Glossary · Digital product passport: legal framework
ESPR delegated act
Also known as: ecodesign delegated act, product-group delegated act, ESPR working plan
An ESPR delegated act is a Commission regulation adopted under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation that sets ecodesign and information requirements, including digital product passport requirements, for a specific product group. Without such an act, the ESPR framework creates no product-specific passport duty for that group.
- EU
- DPP
In one sentence
An ESPR delegated act sets the ecodesign and passport requirements for one product group; without it, the framework imposes no product-specific duties.
Example
Once a delegated act for mattresses applies, it specifies which data the mattress passport holds, whether it is kept per model or per batch and which parts are public.
How it applies
- Content: A delegated act defines the product group, the performance and information requirements, the passport data and access levels, the identifier granularity and the application dates, usually with a transition period.
- Working plan: The Commission's first ESPR working plan, adopted in April 2025, sets priorities for the coming years, among them steel, aluminum, textiles (especially apparel), furniture, tyres and mattresses, plus horizontal measures such as repairability for electronics. A working plan is a priority list, not a legal obligation; the scope and dates only become binding in the adopted act.
- Preparation: Consultations and preparatory studies show what a delegated act is likely to require long before adoption. Follow the ones for your product groups.
- Technical documentation: Map each future information requirement to the system that already holds the data, and note where no owner exists yet; see DPP ownership.
Compared with the USA, Canada and China
Product-specific rules in the USA and Canada are set by sector regulators or product standards, not by delegated acts under one framework. China issues sector measures, as for power batteries. The EU model makes the pace of each product group dependent on its act.