Sustainability Data
Definition
Structured product information describing environmental and social characteristics, including material composition, substances of concern, recycled content, durability, reparability, energy performance, carbon footprint and, where relevant, supply chain due diligence evidence.
Expanded Explanation
Sustainability data differs from ordinary product attributes in that most of it is not observable in the finished item. Recycled content, emissions and sourcing conditions are properties of a process upstream, so the value has to be obtained from suppliers and supported by evidence rather than measured at the point of assembly.
That evidence has structure. A declared figure needs a defined calculation method, a boundary statement covering what is included, a period of validity, and a level of granularity, since a figure valid for one batch is often not valid for another. Standards such as ISO 14067 for product carbon footprint and ISO 14025 for environmental declarations exist to make such figures comparable.
Legislation increasingly makes these declarations enforceable. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation allows information requirements to be imposed through delegated acts, and the directive on empowering consumers for the green transition, Directive (EU) 2024/825, restricts generic environmental claims that are not substantiated.
Why It Matters
Sustainability data is the part of a passport most likely to be wrong, because it originates outside the organisation and is often collected as unstructured attachments. Treating it as governed data, with source, method and validity recorded alongside the value, is what makes a published claim defensible.
Common Misconceptions
A certificate is evidence for a value, not the value itself. Passports require structured, machine readable fields, and a scanned document cannot be validated, compared or aggregated.
Related Terms
Related Knowledge Base Articles
Related Articles
- Circular Economy
- Product Data
- Product Lifecycle
- Authoritative Source
- Data Architecture
- ESPR
- Golden Record
- Product Data Governance
See Also
References
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Official Journal of the European Union: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj
- Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/825/oj
- ISO 14067, greenhouse gases, carbon footprint of products: https://www.iso.org/standard/71206.html
About This Article
tieback Knowledge is a continuously maintained reference library covering Digital Product Passports, product traceability, product compliance and related regulations. Articles are reviewed regularly as legislation, standards and implementation guidance evolve.