At the 23rd Inno-Meeting in Osnabrück, Albin Kälin presented a topic that will be of key importance to the entire industry in the coming years: the Digital Product Passport (DPP) – expanded to include a “Compass” that supports businesses and consumers in assessing sustainability, circularity and material health.
In conversation with Karsten Schröder, Kälin explained why new EU legislation is radically transforming the sector and how companies can manage the increasing complexity.
New EU rules: The cards are being reshuffled
Kälin emphasises that the initual situation has changed completely.
- The EU establishes a binding legal framework.
- All products placed on the market in the EU require a digital product passport.
- Companies must ensure transparency regarding materials, ingredients, origin, energy, supply chains and end-of-life.
His message is clear: it’s not just about compliance. It’s about future viability and differentiation.
Product Passport + Compass: Guidance instead of data jungle
Kälin supplements the data-driven DPP with a ‘Cradle to Cradle Compass’: While the passport acts as the logbook, recording where you’ve been and what you’re carrying, the Compass serves as the GPS, defining the direction for true circularity and sustainable design.
The product passport is used for:
- the recycling and waste management sector
- Authorities & Regulation
- Supply chains
- Consumers when making purchasing decisions
Der Kompass reviews:
- Material safety
- Energy & Climate
- Recyclability
- Biodiversity
- Business ecosystem
- Supply chains
- Return and collection schemes
“A passport documents the content; a compass defines the direction.“
This allows consumers to decide whether a product aligns with their values — and helps companies identify areas for improvement.
Migros project: Making sustainability understandable
An example from Switzerland: Migros used the Compass to evaluate non-food products.
This is what Kälin learnt :
- Technical sustainability information is not automatically suitable for consumers.
- Retail requires complex data to be presented in a clear and accessible way.
- Industry and the retail sector need to find a common language.
This knowledge has been directly incorporated into the tool now being presented.
All products need a product passport – how is that supposed to work?
Karsten Schröder calls this a massive challenge – and rightly so.
Kälin explains how companies are rising to this challenge:
- through radical simplification of complex regulations
- using a dynamic tool that flexibly reflects changes in the law
- through clear guidance rather than an overwhelming flood of data
The tool is not a certification, but a dynamic system that evolves in line with legislation.
Conclusion: The digital product passport is on its way – Kompass makes it usable
For Albin Kälin, one thing is clear:
“The Digital Product Passport is becoming mandatory, requiring companies to build the necessary structures now. By using a Compass, raw data is transformed into a real basis for decision-making—making sustainability more comparable, transparent, and strategic.”
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