Every acronym you'll be hit with, decoded

A

AIDC. Automatic Identification and Data Capture. The umbrella term for technologies that machine-read a product identifier without human intervention. Includes barcodes, QR codes, Data Matrix, RFID and NFC. ESPR uses the term “data carrier” for the same family of technologies.

Application identifier. GS1’s prefix system for encoding the meaning of data elements inside a Digital Link URL or a scanned barcode. The common ones include 01 (GTIN), 10 (batch or lot number), 21 (serial number), 17 (expiration date), and 15 (best before date). Documented in the GS1 General Specifications.

B

Back-up copy. ESPR requires a back-up copy of each passport to be held by an independent third-party DPP service provider, so the passport stays available if the brand’s own systems fail or the brand stops trading. Rules on certifying those providers are still to come. Not to be confused with the EU DPP Registry, which holds identifiers rather than passport data.

Barcode. The linear (1D) code that has been on packaging since the 1970s. Carries a GTIN that a till can scan to look up price. Will be progressively replaced at point of sale by 2D codes (QR or Data Matrix) under the GS1 Sunrise 2027 transition.

Battery Regulation. EU Regulation 2023/1542, applying in phases from 2024. It introduced the first passport requirement, for EV batteries, industrial batteries over 2 kWh and light transport batteries such as e-bike and e-scooter batteries, applying from 18 February 2027. It also covers carbon footprint, recycled content and supply chain checks for critical materials.

C

Carbon footprint. The greenhouse gas emissions attributed to a product, expressed as CO2-equivalent. Required under the Battery Regulation for EV, rechargeable industrial (over 2 kWh) and light means of transport batteries, and expected under several ESPR delegated acts. The calculation method is set by each regulation or act, and for batteries the Commission has not yet adopted it; ISO 14067 is a common reference point.

Central registry. The EU DPP Registry, live since 20 July 2026. It records the identifiers linked to each passport so regulators and customs can find it. The passport data itself stays with the economic operator and their service provider.

Construction Products Regulation (CPR). EU Regulation 2024/3110, in force since 7 January 2025, replacing the 2011 CPR. Most operational requirements apply from 8 January 2026, with category-specific provisions phasing in thereafter through harmonised technical specifications. Introduces a DPP requirement for construction products placed on the EU market. Construction materials sit under CPR rather than ESPR.

D

Data carrier. The physical marking on a product that resolves to the passport. ESPR defines it broadly, as a linear barcode, a two-dimensional symbol or another machine-readable medium, and the delegated act for each category sets what is required. QR code, Data Matrix, RFID and NFC are the common forms. The data carrier encodes a Digital Link URL pointing to the passport’s web address.

Data Matrix. A 2D code format used in healthcare and pharma where space is constrained. Carries the same information as a QR code in a smaller footprint. Accepted as a data carrier under ESPR and used by GS1 in the healthcare sector.

Digital Product Passport (DPP). A structured set of data about an individual product, served at a public web URL, accessible without an app, machine-readable by regulators and consumers alike. Defined in ESPR Article 2(28), with the general passport requirements set out in Article 9 and the essential and technical requirements in Articles 10 and 11, and operationalised through category-specific delegated acts under ESPR and through analogous provisions in CPR and the Battery Regulation.

E

EAN. European Article Number, the original name for the 13-digit identifier now called the GTIN-13 in GS1 terminology. EAN-13 is still the name of the barcode symbol that carries a GTIN-13 at the till, and “EAN” remains common shorthand on packaging.

Economic operator. The party legally responsible for the passport: usually the manufacturer placing the product on the EU market, or their authorised representative or importer if the manufacturer is outside the EU. It must ensure the passport, including its back-up copy, is available. The economic operator owns the data; a platform hosting the passport acts on its instructions.

Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). EU Regulation 2024/1781, in force since July 2024. It sets the framework for passports across a growing list of product categories, starting with iron and steel and then textiles, tyres and aluminium, and continuing to 2030.

