Many companies that purchase or process steel read that the digital product passport will also provide information about the CO2 footprint of the material. That is correct: the environmental impact of a product, including emissions released during production, is one of the data categories that the European regulation on ecodesign mentions as possible content of a passport. For steel and iron, this subject is sensitive because the production of crude steel requires relatively much energy and emissions per ton vary widely between production routes.
The most important detail at the moment: the exact calculation method for that CO2 footprint is not yet established. Work is being done with a European methodology for environmental footprints, but how that methodology will be concretely applied to steel and iron, which production steps will be included and how recycling percentages will be accounted for, must still be laid down in the delegated act for this product group. Anyone expecting an exact figure on a passport right now is therefore too early.
Why CO2 gets a place in the passport
The digital product passport is intended to make data about a product available throughout its entire lifespan, from raw material to recycling. The CO2 footprint belongs to this, because the regulation places ecodesign at its core and emissions are one of the most commonly used indicators for it. For steel and iron, it also matters that the sector has been under European scrutiny for some time because of energy-intensive production processes and the carbon border adjustment mechanism on CO2 imports, which independently of the product passport already calls for emissions data.
That does not mean that each piece of steel will have an individually measured figure. For many materials, averages per production route or per factory are used, supplemented with data on origin and recycling percentage. Anyone who wants to know precisely how the regulation handles concepts such as environmental impact and product group will find a general explanation in the frequently asked questions about the digital product passport.
What this means for your company
For most SMEs that process or resell steel, the CO2 information does not come from their own measurements. In practice, this information is usually provided by the manufacturer or importer, who is responsible for the content of the passport. What role your own company plays in this and what that means for your obligations depends on how the regulation defines that role precisely. An overview of how these roles are divided and what belongs to them can be found in the knowledge base per situation.
For purchasing departments, it is relevant to know that CO2 data will become a standard part of supplier information in the future, alongside other technical specifications. Companies that adjust contracts or purchasing conditions now would do well to account for a data category that may change once the definitive calculation rules are known.
What you can do now
Without anticipating rules that have not yet been established, it is useful to investigate what CO2 data your current suppliers already maintain. Many steel producers publish environmental declarations or similar documents, and these may form a useful basis once the official methodology is established. It is also useful to know what system your company uses to record product data, and whether that system is able to receive and pass on an additional data field such as a CO2 value. How such a data chain is built in practice can be seen on the page about the origin of the data.
For questions regarding whether and when this will apply to your own products, the official text of the regulation and the associated delegated act are the appropriate source, supplemented by legal advice if there is any doubt in your situation.
Assess your own situation
Would you like to know how this development relates to your own products and processes? Go through the free quick-scan and you will get an indication of where you currently stand in a few questions, without any obligation attached.