-use stages are definitely within scope . She adds that better transparency about a product’s composition and history should help create functioning and safe circular systems, especially for those who need to disassemble and manage product contents .

Bilel Jamoussi frames the discussion as part of a broader high-level digital week in Geneva, signalling that the issue has significance within international digital policy debates. His remarks place the session alongside other major governance forums, implying the topic’s growing relevance.

He closes his opening by noting that the week in Geneva is called 'digital week' because it includes the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, the WSIS Forum and AI for Good . This situates the discussion on digital product passports within a larger international policy agenda .

Reyna Ubeda explains digital product passports in practical consumer terms, arguing that they can show a product’s environmental impact, material origin and manufacturing details. She suggests that this information can directly shape whether a consumer chooses to buy a product.

She gives the example of scanning a phone to learn about its environmental impact, where the materials came from and where it was manufactured . She also says that similar information on a blazer could affect her own consumption decision by helping decide whether to buy it or not .

Reyna Ubeda argues that digital product information systems are inherently multi-stakeholder and cannot be built by environmental or technical experts alone. She stresses that the long and complex supply chain requires coordination across standards bodies, trade actors, customs, manufacturers and others.

She says the system involves not only environmental people, technical people and manufacturers, but also people from trade, customs and across the supply chain . She adds that understanding and building such a system requires a lot of work on standards and highlights the importance of cooperation with UNEP and the BRS Secretariat .

Reyna Ubeda says the current work aims to create a broadly usable framework for digital product information systems rather than a product-specific one. The focus is on defining common data categories that can be applied across sectors and used globally.

She states that the work underway is a framework on digital product information systems that they hope will be ready by the end of the year and published early next year . She explains that the framework will define sector-agnostic data categories and is intended to assess whether the system can be used worldwide, with input from BRS, One Planet Network, WBCSD and regional consultations .

Reyna Ubeda argues that information design for digital product passports should be based on consultation with different user groups, since consumers, refurbishers and others do not all need the same level of detail. She also says that AI has not yet been deeply examined in this work, though it may be worth discussing in future.

Responding to a question, she says the ongoing work with One Planet Network is trying to determine what information can be provided and what information is actually needed, noting that consumers may not need or use all the information about a phone . She adds that regional consultations are being conducted to understand the needs of different users and regions, and that AI has not been discussed much by experts so far but could be brought into the conversation .

Francesca Cenni explains that the Basel Convention is concerned not only with movements of hazardous and other waste between states, but also with environmental sound management. She argues that digital passport data can strengthen these regulatory and management systems by providing better information for authorities.

She states that the Basel Convention regulates the movement of hazardous and other waste among states and also works on environmental sound management and helping countries build environmental management systems . She then introduces a project in Uruguay that uses digital product passport information on batteries specifically from the regulator’s perspective .

Francesca Cenni describes a practical regulatory pilot in Uruguay that ties imported batteries to extended producer responsibility obligations. The system links battery data to take-back actors and seeks to track batteries through use and into the waste phase.

She explains that the Uruguay project covers waste lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries entering the country in products such as cars and servers, within a system where extended producer responsibility already exists . She says the planned repository will include information such as content and manufacture date, and that the system is being extended to connect this data to take-back entities and to follow batteries through use and waste phases .

Francesca Cenni argues that traceability is crucial for hazardous battery management because it allows regulators and responsible actors to know what materials are present and where the product is in its lifecycle. This supports environmentally sound recycling and reduces harm to communities.

She says the project aims to increase the quantities of batteries that are recycled or disposed of appropriately and stresses that some battery components are very hazardous, giving lead as an example of a poisonous substance whose dust can travel far . She concludes that following batteries from market entry to end of life provides traceability and helps ensure they are managed in an environmentally sound way without polluting communities, children and women .

Francesca Cenni says that in the future, digital product passport information should not only inform consumers about products but also guide them towards proper end-of-life handling. She sees this as a way to improve e-waste collection and environmentally sound management through digital tools.

In her closing remarks, she says that more information may become available to consumers and users of electronics and that this information will help them deliver electronics to the right point, the right recyclers and the right disposers . She explicitly links this to enhancing collection and the environmental sound management of e-waste through digitalisation and new digital tools .

Ava Mitzi argues that interoperability is not just a technical challenge but a governance one. She warns that if multiple passport systems emerge without coordination, manufacturers could face fragmented and burdensome compliance requirements.

In presenting the team’s recommendations, she says interoperability should be treated as a governance issue . She illustrates the concern with a quotation asking whether OEMs will face multiple digital product passports from different organisations that do not speak to one another, calling this a major challenge and arguing instead for one cohesive and comprehensive system .

Ava Mitzi defines the central research question as one of practical feasibility: what smartphone lifecycle data can actually be supplied to a digital product passport, and where do the constraints begin. Her framing emphasises realism rather than assuming full traceability is already possible.

She says the project focused on digital devices, environmental costs and smarter regulation . She then states directly that the team wanted to answer which lifecycle data smartphones can actually provide to a DPP and where the limits emerge, based on research, data mapping and expert interviews .

Ava Mitzi uses Tesla as a contrasting case to show that traceability can be pushed much further when a firm has sufficient capital, leverage and reputational incentives. Her point is not that Tesla is perfect, but that its example reveals what is technically and organisationally possible under exceptional conditions.

She describes Tesla as a useful case because it is a large OEM with power, capital and a reputation to protect . She cites specific examples from Tesla, including 49% of battery nickel sourced directly from suppliers, 100% of lithium life-cycle assessment data from contracted suppliers, and all nickel traced to extraction origin, while noting that the company had also received awards for reaching down to mine sites .