F

Fibre composition. The percentage breakdown of fibres in a textile product. Already required on labels under the Textile Labelling Regulation, and expected to be a passport field under the textiles act.

G

Granularity hierarchy. The principle that DPP data is structured at three levels: facts about a product type live at the GTIN, facts about a batch live at GTIN-plus-batch, facts about an individual item live at GTIN-plus-serial. Higher-level facts inherit downward; lower-level facts do not duplicate upward.

GS1. The global standards body that issues GTINs and maintains the Digital Link standard. Operates through national member organisations (GS1 UK for the United Kingdom). The only authorised issuer of GTINs.

GS1 Digital Link. The URI syntax that turns a GTIN into a web address. The structure is https://<domain>/01/<GTIN> with optional /10/<batch> and /21/<serial> extensions. The standard underlies both ESPR DPP URLs and the Sunrise 2027 transition.

GTIN. Global Trade Item Number. The GS1-issued identifier that already sits on the linear barcode of every product placed through general retail. The persistent identifier used in GS1 Digital Link URLs and in the Unique Product Identifier referenced by ESPR.

H

Harmonised standards. European standards, developed by CEN and CENELEC, that set out how passport data, identifiers, data carriers and interfaces should work. Following them gives a presumption of compliance with the relevant ESPR articles. The Commission cited the first set in July 2026.

Harmonised technical specifications. CPR’s term for the technical specifications that define a construction product category and its required passport fields. Replaces the previous “harmonised standards” terminology under the 2011 CPR.

I

Interoperability. Different systems being able to read the same data without custom work. For passports, this is set by the harmonised standards cited by the Commission in 2026 and by each delegated act. TalkPod publishes passports as structured data (JSON-LD) using schema.org and GS1 Digital Link addresses.

ISO/IEC 15459. The standard family that governs unique identification. GS1 is a registered issuing agency under 15459, and several other identifier schemes referenced in DPP regulation register under the same framework.

Issuing agency. The body authorised to issue identifiers within a particular scheme. GS1 is the issuing agency for GTINs; other identifier schemes have their own.

J

JSON-LD. JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data. The structured-data format used to serialise DPP data so that it is both human-readable and machine-readable. Pairs with schema.org as the semantic vocabulary.

L

LCA. Life Cycle Assessment, the method behind a product’s environmental figures, covering materials, manufacturing, transport, use and end of life. ISO 14040 and 14044 are the general standards; ESPR points to the EU Product Environmental Footprint method, or other recognised scientific methods, so PEF is likely to inform the footprint requirements in individual acts.

llms.txt. A proposed convention: a plain-text file at the root of a website that points AI tools to the site’s most useful content in a clean, readable form. It is not a formal standard, and support across AI assistants varies. Worth keeping current alongside any DPP publication.

M

Machinery Regulation. EU Regulation 2023/1230, applying from 20 January 2027. It does not create a Digital Product Passport. It allows instructions and the declaration of conformity to be supplied digitally, provided they stay available for at least ten years, with safety information still supplied on paper for non-professional users. Machinery is not on the ESPR 2025 to 2030 priority list.

Multi-tenant. An architectural pattern where one software platform serves many brands with isolated data and identifiers per brand. The pattern DPP platforms use, so the underlying schema engine and publishing infrastructure can be shared across brands without exposing one brand’s data to another.

N

NFC. Near-Field Communication. A short-range wireless protocol that allows a chip embedded in a product to be read by a phone held against it. An alternative data carrier to QR codes, useful where the carrier needs to survive the lifetime of the product (jackets, machinery) rather than just the packaging.

Notified body. Under CPR, the third-party assessor authorised to verify a construction product’s conformity with harmonised technical specifications. Notified bodies will have a role in verifying CPR passport data for some product categories.

O

Origin. Country of origin, a frequently required DPP field. The relevant delegated act defines the precise origin field for each category; the underlying identifier comes from the GS1 application identifier 422 and from ISO 3166 country codes.

P

Persistent identifier. An identifier that survives changes of website, host or owner. A GTIN-based Digital Link address on the brand’s own domain keeps working whoever hosts the passport behind it.

