Digital product passport, ESPR and carbon footprint in AEC and BIM

What is a Digital Product Passport?

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a structured, digital set of product information that will come into force under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). What information must be included in the DPP? This will be the data of product Life Cycle Assessment — LCA, but also others environmental, performance and compliance parameters. In the construction sector, its requirements are specified in the new Construction Products Regulation (CPR).

The main objective of the aforementioned regulations is to move away from the current “take-use-throw” model in favor of the Circular Economy.

A new, inevitable and planned element of the declaration under the new CPR has become the carbon footprint of the product (measured as the Global Warming Potential — GWP). The appearance of this provision in the regulations, forces the building materials industry to be transparent about greenhouse gas emissions throughout the product life cycle — from raw material to disposal (LCA).

Who will benefit from the implementation of these regulations?

The implementation of regulations in the field of sustainable development arises from a systemic necessity. The reasons for the changes include, among others, the negative impact of products on the environment and the resulting need to consciously increase the degree of environmental protection in the European Union. Below you will find the 3 main objectives of sustainability in the construction industry:

1. Protection for the Planet: Construction is one of the largest emitters of CO2 and consumers of raw materials.

“ The construction sector is responsible for over 35% of the EU’s total waste generation. Greenhouse gas emissions from material extraction, manufacturing of construction products, as well as construction and renovation of buildings are estimated at 5-12% of total national GHG emissions.” Source: Official website of the European Union

The new regulations aim to drastically reduce the environmental impact of the sector.

2. Access to information for end-users: Thanks to the new rules, users will know if the buildings they buy and operate are durable, energy-efficient and easy to maintain — changes in building methods can translate into lower operating costs for them.

3. Efficient turnover of construction products: The changes launched in 2024 are not only environmental impacts, but also a reduction in the EU's dependence on the import of materials by promoting recycling and reuse. If the origin of raw materials is to a greater extent European, the economic resilience of the region will increase.

Possible profit for the construction industry – change of burden into asset

The new requirements for the ESPR and LCA obviously mean a considerable investment for construction manufacturers. However, companies that quickly and efficiently incorporate the electronic record of the required data into their production processes will benefit from certain advantages. Below we present 3 aspects of having a digital product passport, thanks to which companies in the AEC industry can increase sales of their products:

1. Green Public Procurement (GPP) gateways: it is currently the most important financial boost for construction manufacturers. Public administrations are strongly encouraged by the authorities to take into account environmental criteria in their tenders. A product whose environmental data, information on recycled content or recyclability are readily available and compliant with the DPP significantly increases the chances of being qualified in such proceedings. Chances are greater, especially in those tenders where the so-called minimum environmental thresholds appear. In such a situation, offers without adequate product data are not even taken into account which reduces the level of tender competition.
   
   
2. Sales growth in the premium segment (sustainable): commercial developers and institutional investors are still aim to obtain the so-called green certificates (LEED, BREEAM). To do this, they look for products that provide a complete and reliable Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and thus earn LEED/BREEAM points more easily. If in the appropriate prepared digital documents you will hand over the full information package about the product in question, probably it will translate into a higher purchase preference. Investors often even accept a higher price of a product to have 100% certainty of its compliance with certificates.
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3. Optimization of processes: a detailed analysis of the LCA forces a deep review of the supply chain. As a result, companies often identify more expensive or more emissive processes, which allows them to be rationalized. Although reducing GWP may initially increase raw material costs (e.g. better but more expensive materials), in the long run they gain process efficiency and market advantage resulting from better positioning.

Sustainability regulation is a new challenge for manufacturers

In order to adapt to the new requirements and not be behind the competition, manufacturers must not only modernise technologies and processes, but above all face the increasing complexity of environmental and regulatory transparency requirements. Transformation is much more than just a one-time deployment of tools — it's a profound change in the way we manage data, collaborate with suppliers, and integrate IT systems across the value chain.

