From Alignment to Demonstration:

The journey toward Digital Product Passports (DPPs) in construction is still evolving, with regulatory frameworks and standardisation efforts at EU level not yet fully finalised. However, progress is accelerating.

At the latest CIRPASS-2 Construction Lighthouse workshop in Sofia, hosted by Cobuilder, industry leaders came together to take the next crucial step: moving from defined concepts toward validated workflows and real demonstration.

As the leader of the CIRPASS-2 Lighthouse pilot for construction, Cobuilder brought together consortium partners for a two-day workshop focused on:

• Reviewing and refining the two DPP workflows that the pilot focuses on (Made-to-Order and Off-the-Shelf products)
• Aligning on how these workflows should be finalized and presented
• Reviewing live demonstrations, identifying gaps and defining an action plan towards the missing pieces.
• Additional discussions connected to broader and related European initiatives

The objective was clear: create a shared vision of how product data should flow in the future with DPPs, while ensuring alignment with real industry processes.

A central topic of the workshop was the alignment between product manufacturing processes and DPP data flows.

One of the key goals is to propose an approach that avoids the creation of parallel systems, where manufacturers manage one flow for production and another for DPPs. Instead, the consortium is working toward a single, consolidated flow of product information, where DPPs are naturally integrated into existing processes.
The consortium also recognised the importance of giving manufacturers flexibility in how product information is included in DPPs, ensuring they can maintain appropriate control over their data.

Significant progress was made in:
• Aligning on what still needs to be completed in the final stages of the two DPP workflows
• Identifying remaining gaps and defining actions to address them
• Agreeing on a common structure and presentation approach

This marks an important step toward practical and scalable implementation.

While earlier discussions focused on defining workflows, the Sofia workshop marked a clear shift toward what can actually be demonstrated today.
The consortium worked closely together to assess the current state of the workflows looking at what is already mature enough to be shown in practice, where gaps still exist, and how those gaps can be addressed through further development. This effort was closely connected to the project KPIs, ensuring that progress is not only visible, but also measurable and aligned with European expectations.

Beyond the technical discussions, the workshop also highlighted the broader potential of DPPs to create new value and the potential for new business opportunities across the construction lifecycle.

One of the most interesting insights was the opportunity to extend the use of DPPs into the operational phase of buildings.

For example, if manufacturers – can get structured insights into operation such as how often products are maintained, replaced, or repaired – they can better understand how their products perform in practice. This kind of feedback loop has largely been missing in the industry until now.

Such possibilities could potentially lead to closer collaboration between manufacturers, contractors and building owners. They also could open up new business opportunities and create new ways to encourage data sharing across the value chain.

The discussions also touched on how DPPs could connect with broader European initiatives, such as Digital Building Logbooks (DBLs), where building-level information is stored after handover (like a digital passport for the building), as well as emerging concepts like Business Wallets, which aim to streamline business operations.

While these topics are still evolving and not fully within the scope of the pilot, they are important pieces of the bigger picture for the future DPP ecosystem.

Although DPPs play a key role in enabling circular economy, the discussions made it clear that data alone will not be enough.

For circularity to work in practice, the industry will also need clear regulatory frameworks, well-defined processes for reuse and recertification and agreed approaches for bringing used materials back to the market.

For example, while products like tiles or components may be repaired or reused, there must be clarity on how they can be tested, certified and reintroduced safely at an industrial scale.

This underlines an important point: DPPs are not solely a digital solution, but a transformational mechanism that needs digital infrastructure, regulation and industry practices to evolve together to truly unlock its potential.

Consortium partners include GS1 France, Soprema, Velux, Autodesk, 360 SmartConnect, Valobat, DFØ and Qualitel Expertise, with Cobuilder being the pilot leader and solution provider.

As the leader of the construction pilot, Cobuilder played a key role in guiding the workshop and ensuring that all stakeholders remain aligned.

By coordinating discussions, helping structure the workflows and supporting the consolidation of different perspectives, Cobuilder continues to move the project forward, bridging the gap between concept and real-world implementation.

Following the Sofia workshop, the focus now shifts to refining how DPPs are traced and handled in the installation phase and exploring how the data can support circularity scenarios. At the same time, further work will be done to develop demonstrations and recommendations to support the construction sector in the DPP adoption, as well as ensure cross-sector alignment.

The CIRPASS-2 construction pilot is steadily progressing – from defining ideas to testing how they can work in real-life scenarios.

While the regulatory framework for DPPs in construction is still taking shape, initiatives like CIRPASS-2 show that the industry is not standing still. Instead, it is actively building the foundation for what comes next.

With strong collaboration across the value chain and Cobuilder leading the way, Digital Product Passports are moving closer to becoming a practical reality for the construction industry.