PIM. Product Information Management. The standard system for managing product data inside a brand. The natural source for DPP-bound data, though not designed for DPP-compliant structure out of the box. The preparation work is less about creating new data than about gathering, structuring and validating what is already in the PIM.

PPWR. Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, EU Regulation 2025/40, applying from 12 August 2026. It introduces labelling on material composition and recyclability that intersects with the DPP. Packaging has no passport of its own, but where the packed product has a digital product passport, the two sets of data need to sit together.

Q

QR code. Quick Response code. The dominant data carrier for DPPs, supported on every smartphone camera. ESPR mentions QR codes as an example of a data carrier rather than mandating them, but in practice QR is the default for consumer products. Carries a Digital Link URL pointing to the passport.

R

Repair. ESPR’s circular economy emphasis includes repair information for several product categories, where the relevant delegated act requires it. The passport is expected to carry repair instructions, parts availability information and any restrictions on third-party repair. This sits alongside the EU Right to Repair Directive (EU) 2024/1799, which Member States had to transpose by 31 July 2026.

Resolver. The small piece of software that routes a Digital Link URL to its destination. Reads the URL, identifies the link type requested, decides which destination to return and either serves the content or redirects. The brand can operate its own resolver, use a platform that operates one on its behalf, or use a GS1 member organisation’s resolver.

RFID. Radio-Frequency Identification. Chip-based identification read at short range by a dedicated reader. Used in some sectors (textiles, retail inventory, automotive parts) where the identifier needs to be readable in bulk without line of sight. Accepted as a data carrier under ESPR.

S

Scan-then-select. The GS1 pattern where one QR code on a product can resolve to multiple link types: a passport, a marketing page, an instructions URL, a warranty URL, a conversational interface. The brand’s resolver decides which destination to return based on context.

Schema.org. A shared vocabulary for describing things on the web, founded by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex and developed through an open community group. Search engines and AI assistants already understand it, which makes it a practical choice for passport data.

Serial number. The finest level of GS1 identification, marking one individual item within a batch (application identifier 21). Required for batteries. Whether other categories will need it depends on their acts.

Sunrise 2027. GS1’s plan for retail tills to read 2D barcodes, meaning QR codes and Data Matrix using GS1 Digital Link, as well as the linear barcodes they already read, by the end of 2027. The linear barcode is not being withdrawn; the two will coexist. Pilots are running in more than 45 countries. How fast it happens depends on brands and retailers.

T

Textiles delegated act. The ESPR act for clothing and home textiles, expected in the second half of 2027, with obligations applying at least eighteen months later. Its exact requirements are not yet published, but it is likely to cover fibre composition, substances of concern, durability, repairability and recyclability. Footwear is not in the current plan; the Commission is to run a study on it, due by the end of 2027.

Traceability. The ability to track a product through its lifecycle: production, distribution, sale, use, repair, refurbishment, recycling. The structural reason DPPs exist; the passport is the digital substrate on which traceability is built.

U

UPI. Unique Product Identifier. The ESPR term for the persistent identifier that the passport resolves through. In practice, the UPI is the GTIN at model level plus optional batch and serial number extensions for finer granularity.

URI syntax. The structural rules governing a Digital Link URL: which segments appear in which order, which application identifiers can be used, what each segment encodes. Specified in the GS1 Digital Link URI Syntax standard.

V

Variant. A product variation that may or may not warrant its own GTIN. GS1’s general rule is that a different size, colour, weight, material, or pack quantity should have its own GTIN. Where the recipe is the same and only the label artwork changes, the GTIN does not change.

Verifiable credential. A W3C standard for cryptographic proof of data authenticity. An emerging mechanism for proving that a passport claim was issued by a particular party and has not been altered. Likely to feature in later iterations of DPP regulation for high-trust claims like supply chain provenance and repair history.

W

Warranty. Warranty information is one of the link types published alongside the passport through scan-then-select. Not a required passport field in its own right, but a separate destination resolvable through the same Digital Link URL.