In practice, this means addressing a number of serious operational and system challenges. The mere collection of secondary supply chain data becomes a huge burden, as precise information from each supplier of raw materials and components is required to calculate the carbon footprint of a product cradle-to-gate — on energy consumption, transport modes or recycled content. Obtaining them in a reliable, complete and consistent form is a real operational nightmare for many companies. An additional difficulty is the harmonization of these data, since the environmental information used in LCA or EPD analyses usually functions in completely different formats than data from PIM or ERP systems. It is therefore necessary to implement infrastructure that can logically and technically combine environmental, legal and technical data, and then process them in such a way enabling the supply of the Product's Digital Passport. The implementation of the DPP system itself is also not easy, as the passport is not a static PDF file, but a link — usually in the form of a QR code — to a dynamic database that must meet strict interoperability requirements. This means that the data must be automatically readable by BIM systems or inspection tools, which requires well-designed information structures. In the end, the whole process must be subject to rigorous verification, because the data collected must be auditable, documented and maintained in a high quality regime, to ensure full compliance with regulatory requirements and the trust of stakeholders.

How can BIM help manage DPP (digital product passport)?

Thankfully, there is already a ready-made structure, which can efficiently transfer and distribute this complex information — they can help you with this BIM object libraries (Building Information Modeling)

BIM objects are inherently used as data repositories. Instead of creating a new distribution path for DPP data, you simply need to extend existing libraries.

Why BIM is the ideal medium for information:

• Context for the designer: designers need environmental data to perform LCA analyses in their models. If this data is directly embedded in the BIM object, the analysis becomes automatic and, above all, reliable. If a designer downloads a BIM file from your website, they will be assured that the LCA data contained in it is reliable and thus will not have to contact support for additional information.
• Required parameters: the following attributes, key for ESPR/DPP can be embedded in the BIM model (according to the ongoing standardization - CEN/CENELEC works):
  
  • GWP A1-A3: Global Warming Potential value from the production phase (key for EPD and CPR).
  • Recycled Material Content: percentage of material from recycled waste (key for ESPR)
  • DPP Link/ID: a unique identifier or direct link to the Digital Product Passport, providing access to a complete, up-to-date set of data.
• Automatic Reports: by generating a bill of materials (BOM), the designer automatically receives a ready-made environmental report for the entire project, which translates into a quick and error-free application for certificates.
  

Distribution of information on the environmental impact of products

Manufacturers who want to win in a new market must not only have data on the environmental impact of their products, but also provide it to designers in the easiest way possible. If you prepare BIM libraries properly, you need to take the right steps so that architects can conveniently find and download them. You can share them with using a library management and distribution platform. Properly prepared BIM platform has advanced features that support design processes:

• Dynamic filtering: allow users to search for products using compliant filters (e.g. “Show all insulation with a GWP of less than 5 kg of carbon dioxide emissions” or “products with a recycled content > 50% “).
• Design tools (plugins): Provide designers with specialized software plug-ins (e.g., Autodesk Revit) that can automatically read and summarize in the model all detailed environmental requirements (e.g. GWP, recycle) for all products used, generating an LCA report with a click of the mouse.
• Central management: Ensure that when data changes in the manufacturer's central system (e.g. EPD update, all objects on the page and plugins are immediately synchronized and contain a current link to the DPP.

Two ways to prepare a company for DPP

New regulations force the construction of advanced digital infrastructure. Manufacturers have two outputs:

1. Start building from scratch its own PIM management platform BIM DPP dedicating time, IT resources and budget to this, while at the same time measuring its compliance with dynamically changing standards.

2. Select ready, scalable solution, which already has implemented advanced functionalities for the distribution of DPP data in BIM environment. BIMstreamer is our product information management solution that has been developed for nearly a decade and already serves global market leaders such as Uponor, GEZE and OBO Bettermann.

If you want to choose the second option — we encourage you to free testing, how the BIMStreamer platform can improve the distribution of DPP data and thus make it easier for designers to work. Deploy your own BIM platform and increase sales of your products!