Applying the Digital Product Passport for Enhanced Lifecycle Management of Electrical and Electronic Equipment: A Case Study of a Washing Machine

The growing demand for sustainable products and the shift towards circular economy models highlight the need for transparent, interoperable, and verifiable data throughout the entire product lifecycle. In the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) sector, which encompasses common household appliances, the adoption of life cycle engineering tools is limited, which poses a barrier to effective circularity. This study explores the potential of a blockchain-based Digital Product Passport (DPP) as a digital tool to overcome this challenge by enabling the traceability and secure management of product data throughout the entire lifecycle. Tested on a washing machine, the DPP prototype demonstrates how digital passports can enhance lifecycle management, promote sustainability in the EEE sector, and support multi-stakeholder collaboration. The system integrates a standardized Extensible Markup Language (XML) data model and blockchain technology to ensure immutable, verifiable, and transparent data accessible via a centralized platform. The results highlight the DPP’s capacity to support decentralized data governance, foster informed decision-making, and facilitate the practical transition toward circular economy scenarios.