Ava Mitzi argues that digital product passport rules need to account for non-EU manufacturers’ concerns and avoid becoming de facto trade barriers. She presents Huawei’s perspective as a reminder that implementation should include industry input and not only regulatory ambitions.

She explains that Huawei offered a contrasting perspective as a large-scale non-EU OEM entering the European market . She reports that the specialist from Huawei stressed that the EU DPP standard could become a technical tariff and should not be used to penalise foreign actors, but should instead include an industry perspective .

Joseph Devin argues that even under ideal disclosure assumptions, upstream supply-chain visibility remains incomplete. His point is that the structure of raw material markets and the complexity of actors involved create hard breaks in traceability.

He says the team created a digital interactive data map representing a best-case scenario in which all actors disclose all the information they have about an ICT product . He then explains that, based on interviews, even highly transparent manufacturers still encounter very strong limits and visibility breaks because of physical constraints tied to raw material markets and the number of actors in the upstream supply chain .

Joseph Devin presents Fairphone as a leading example of voluntary transparency in the smartphone sector. However, he argues that even this best-case manufacturer cannot fully overcome structural supply-chain limits.

He describes Fairphone as perhaps the best example they found of a manufacturer disclosing the maximum amount of information, including repair and life-cycle data, carbon and environmental data, materials and sourcing data, and supplier social data . He adds that even in this best case, Fairphone still faces very strong limits and visibility breaks due to the upstream raw material market structure .

Joseph Devin argues that the feasibility of digital product passport information should be differentiated rather than treated as all-or-nothing. He proposes three categories to distinguish data that is available now, data that may become available with the right conditions, and data blocked by deeper structural barriers.

He states that the report classifies DPP feasibility into three categories: what is feasible now because information is available, what is conditionally feasible because it is technically possible depending on availability and governance, and what is structurally constrained by physical, commercial or systemic barriers .

The audience member raises the relationship between European and ITU frameworks as a practical implementation issue. The question implies that actors trying to apply digital product passports need clarity on how these standard-setting processes connect.

The audience member asks directly about the link between the European DPP and the ITU standard and whether they are similar, presenting it as something they are not yet familiar with .

The audience member suggests that AI might help personalise or filter DPP information so consumers can access what is most relevant to them. The argument highlights the design challenge of presenting useful information when there are many possible data points.

The questioner refers to the earlier discussion about concise information and asks whether AI could be integrated into DPPs so consumers can choose what information is shown . They add that selecting useful information is difficult because there are many aspects to consider .

The online participant argues that recycler involvement is essential and asks whether pilot and UN projects include downstream actors, not just manufacturers. The underlying point is that closing the loop requires digital systems to work for recyclers and facilities handling products at end of life.

The participant says they appreciated Eric’s inclusion of the recycler perspective because it is important for understanding how the loop is closed . They then ask whether the pilots and UN projects include how DPPs work for recyclers, noting their own work in digitising recycler facilities and linking this to the scope of DPP systems .

The online participant emphasises that recycler needs are not secondary but central to whether a circular system works in reality. Their comment frames recyclers as critical end users of DPP information for practical loop-closing.

They explicitly say they especially liked Eric’s presentation because it integrated the recycler perspective, which they consider very important for understanding how the loop can be closed . They reinforce this by asking whether current pilots also cover recycler-side implementation and facility digitisation .

Eric Lee argues that Latin America is a revealing region for studying DPP implementation because it combines significant e-waste generation with limited manufacturing presence and uneven recycling structures. These characteristics make it a challenging but informative context for policy design.

He says the Americas generate a lot of e-waste and that Latin America in particular is less of a manufacturer region . He later adds that the region has heterogeneous ICT markets and a large informal handling sector, making uniform policy implementation difficult .

Eric Lee argues that regulation by itself will not deliver effective digital product passport systems where industries are fragmented and capacities vary. He says implementation must be accompanied by technical support for the companies and sectors expected to use the system.

Drawing on the Argentina textiles pilot, he says there was information asymmetry between consumers and manufacturers and that data availability was a major constraint because of industry fragmentation . He concludes from this that DPP rollout cannot rely on policy alone and must include technical assistance to the companies and industries involved .

Eric Lee argues that, despite regional challenges, there are positive signs of policy momentum in Latin America. He points to Uruguay as an example of a country adopting environmental regulation that could support DPP implementation.

He says there is 'incredible promise' in Latin America because policies such as Uruguay’s Decree 292024 show that more countries may follow environmentally friendly principles compatible with DPP rollout .

Eric Lee argues that consumer-facing DPPs should not overwhelm users with dense technical sustainability data. Instead, they should present concise and relevant information that aligns with what consumers actually want to know when making purchases.

After reviewing Fairphone’s impact reporting, he notes that although it contains extensive material and carbon information, most consumers may find that information difficult to process . He adds that a more consumer-friendly DPP would be concise and focused on what consumers prioritise, rather than presenting all granular details .

Eric Lee argues that a single undifferentiated information display will not serve all users well. He proposes a tiered model in which different stakeholder groups, such as consumers and recyclers, can access different layers of information suited to their needs.

In his conclusion, he says that one potentially satisfactory model is a tiered information system where different layers of information are visible to different parties . He gives the example that consumers would see something different from recyclers .

Eric Lee argues that recyclers, especially in manual recycling environments, need short, practical information about product composition rather than long reports. This is necessary for safe handling and efficient recovery of materials.

Based on the interview with New Life E-Waste Recycling in Uruguay, he says recyclers would find information such as material composition, battery composition and capacitor composition useful . He then stresses that concise information is especially important for recyclers in manual chains, because real workers need shorthand information to safely and efficiently recycle and disassemble materials .